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How to Get Customer Testimonials That Actually Convert (6 Practical Tips)

2025-06-07"

Customer testimonials are one of the most powerful levers for B2B SaaS growth.

Yet despite their importance, many teams struggle to collect high-quality, specific testimonials that actually drive conversions.

When building Credio, we’ve had conversations with Product Marketing Managers (PMMs), Growth leaders, and GTM teams — and we’ve seen firsthand what tends to work (and what doesn’t) when it comes to collecting conversion-driving testimonials.

This guide brings together those insights, in this article, you’ll learn:

  • How to structure testimonial requests to maximize response rates
  • How to collect credible, specific testimonials (not generic fluff)
  • How to automate the process to scale testimonial collection
  • How to leverage alternative testimonial sources that your competitors are missing

1. The Two Primary Ways to Collect Testimonials

B2B SaaS teams typically collect testimonials in two ways.

1. Import existing testimonials

You can import reviews from (of course remeber about consent):

  • G2
  • Capterra
  • Trustpilot
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

This is valuable, quick — but passive. You only capture what customers have already written. You also have little control over which parts of your product or outcomes they mention.

2. Direct collection via testimonial form

You can proactively collecting testimonials by sending tailored forms to customers.

Benefits:

  • You control when to ask (right after success moments)
  • You guide what topics to cover
  • You can design the form to maximize response rates and testimonial quality

2. Common Pitfalls When Asking for Testimonials

In many conversations with B2B marketing and growth teams, a few common challenges kept coming up.

"Why should I care?"

Most customers are busy. If they don’t understand why the testimonial matters (for them or for the relationship), they won’t respond.

Time-consuming requests

Long or generic forms kill response rates. No one wants to spend 15 minutes writing a testimonial.

Cognitive load → generic results

Vague questions like “Tell us about your experience” create friction. Customers don’t know what to write — so they submit low-value, generic answers.

3. How to Design a Testimonial Form That Converts

Personalize the form (this is key)

Don’t send the same generic form to everyone — it kills relevance and response rates.

Instead, personalize based on:

  • Which features the customer uses
  • Their role (PMM, marketer, founder, CS leader)
  • Customer journey stage (new customer vs power user)

For example:
You might send a different form to a power user of Feature X versus a new customer who just completed onboarding.

Tools like Credio allow you to easily personalize testimonial forms at scale — so you can send highly relevant requests without manual effort.

Get the timing right

Timing is just as important as form design. Even the best-designed form won’t get results if you send it at the wrong moment in the customer journey.

If you ask too early — before the customer has experienced clear value — you’re unlikely to get a good testimonial (or any response). But if you ask right after a success milestone, the chances of getting a strong, enthusiastic testimonial increase dramatically.

Good moments to request testimonials include:

  • After onboarding is successfully completed
  • After the customer experiences an "aha" moment (key feature adoption)
  • After submitting a high NPS score
  • Following a successful renewal or account expansion

In short: ask when the customer is happiest and has experienced real value — this is when they’re most likely to respond and provide specific, persuasive feedback.

Ask about specific parts of the product

This reduces cognitive load and improves quality. For example:

  • Onboarding experience
  • Support interactions
  • A specific feature or workflow they use frequently

Lower friction with smart form design

  • Start with multiple choice / toggle questions
  • Follow with short-answer fields
  • Keep the form visually light → fewer fields → clear progress

Benefits:

  • Higher completion rates
  • Higher testimonial quality
  • More authentic, specific content

4. How to Ask for and Present High-Converting Testimonials

What to ask: Example questions for your testimonial form

The more targeted your questions, the better the testimonial quality.
Start with general experience questions, then ask about measurable outcomes and specific product areas.

General questions:

  • "What was your experience with onboarding?"
  • "How has [product/feature] impacted your workflow?"

Questions about specific product areas:

Tailor these to the features or parts of the product the customer uses most.

  • "What was your experience during your first customer support interaction?"
  • "How would you rate your experience with [specific feature, e.g. scheduling, reporting, dashboards]?"
  • "How has using [feature X] improved your workflow?"
  • "How much time have you saved since using [feature]?"
  • "By what percentage did your conversion rate improve after using [feature]?"
  • "What measurable business impact have you seen since adopting [product/feature]?"

Outcome-focused questions:

Focus on understanding the customer’s original goal, what they’ve achieved, and if possible, back it with data or numbers.

Examples:

  • "What was your goal when you started using [product/feature]?"
  • "How has [product/feature] helped you achieve that goal?"
  • "What specific results or improvements have you seen?"
  • "Can you quantify the impact? (Time saved, revenue impact, conversion rate increase, etc.)"

How to present testimonials for maximum credibility

A one-sentence generic testimonial won’t convert. To build trust, testimonials must feel real, specific, and visually credible.

Elements to include when displaying testimonials:

  • Specificity

    • Highlight exact features or outcomes the customer mentions
    • Avoid vague statements like “Great product!”

  • Quantifiable outcomes

    • Example quotes:
      • "Reduced onboarding time by 50%"
      • "Increased qualified leads by 30%"
      • "Saved 5 hours per week on reporting"

  • Attribution details

    • Full name and role (example: Jane Doe, Head of Growth at Acme Corp)
    • Company logo — display this clearly; logos drive trust and recognition
    • Optional avatar or profile photo of the person giving the testimonial

  • Formatting tips

    • Bold the most impactful parts of the testimonial (e.g. key outcomes, numbers) to draw the reader’s eye
    • Ensure the testimonial is visually distinct and easy to scan on the page

5. What About Video Testimonials?

Pros:

  • Very authentic → high trust
  • Strong social proof

Cons:

  • Harder to obtain → customers hesitant to appear on video
  • Time-consuming → both for the customer and for prospects to watch

How to make video testimonials easier:

  • Provide structured prompts:

    • "Tell us about your onboarding experience"
    • "What results have you achieved?"
    • "What’s your favorite feature?"

  • Guide the customer to speak to specific outcomes → this makes the video more valuable.

6. Alternative Testimonial Sources You Can Leverage

Sales and CS call recordings:

In conversations with GTM teams, several mentioned they had captured great spontaneous customer quotes during Gong or Zoom calls — but hadn’t thought to repurpose them as testimonials.

If you use Gong or Zoom recordings:

  • Look for positive customer quotes during calls
  • These spontaneous comments can become great testimonials (with permission)

Example:
“Wow, this new reporting feature saved us so much time!” → This can be a powerful, authentic testimonial.

7. How to Automate Testimonial Collection

Manual testimonial collection is slow and inconsistent, let's improve:

  • Trigger testimonial requests at the right moment (post-onboarding, after positive NPS, etc.)
  • Use personalized forms to collect better testimonials
  • Automate testimonial import and management
  • Maintain a consistent flow of high-quality, conversion-ready testimonials

This saves PMMs and Growth teams time — and ensures that your marketing always has fresh, relevant social proof.

8. Conclusion: Actionable Checklist

  • Personalize your testimonial form → based on role, features, and customer stage
  • Ask about specific parts of the product → avoid generic questions
  • Include prompts to collect quantifiable outcomes
  • Use credibility boosters → name, role, logo (these converts)
  • Leverage alternative sources → public platforms, sales calls
  • Consider video — but provide structured prompts
  • Automate the process with tools like Credio → scale testimonial collection

If you want to see how modern B2B teams automate testimonial collection, check out Credio — the testimonial engine for PMMs, Growth, and GTM teams.