How to get the most out of customer interviews, case studies and reviews

To get the most out of customer interviews, ask the right customers personally, get their consent in writing before you record, prepare questions that draw out a story with numbers in it, and plan from the start to turn one conversation into many pieces: a written case study, quotes for your website, short video clips, a sales asset and, where they are willing, a review. This post covers each step, with copy-ready text for the request and the consent.

This is general information, not legal advice. If your situation is unusual, take advice from a qualified professional.

Why one interview is worth more than you think

A single 30-minute recorded conversation with a happy customer can become:

• A written case study for your website and sales team.
• Pull quotes for your homepage, pricing page and proposals.
• Short video clips for LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts and Reels, in the customer's own voice.
• A longer video or podcast episode for people who want the full story.
• A review on the platforms your buyers read, if the customer chooses to write one.
• Sales material: objection-handling answers, in a customer's words, for the questions prospects actually ask.

The recording is the expensive part. Everything after it is reuse, so record on video even if you only plan a written case study.

Step 1: Pick the right customers

Not every happy customer makes a good interview. Look for:

• A clear before and after. Something changed because of you, ideally with a number attached: hours saved, revenue, a faster process.
• A recent result. People remember the details and the feeling when the change is fresh.
• A customer who looks like your buyers. Prospects trust stories from people like them.
• Someone who talks easily. Customers who explain things well on calls usually interview well.
• Permission to speak publicly. Larger companies often need sign-off from marketing or legal before their name appears. Ask early.

Step 2: Ask in a way people say yes to

Most customers are happy to help, if the ask is personal, specific and easy. What makes the difference:

• It comes from a person they know, not a marketing address.
• It names the specific result that made you think of them, so it reads as genuine, not a mass request.
• It makes the effort small and clear: how long, what format, no preparation.
• It gives them control: they see and approve everything before it is published.
• It shows what is in it for them: exposure for their company, a link, a chance to share their own work.
• It makes no easy: people agree more readily when they do not feel cornered.

Subject: Could we tell your story?

Hi [first name],

I keep thinking about what you said on our last call: [the specific result, for example "getting your onboarding down from two weeks to two days"]. It's exactly the kind of story other [their type of company] need to hear, and nobody could tell it better than you.

Would you be up for a relaxed 30-minute video chat about it? No preparation needed. I'll send four or five questions in advance, we'll just talk, and you'll see and approve everything before anything is published. You'll have the final say on what's used.

We'd feature you and [company name] on our website and social channels, with a link back to you, and you're very welcome to use the video and clips yourselves.

If the timing isn't right, or you'd rather not, just say. I completely understand, and I won't chase.

Either way, thank you for being such a great customer.

[Your name]
[Role, company]

Replace everything in square brackets. If you offer anything in return beyond exposure (a discount, a gift, credit), say so openly wherever you publish what they said. See Step 7.

Step 3: Get consent in writing, before you record

A recording of a customer, with their name, face and voice, is personal data. Under UK GDPR, if you rely on consent it has to be "freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous", silence or inactivity does not count, people must be able to withdraw it easily at any time, and you should keep records showing they gave it.¹ You also need to tell people, at the time you collect their data, what it is for, how long you keep it and what rights they have.²

The advertising rules point the same way. The CAP Code says marketing must not feature a customer's endorsement without permission, and that you must hold documentary evidence that it is genuine, plus contact details for the person or organisation who gave it.³

Send the consent text with the calendar invitation, and ask for a reply with "I agree" or a signature before the call. Keep the reply with the recording.

Recording and publishing consent

I, [full name], [job title] at [their company], agree that [your company name] may:

• record our interview on [date] as video and audio;
• edit it and publish it, in full or in part, including short clips and written quotes, together with my name, job title, company name and image;
• use it on [your company name]'s website, social media channels, newsletters and sales materials;
• keep the recording for [period, for example three years] for these purposes.

I understand that:

• I will see [the edited case study and any clips] and can ask for changes before anything is published;
• I can withdraw my consent at any time by emailing [contact email]. [Your company name] will then stop using the recording in new material and remove it from channels it controls within [number] days. It cannot recall copies that other people have already shared;
• more about how [your company name] uses personal data is in its privacy notice: [link].

