Short answer: filming is the easy part. The part that matters is keeping it honest. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says a consumer review can take the form of speech, such as ‘a verbal opinion expressed in a video’, so a testimonial clip falls under the same rules as a written review. That means no rewards, no scripted lines and no edits that change what the customer meant. Everything else needs only a phone, a window and three questions.
What is a testimonial video?
It is a customer on camera, talking about your business in their own words. Someone who paid, turned up, got the job done and has an opinion about it.
The examples that come up first online are agency pieces with music, drone shots and a script somebody spent a week on. Ignore them. If you run a cafe, a salon, a clinic or a plumbing business, all you need is a short, plain clip of a customer saying something true. A bit wobbly is fine. It often helps, because it sounds like a person rather than an advert.
You supply the phone and the questions. The customer supplies the words.
Is a testimonial video the same as a review?
No, and you can’t use one in place of the other.
A public review is something a customer posts on a platform such as Google or Trustpilot. You don’t choose the wording or decide whether it appears. A testimonial is something you collect and show on your own website, social pages or shop screen. Filming a lovely testimonial does nothing for your review profile, so treat them as two separate jobs. For the review side, see how to ask for an honest review.
They do share the same honesty rules. The CMA guidance covers businesses that publish reviews on their own websites and social media as well as review sites, and spoken opinions in videos count.
Who to ask, and how to ask honestly
Ask real customers who have used you recently, while the visit or job is fresh. That could be a regular at the counter, a client getting up from the chair or someone who has just collected their car.
Ask plainly and give them a real way out: ‘Would you mind saying a few words about your experience on my phone? It takes a couple of minutes, and it’s fine to say no.’
Avoid two things:
- Staff, family or friends posing as customers. That is a fake review. The CMA also counts asking a member of staff to write a review as commissioning one.
- Cherry-picking. The CMA says encouraging only satisfied customers, or highlighting positive reviews that ‘do not reflect the experience being reported by reviewers overall’, can be misleading. Ask a spread of genuine customers. Only publish a clip if it fairly reflects what people usually say about you.
There is more on asking in how to ask for a testimonial. For why you can’t steer anyone towards a glowing verdict, read can you ask for a 5-star review?
Three questions that get a useful clip
Three questions are enough. With more, people start to feel interviewed and then they freeze.
- What did you need, or what was the problem, before you came to us?
- What was it like?
- Would you recommend us, and to whom?
The first gives the clip a starting point. The second is the heart of it, and it is open on purpose so the customer decides what to say. The third lets them finish naturally. Asking ‘to whom’ gets you something specific, such as ‘anyone with an old boiler’ or ‘anyone nervous about the dentist’.
Ask one question at a time and let them answer fully. Don’t finish their sentences or lead them towards a particular answer. If they go quiet, wait. People often fill a pause with their best line.
How to film it on your phone
These are practical suggestions, not platform requirements.
- Light: put them facing a window so daylight falls on their face. Don’t film them with the window behind them.
- Sound: pick a quiet spot away from the coffee machine, the radio and the door. Bad sound spoils a clip faster than a bad picture.
- Steady phone: prop it on a shelf or a stack of books, or hold it with both elbows tucked in.
- Landscape or portrait: landscape suits a website and portrait suits social feeds. Choose by where you will mostly use it.
- Length: aim for a finished clip of roughly 30 to 60 seconds.
- Test: record five seconds, play it back and check you can see and hear them clearly.
Getting written permission to use it
Before you use the clip anywhere, get a clear yes, either in writing or recorded at the end of the clip. Cover three things:
- Their OK to use their face, voice and name (or first name only, if they prefer).
- Where it will appear, such as your website, your social pages or a screen in the shop.
- That they can change their mind and you will take the clip down if they ask.
Wording you can adapt:
I’m happy for [business name] to use this video of me, including my face, voice and [first name / full name], on [where it will be used]. I understand I can ask for it to be removed at any time.
Keep the signed note or the recorded yes with the video file. This is practical advice, not legal advice. If your situation is sensitive (a patient, a child, a private service), check properly before you publish.
What you must not do: pay, script or edit the meaning
Don’t pay or reward it. Don’t give cash, a discount, free treatment or a freebie in return. The CMA guidance lists money, discounts or vouchers and free products as ways of commissioning a review. A review that hides an incentive is banned. A disclosed one must be clearly labelled, usually as an advert, and must still reflect the customer’s genuine experience. A clip labelled as an advert is little use as a testimonial, so keep it a favour freely given.
Don’t script it. If you write the words, the claim is yours, just with their face on it. One of the CMA’s examples of a fake review is a review saying a business met expectations when it did not. Help with the questions, never with the answers. How to write a testimonial explains the same principle for written ones.
Don’t edit the meaning. Trimming dead air at the start and end is fine. Cutting ‘it was lovely, though the wait was far too long’ down to ‘it was lovely’ is not. The CMA guidance says businesses should not limit the impact of negative reviews by editing them. Before you publish, check that each cut keeps what they meant.
For the wider picture, read our UK fake reviews law summary or the CMA’s own fake reviews guidance.
Where to use the finished video
Put it where people are deciding whether to use you. That might be your website near the booking button or contact form, your social pages, a screen at the counter, or a link in your reply to someone who has enquired but not yet booked.
In my experience, one clip in the right place does more than ten on a page nobody visits.
Keep a written version too
Write down what they said, word for word, without tidying it up. A transcript helps people who watch with the sound off, lets you add captions and gives you a backup if the file goes missing. Keep it with the consent note.
A short written quote works on its own too. The testimonial card maker turns their exact words into a card you can post or print.
Questions people ask
What are testimonial videos?
Short clips of real customers describing, in their own words, what it was like to use your business. You film them with permission and show them on your own website, social pages or in your premises.
How does a testimonial look?
Usually one person, well lit, speaking plainly to the camera or just off it for 30 to 60 seconds. A steady phone, a quiet spot and a customer saying something true is all it needs.
What is a customer testimonial?
A statement from a genuine customer about their experience with your business, used with their permission. It can be spoken on video or written down, and the words must be theirs, not yours.
How long should a testimonial video be?
Roughly 30 to 60 seconds is a sensible target. That is practical advice, not a platform rule. A short, honest clip is better than a long, rambling one.
Can I offer a discount for a video testimonial?
Don't. The CMA's fake reviews guidance treats discounts, vouchers, money and freebies as incentives. A review that hides an incentive is banned, and a disclosed one has to be clearly labelled, usually as an advert. Keep it a favour freely given. Our [fake reviews law summary](/guides/fake-reviews-uk-law/) has the detail.