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Who had the best b2b customer testimonial video of 2020? We reviewed hundreds videos and ranked our top 10 picks so you can learn from their tactics, strategies, and design tricks.
Here's the top 10 countdown...
Steal away!
Hook: Stripe shows us their product in action in a variety of locations. They utilize both pre and post-COVID footage to create a unique story.
Story Arc: Creating testimonial videos during COVID can be tricky. Here’s a great example of how you can pair old footage with a new remote interview and create something awesome.
Visuals: This video is shot in a variety of locations, and it gives us a lot of b-roll content to work with. They even add in some b-roll at the end of people shopping in masks, relating their solution to the time we’re in. Talking head shots are minimized.
Music: Upbeat, catchy, and jingly. Not bad but not great. Next time, try going with something that better fits the cool, young vibe of the stores we show using the product.
Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to combine old b-roll with a new remote interview. Everything can be repurposed, just get creative! Then shoot a few extra b-roll shots on an iPhone as needed.
Hook: We open with jazzy drums and horns, in a cool warehouse office. Our subjects, Sachin and Alex from Cocoon, are surrounded by bookshelves, plants, and neon. Everything about this video is silky and stylish.
Story Arc: However, they do lose some points for jumping into the product too quickly. Alex and Sachin are interesting guys in an interesting space. Notion could have explored that more.
Visuals: Multiple camera angles, bright colors, and brilliant framing make for a beautiful peek inside the office. Bonus points for a cute dog.
Music: Most companies wouldn’t open with smooth jazz in their testimonial video. Notion isn’t most companies. It perfectly accompanies our quirky subjects and their surroundings.
Takeaway: Style can hook in a viewer and keep them invested. Just make sure it’s not sacrificing any quality or story in the process.
(We’re cheating here and featuring a talent recruitment example because it’s just too good.)
Hook: To express its company culture, Unbounce takes creative and stylistic risks.
Story Arc: Who better to tell you about the company than the employees themselves? A fun, diverse cast fills out this video telling a prospective candidate everything they’d want to know about Unbounce. Each section of the video covers a different, unique aspect of their culture.
Visuals: Fun, bold, and unique. Forget traditional lower thirds - shapes and colors surround each subject when they’re introduced. Lots of b-roll intercuts these interviews to keep them exciting and fresh.
Music: Unbounce’s brand is very modern and trendy, so their music choice reflects that. They chose a high-energy indie track with elements from multiple genres without being overwhelming. The result is a hip ambience that attracts young talent.
Takeaway: Tailor your video to your target market. Unbounce utilized MTV-like graphics and colors to appeal to young candidates. This bold video helps them stand out among the competition.
Hook: JustWorks grabs our attention by playing on our heartstrings. This is a story about Marah and Naomi, and we see an intimate look into their office and lives.
Story Arc: Shine is on a mission to make the world a happier place. They can’t do that if they’re worried about the nitty-gritty of their business. That’s where JustWorks comes in, as a companion and guide. JustWorks is enabling Shine to do their best work.
Visuals: Shine has a beautiful office and JustWorks didn’t shy away from utilizing it. Throughout the video, we see just about every corner of their office and the characters that work there.
Music: If only this emotional video had a song to match. The mystique of Shine and its hip office is killed by the corporate track JustWorks chose. This song makes the video feel like any other testimonial, when it’s anything but.
Takeaway: Tell the story of your customer, especially if they have a beautiful story to tell. Show their surroundings; place us in their world.
Hook: This is the story of a small business pivoting to survive. Sam, the CEO of SnapBar, captured a low quality selfie video and they made it work with great graphics and killer storytelling.
Story Arc: We open with the hardships SnapBar faced during COVID, and you almost wonder if they survived.
Visuals: Selfie video, stock photos, b-roll, this video has it all. But it makes it work with a minimal white template that treats the content almost like a slide presentation.
Music: Gusto pairs its emotional story with a beautiful piano score. It’s subtle but effective. It even starts out sad and gets happier towards the end, just like the video itself.
Takeaway: You can tell a powerful story using any form of media. With the right editor, those iPhone photos and selfie interviews can be something special.
