Admittedly, there’s a chasm between us.  9 out of 10 marketers who approach us have never played a part in creating a video.  Even seasoned marketer’s often don’t know where to begin their video production project.  And odds are you’ve arrived here because you have many of the same questions we answer everyday.  So let’s bridge the gap.

Before we ever set our wheels in motion discussing concepts or put pen to paper to write your script, there are a number of questions we’ll have for you.

Here are some of the most common questions we’ll discuss in your discovery process:

• Why do you believe video is important to your business?
• What is the ideal outcome for your video project?
• What business goal do you hope your video will help you achieve?
• Who is your target audience?
• Where will they watch your video? (website, youtube, social media…)
• What action do you want them to take after viewing your video?
• How will that action help you achieve a business goal?

We’ll have some additional questions for you during discovery as well.  We ask because it’s critical we understand your business: your model and processes, your past and current marketing, your regional competitors and market trends, your unique selling position, as well as the big wins and losses you’ve experienced along the way.  

At the end of the day, our discovery process reveals your greatest needs.  Understanding need tells us how we may best develop your concept and script your new video so it affects your viewers -and inspires them to take action.  A good example we can discuss now is a brand video.

A brand video shows your audience who you are, what you do, and why they should choose to do business with you.  The brand video shows you and your team in action. It allows your viewer to form an emotional bond with you, your people, and ultimately with your brand.  Important to note: Buying is not a logical decision, it’s an emotional decision that we justify with logic -after the decision has been made. So telling a story about how your business helped your clients solve a problem is the best way to enrich your brand’s emotional value.  Making that emotional connection builds trust in you -and it’s the beginning of your relationship with your prospect.

Let’s use a General Contractor, a Home Remodeler and Builder, as our example.  Let’s call him Mike. Most of us have had some dealings with a contractor, and for better or worse, we understand much of what goes into hiring a GC.  This places us in the position of the contractor’s target audience. We need a bathroom remodeled and want to find a capable trustworthy person to complete the job on time and on budget.  As writers, we need to be in your prospect’s shoes. Now we have an understanding of Mike’s prospects.

Let’s talk about what we learned in Mike’s discovery process and how that affects our concept development.  Mike wants people to see his work, to trust him, and to know that clients trust him as well. He wants prospects to feel like they’ve already met him.  And most importantly, Mike wants his viewers to feel comfortable in reaching out to schedule a consultation. That’s the primary goal, because the consultation and resulting proposal is where Mike has the opportunity to win the job.  All of this information points us in the direction of our concept: an interview based brand video.

What remains now is the script writing.  This is where things get interesting because not only do we want Mike to have an opportunity to say what he believes is important, but we also have an obligation to make sure we address all his prospects’ most common questions and concerns. Our job is to write interview questions whose answers create what we call a dream script. This is everything Mike’s prospect want and need to hear. Additionally, while interviewing Mike to elicit the information he wants to share, we also need someone who more closely mirrors Mike’s prospect.  And the perfect candidate is a former client who has been pleased with Mike’s work and is willing to talk about it on camera. This is the necessary counterpoint to Mike’s overview of his services. Not only are we going to get the buyer’s point of view, but we’re also going to elicit a testimonial from this happy client.  Testimonials are social proof -the truth about you told by your ideal customers. And we’re also going to film the whole production in the former client’s home -which was completely remodeled by Mike.

Here’s the result: Mike’s brand video, which after 6 years, is still on his website helping to convert prospects into happy repeat clients.

After the first 18-months of measuring website and video engagement, we found over 90% of Mike’s new clients visited his website before making initial contact, and over 80% of those visitors had viewed his brand video.  And here’s the big win, after the first 18-months Mike’s new leads also went up 25%, with profits increasing by 20% year-over-year.

Our process is what sets us apart from our competitors.  We understand we have to drill down and discover the intricacies of what makes your business unique.  Our process, at once, earns and respects this intimacy. Your trust is what consistently allows us to address your most pressing business needs.  And with this shared understanding, you can be sure we’ll ably develop your concept and write the right script for your business -every time.