Why your testimonial video isn't converting

If you've already got a testimonial video sitting on your homepage and it's not doing much, the video itself probably isn't the problem. The question that was asked to get it is.

The question almost everyone asks

"How was it working with us?" It sounds harmless, but it's the single most common reason testimonial videos fall flat. It invites polite, generic praise — "they were great, very professional, would recommend" — the kind of thing that sounds exactly like every other testimonial a prospect has ever scrolled past. Nobody's guard goes down for generic praise, because it doesn't sound like a specific truth, it sounds like a nice thing you say when someone's recording you.

What a testimonial actually needs to include to be believed

The real problem before you got involved

Specificity is what makes a testimonial believable. "We were losing leads because our website didn't explain what we did" is a hundred times more convincing than "we needed help with marketing." It shows the client had a real, recognizable problem — the same kind of problem your next prospect probably has right now.

What almost went wrong, or what they were skeptical about

A testimonial that admits to a moment of doubt — "honestly I wasn't sure this was worth it at first" — is far more credible than one that's pure praise from start to finish. It signals the client wasn't just saying nice things, they were genuinely convinced.

What's actually different now, in their own words

Not a script you handed them. Ask the question, let them answer in their own language, and keep the parts that sound like a real person talking, even if it's a little rough. Rough and real beats polished and generic every time.

The interview questions that actually get you there

Instead of "how was it working with us," try:

• "What was going on before you called us?"
• "What made you nervous about making a change?"
• "What's different now that you weren't expecting?"
• "What would you tell someone in your position who's on the fence?"

These get you a story instead of a compliment, and a story is what actually moves a prospect who's deciding whether to trust you.

If you're planning to reshoot

You don't need a new client to fix this — often the same client will happily sit down again for a better set of questions. It's a short shoot, and it usually produces the difference between a testimonial video that sits quietly on a page and one that's doing real work in your sales process.

If you want help figuring out which of your current testimonials are worth reshooting, that's exactly the kind of thing we can walk through with you. Here's how we shoot them, and why they matter so much for B2B.