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How to get customers to record a video testimonial

Video is the most convincing kind of testimonial and the one customers avoid most. Almost all of the reluctance comes from three things: not knowing what to say, not knowing how, and not knowing how long it will take.

By PraiseClip · Updated 3 October 2026

Remove the three reasons people say no

1. "I don't know what to say." Give them three questions to answer, so they are not improvising: what they came in for, what stood out or changed, and whether they would recommend you and to whom.
2. "I don't know how." No app, no account, no download. A link that opens in the phone's browser, with one Record button.
3. "It will take ages." Say it takes about thirty seconds. Most good testimonials are between 30 and 60 seconds.

Offer a way out that is not "no"

Some customers will not go on camera, however friendly you are. Let them type a few lines instead, or upload a clip they already have. A written testimonial from a customer who would have refused video is better than nothing, and offering the choice up front makes the video option feel less like a demand.

Questions that get good answers

• What made you choose us?
• What was the problem before, and how is it now?
• What surprised you most?
• Who would you recommend us to?

Ask for specifics ("what was it like before?") rather than adjectives ("was it good?"). Specific answers are what a future customer finds convincing.

Tips to pass on to the customer

• Face a window or a light, not away from it.
• Hold the phone at eye level, held steady, in portrait.
• Find a quiet spot. Sound matters more than picture quality.
• Look at the camera and talk like you would to a friend. It does not need to be perfect.

On PraiseClip's recording page the three questions are shown above the camera, and the customer can watch their clip and re-record before sending it.

After you have the video

Watch it, then publish only what you have approval for. A video you are proud of can go on your public testimonial page and your website, and be shared in your WhatsApp status. Keep the customer's words unedited: testimonials work because they are real.

A routine that keeps them coming

One request does little. A habit does a lot. Pick one moment in your customer journey, the same one every time, and ask there. If you serve ten customers a week, ask all ten, and expect a few to say yes. After a month you will have a handful of real videos, and the next ten customers can see them.

Review what came in once a week. Publish the clear, specific ones, and quietly decline the rest. You do not need many: three good videos on a page do more than thirty vague ones.

Mistakes that cost you testimonials

• Asking for "five stars". Ask for their honest experience. People notice, and so do review platforms.
• Asking too late. A week later the customer has moved on.
• Sending a long form. Every extra field loses people.
• Writing it for them. Fake or staff-written testimonials are prohibited by review platforms and can breach consumer-protection rules. Publish only real ones.
• Chasing. One reminder is polite. Three is pressure, and the video you get will look like it.

Common questions