If you’re one of the 13% of advice/planning firms that have client testimonial videos, give yourself a pat on the back.
You were probably nervous about asking your clients, but you did it anyway. Now your website stands out from the crowd, you’re building trust early with new prospects, and you’re helping more visitors feel confident about contacting you.
What’s not to love?
If you’re in the 87%, you probably think about client testimonial videos in one of two ways.
Firstly, you have no plans to record them. If that’s you, stop reading now; the rest of this blog isn’t for you. But be warned, I’ll be back in a few weeks to explain why you might want to think differently.
Secondly, you might feel that 2027 is the year when you take the leap and record a set of client videos. If that’s you, keep reading, because you may be in danger of asking the wrong clients to appear, making your videos less effective than they could be.
Let me explain
If you’re nervous about asking your clients to appear in videos, this blog explains why you’re not alone. But that nervousness can create a problem: advisers/planners ask their longest-standing clients to take part, thinking they’ll be the ones most likely to agree.
And there’s probably some truth to that; a client you’re friendly with is more likely to do you a favour. Unfortunately, they probably won’t make the best videos for three reasons.
First, they’ve been with you for years and are often in a “holding pattern” with their financial planning, so they struggle to explain the value they get from working with you.
Second, if your proposition has shifted away from advice and investment management towards financial planning, longer-standing clients can focus too heavily on investment returns when we interview them for the video.
Finally, because they’re friendly with you, they can approach the filming more casually, making it harder to capture a clear story about the value you deliver.
So, if those aren’t the right clients to ask, who should you approach?
Clients who’ve been with you for a relatively short period of time, say two to three years, because they can more easily recall and explain three things:
- What life was like before working with you, and how they felt about their financial future (probably confused, uncertain, and concerned).
- What you did for them and the difference it has made.
- How they feel about their financial future now (hopefully confident, reassured, and content).
That gives your videos a clear story: where they started, how you helped, and what changed.
Also, choose clients who reflect the people you want to attract. Similar circumstances. Similar concerns. Similar goals.
You want prospects watching the videos to think: “They sound like us.”
An elephant in the room
Now, I know you might feel that newer clients are less likely to agree, so let’s deal with that three-tonne elephant in the room.
Clients will recommend you to people they know sooner than you probably think they will.
Clients will write Google and VouchedFor reviews sooner than you probably think they will.
And, you guessed it, many clients will be happy to appear in videos sooner than you probably think they will.
So, please lean on our experience here and believe us when we say: if you ask the right clients, in the right way, around 50% will agree to take part even if they’ve only worked with you for two or three years.
If you need further reassurance, click here to learn how eight Yardstick clients overcame their nerves and successfully recruited clients for their video projects.
Those firms can do it, so what’s stopping you?
Here to help
If 2027 is the year you join the 13% and record client testimonial videos, we’re here to help by:
- Recommending whether to shoot the videos face-to-face or remotely
- Giving you a script and email template to help you ask clients
- Helping you to decide which clients to ask
- Shooting and editing the videos
- Adding them to your website.
We’ll also recommend how to use them across social media, your newsletter, and prospect follow-up emails, so you get the best possible return on your investment.
To discuss how we can help you create a set of testimonial videos for your firm, email abi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.
We’d love to help you become one of the 13%.