Hook: If you didn’t want a gourmet apple before, you sure do now. This testimonial brilliantly uses close-up shots of food to spark both our interest and appetite.
Story Arc: We open with the experience of Amy’s Gourmet Apples, and the care and craftsmanship that goes into making each apple. It’s not until over a minute in to the video that we hear about how “payments” or Wells Fargo fit into the story.
Visuals: This is where Wells Fargo hurts itself with stodgy branding. An exciting story is dragged down by simple title cards and unreadable lower thirds (never put white text on a busy background!)
Music: Wells Fargo chose to go with more of an ambience here and it works well. The chimes and piano tones make the gourmet apple process feel even more magical.
Takeaway: Show your customer as an artist and creator. Your product enables that creation. Try and win the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Product’.
Hook: DocuSign brings a fun twist to this testimonial by throwing you behind the counter at a hip coffee spot. You can almost smell the beans with through the incredible b-roll.
Story Arc: They hook you early with the coffee, and then hit you with the product. DocuSign shows instead of telling. We see Jean-Paul using the app in his hectic day-to-day.
Visuals: Personality, functionality, and flavor all come together here. DocuSign utilizes split-screen graphics to keep Jean-Paul’s face on screen longer.
Music: Fun and upbeat. Feels like something you might hear in a hip coffee spot, but with more energy. A great fit for a video with momentum.
Takeaway: Create authenticity by showing your customer using the product realistically. Let your customer’s need for the product demonstrate its value.
Hook: Is that Zachary Quinto? While we can’t all use famous movie stars in our testimonials, this video shows that even the busiest customers will go to bat for a great product.
Story Arc: Not only does Zachary use Zoom, he uses it to pitch movie ideas to Hollywood producers. Zoom demonstrates its wide functionality by giving us a hyper-specific example - and an awesome one at that.
Visuals: Sometimes minimal is key. Here, we just have Zachary in his home, on his porch. His beautiful space speaks for itself. Zachary creates authenticity by showing us the way he uses the product in his day-to-day life.
Music: A little underwhelming and stereotypical. But to be fair, you don’t want to distract from the superstar here.
Takeaway: The true value of a testimonial is in the subject. If you have a great subject with a true need for your product, you can capture something special.
Hook: Meet Alex. He and his charming smile are running the show here. A simple opening hooks us right into what Alex has to say.
Story Arc: In a quick and straightforward narrative, Alex tells of his difficulties obtaining health insurance for him and his company. He then beautifully (and succinctly) explains how Decent solved his problems and can provide others with the same solution.
Visuals: This video uses animated graphics in lieu of traditional lower thirds. It establishes a style early, showcasing Alex as with an intro title card right out of a comic book. Decent also utilizes multiple camera angles to keep things interesting.
Music: A little underwhelming. Definitely lost points here. Alex is already so sweet and soft spoken; a song with a little more “umph” could’ve made all the difference.
Takeaway: You don’t need to pack everything in to tell an impactful story. In just over a minute, Decent shows you how it made one life better.
Hook: Yext uses cool music and fast-moving visuals to suck you in immediately. Before you know the product, this could be a cologne or upscale vodka commercial.
Story Arc: Yext opens strong with data, proving its point early with quantifiable results: in the first month, they had over 400,000 searches and 253,000 clicks. They save the backstory for later in the video. A good rule of thumb: Assume the viewer will only watch the first minute, so pack in the best parts of your video early.
Visual Appeal: You’re told what this story is about right away with fast-moving colorful motion graphics. They also play with speed, focus, colorful lighting, and depth throughout to keep the viewer invested visually. And no, you’re not seeing things - this video is shot in “cinematic 4k” meaning extra wide screen.
Music: Is it jazz? Is it hip hop? This track’s throwback vibe takes us into a mysterious space that perfectly fits the suave mood and lighting the video presents. Try ditching your corporate jingle for something you’d hear in a bar.
Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to borrow from B2C. How would Samsung do a testimonial, or Dos Equis? Make your subject a rockstar with cool lighting and interesting camera angles. Use strong soundbites accompanied by big bold graphics to drive home your point.
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