How to Make a Testimonial Video: Questions, Script, Examples
A field guide to customer testimonial videos: the questions that get real answers, a script structure that is not a script, examples, and remote production.
You have customers who love the product, and the testimonial videos on your site still feel like ads. Production value is rarely the problem. The video works when the customer says something a viewer believes, and fails when they recite what your brand would say about itself.
This guide covers the whole job: the video testimonial questions that get real answers, an edit structure that replaces a script, what strong examples have in common, and how to produce testimonials over a video call with no crew.
Why testimonial videos work (when they work)
A testimonial video works the way UGC works: a peer saying "this worked for me" carries trust your own claims cannot buy. In B2B, where a bad purchase can cost someone their standing, a customer walking through their rollout de-risks the decision more than any datasheet.
The trust breaks the same way every time. When a customer says "BrandCo's innovative platform transformed our workflow," viewers hear a script, and the video costs you credibility. Every step below serves one goal: get customers saying true things in their own words.
The video testimonial questions that get real answers
"Can you give us a testimonial?" produces marketing language. Ask about their experience and let the testimonial fall out of the answers. Six questions do the work:
"What was going on before?" The problem in their words, which is the language your next customer types into Google.
"What did you try that didn't work?" Positions you against the alternatives without you naming them.
"What almost stopped you from buying?" Their hesitation matches your prospect's hesitation, and hearing it overcome closes the sale.
"What surprised you after you started?" Surprises come out specific, and specific reads as true.
"What would you tell someone on the fence?" The natural closer. Peer to peer, it lands as advice.
"Can you put a number on it?" Hours saved, revenue gained, tickets closed. One number anchors the whole video.
Ask follow-ups ("say more about that") and let silences sit. The best line usually comes after the customer thinks they finished answering.
Testimonial video script: structure without lines
Scripting a testimonial kills it, so script the edit and leave the customer's words alone. (Formats that do want a real script are covered in our script templates.) Cut the interview into five beats:
Cold open on the strongest line (5 seconds). No name, no title yet. Just the line: "I thought we'd have to hire two more people."
The before (15 seconds). The problem in their words, with the number if you got one.
The hesitation (10 seconds). Why they almost walked away. This beat separates testimonials people believe from testimonials people skip.
The after (20 seconds). What changed, specifically.
The advice (10 seconds). The fence-sitter answer, then a simple card with name, title, company.
That totals sixty seconds. Bank everything else the customer said for other cuts.
What the best testimonial video examples share
Pull up any testimonial that persuaded you and the same traits show up:
One customer, one story. A compilation of six smiling clients saying "great product" proves only that six people agreed to be filmed.
Specifics over adjectives. "Onboarding took four days" beats "seamless onboarding."
A visible flaw or hesitation. Perfect stories read as ads. "The first month was rocky" reads as true and buys credibility for everything after it.
The customer's environment. Their office, their webcam, their accent. Texture proves authenticity here, exactly as it does in UGC ads.
B-roll of the thing itself. Cut to the product in use, the warehouse, the dashboard. Ten seconds of proof footage carries a lot.
Testimonial video production without a crew
An on-site shoot with a production company still makes sense for one flagship homepage story, at five figures per video. For everything else, remote production wins on the metric that matters: how many customers actually say yes.
Recruit at the peak. Ask right after a renewal, a milestone, or an unprompted compliment. Right after a support win is underrated.
Record the interview on a video call. Thirty minutes, cameras on, good light on the customer's face, their phone as a backup angle if they are willing.
Interview without directing. Run the six questions, chase the follow-ups, and let them ramble. The rambling contains the good lines.
Get a release. One paragraph covering marketing use across channels, signed before the call, so the edit never waits on legal.
Cut it multiple ways. The 60-second structure for your site, a 15-30 second vertical with captions for feeds and paid social, and a quote card from the best line.
Recording is the easy half. Testimonial programs stall at the edit, where a 30-minute interview becomes a usable minute only after someone finds the moments, orders the beats, and captions the cuts. Bevyl runs that edit automatically, so one strong customer interview turns into a small library of cuts and the interview call becomes the only real cost per testimonial.
FAQ
How long should a testimonial video be? Around 60 seconds for the main cut, 15-30 seconds for feed versions. Past two minutes, completion rates fall off a cliff.
What questions should I ask in a video testimonial? Ask about the before, what else they tried, what almost stopped them, what surprised them, and what they would tell someone on the fence. Then ask for a number.
Should testimonial videos be scripted? No. Script the edit and leave the customer's words alone. Coached lines read as coached, and viewers stop trusting the video.
How much does testimonial video production cost? Traditional on-site production commonly runs into five figures per video. Remote production costs a video call, a release form, and editing, which is why it produces ten testimonials in the time the traditional route produces one.
How do I get customers to agree? Ask at a high point, keep the request to thirty minutes, offer them the final cut for their own channels, and make approval explicit. Yes rates run far higher than most teams expect.