Name: [full name]
Date: [date]
Agreed by: [signature, or reply "I agree" to this email]

Two cases to watch:

• Interviewing your own staff. The ICO says consent is problematic where there is a clear imbalance of power,¹ as there usually is between employer and employee. Take advice on the right lawful basis before you rely on consent from employees.
• Using it in paid advertising. If you plan to run clips as ads, say so in the consent text. "Website and social channels" does not obviously cover paid promotion.

For guests on a podcast more generally, see posting podcast clips in the UK.

Step 4: Prepare questions that draw out a story

A good case study follows the customer's journey. Send these in advance so nobody is caught off guard, and keep follow-ups ready.

Before

• What were you trying to do, and what was getting in the way?
• What did it cost you, in time, money or stress?
• What had you tried already?

The decision

• What made you look for something new at that point?
• What nearly stopped you choosing us?
• What tipped it?

After

• What changed in the first few weeks?
• Can you put a number on it? Hours a week, money, speed, anything you measure.
• What can you do now that you could not before?

Advice

• What would you tell someone in your position who is unsure?
• Is there anything you would do differently?

The "what nearly stopped you" question is the most useful one for sales: it gives you real objections, answered by a customer.

Step 5: Run the interview well

• Record each person separately if you can. It makes editing and clipping far easier. See how to record a customer interview.
• Start with something easy ("tell me about your role") so they relax before the important questions.
• Ask open questions, then wait. The best answer often comes after a pause you resist filling.
• Ask for specifics. "Roughly how many hours?" and "Can you give me an example?" turn a nice comment into a usable quote.
• Ask them to answer in full sentences, repeating the question, so each answer stands on its own in a clip: "Before we switched, reporting took us…" rather than "Yeah, loads."
• Finish by asking if there is anything you did not ask that they wanted to say.

Step 6: Turn one interview into many pieces

1. 01

   Hook

   The line that makes someone stop scrolling

2. 02

   Context

   Just enough to follow the idea

3. 03

   The idea

   One point, said well

4. 04

   Payoff

   The answer, the joke or the turn

• Written case study: the challenge, why they chose you, what changed (with numbers) and their advice, in 600 to 1,000 words with three or four direct quotes.
• Pull quotes: short, specific lines with a name, role and company. "It saves us a day a week" beats "Great product".
• Short clips: one answer each, under a minute, vertical, with captions. Our guides to short clips and YouTube Shorts cover the details.
• Full video: lightly edited, for your case study page and for prospects late in the decision.
• Sales answers: a library of clips that answer common objections, to send after calls.

Send everything to the customer for approval before it goes live, as you promised.

Step 7: Reviews, incentives and the UK rules

A customer who enjoyed the interview is often happy to leave a review as well. Ask after they have approved the case study, and keep it honest:

• Never write or edit reviews for them. The CAP Code says marketing must not contain fake consumer reviews.³
• Disclose incentives. If you give anything in return for a review, it must be clearly identifiable as incentivised.⁴ The CAP Code also requires you to make clear where consumer reviews have been incentivised.³
• Do not cherry-pick misleadingly. Publishing reviews in a misleading way, such as suppressing negative ones, is also prohibited.³⁴
• The penalties are real. The fake review rules in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 apply from 6 April 2025,⁵ and the CMA can fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover.⁶
• Keep endorsements relevant. The CAP Code says an endorsement must relate to the product being advertised.³

Sources

1. Information Commissioner's Office, "What is valid consent?". https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/consent/what-is-valid-consent/ ↩ ↩²

2. Information Commissioner's Office, "Right to be informed". https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/right-to-be-informed/ ↩

3. Advertising Standards Authority, CAP Code section 3, "Misleading advertising", rules 3.44 to 3.50. https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/03.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Competition and Markets Authority, "Fake reviews guidance" (CMA208). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67eeb64fe9c76fa33048c790/CMA208_-_Fake_reviews_guidance.pdf ↩ ↩²

5. Competition and Markets Authority, "Unfair commercial practices" (CMA207). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unfair-commercial-practices-cma207/unfair-commercial-practices ↩

6. GOV.UK, "CMA to boost consumer and business confidence as new consumer protection regime comes into force", 7 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-to-boost-consumer-and-business-confidence-as-new-consumer-protection-regime-comes-into-force ↩