Why should I invest in video testimonials when money is tight?
Because it would be money well spent on your front line sales and marketing people, which is where growth will be generated. Against a recessionary backdrop when business is scarce and competition fierce converting what business there is becomes even more important.
Reputation Selling will give your sales and marketing teams video clips of customer testimonials, which they can use to resolve customer objections and in so doing attain higher sales conversion rates. Also, using video testimonials on your website will make it more informative to prospects when they are thinking of finding out more about your service.
Investment in sales and marketing is where the money should go in these difficult times. Pay back is likely to come after a few months when you witness; more frequent use of video testimonials being included in powerpoint sales presentations and better conversion rates from prospects to paying customers. You will also be in a better position to take advantage of an easier trading environment. See our prices page for more.
Could I get video testimonials cheaper from a local video cameraman?
Yes you could but there would be areas that this approach would not give. Your video cameraman will probably not have the sales and marketing experience and business focus that we can provide. We can easily see how testimonials would fit into your sales strategy and shape their content accordingly. Remember that our focus is on improving sales effectiveness and we use video testimonials as a means to that end not an end in itself.
A local cameraman will also be unable to provide the extra support you will need; embedding video testimonials into the company's existing sales processes; providing high impact training for sales professionals aimed at helping them get the most from testimonials. See our training page for more.
Why not DIY video testimonials?
Yes of course you can, many people do but try it out before you make a decision. Do-it-yourself quality of online videos are viewable on many websites, they look DIY and reflect badly on the professionalism of the website and company. If you wish to experiment you'll need the equipment, a decent HD camera, lighting and sound kit, which are all pretty good quality and affordable these days. Next you will need to get your customers lined up and agree the video purpose and content, which will take a fair chunk of time from your diary before you even start filming.
So you are now at the filming stage. You set up and at the same time welcome your customer and brief them. You may need help for this from one of your staff. The camera rolls and you double check all the camera settings and lighting. Once satisfied you ask questions about the customer's experience of dealing with your company. You then move on to the editing stage, this will take a lot of care and time to get right, can you afford it? This stage is where your video clip can turn out to be ordinary or great.
Do-it-yourself is definitely an option but consider the factors you need to take into account.
- Valuable time away from your working day to set up, film, edit and re format as well as looking after the customer during the process.
- Filming and editing expertise that you probably don't have.
- Cost of photography equipment; our cameras, lighting and sound kit cost £000s
- The bottom line - can you afford the time and money? can you afford to take the risk on quality of video? can you match video testimonials to your sales process?
How can Reputation Selling work when winning business is all about price ?
It probably won't. If your go-to-market strategy is solely price-based, then Reputation Selling with video clip testimonials is of lower added-value. However, if your go-to-market strategy is based on value, complexity and promoting intangible benefits, then video-enabling will allow you to increase the added-value element of your service. Reputation Selling will enhance your service and make it even more tangible and desirable to potential customers. See the sales process page for more.
What if the customer does not want to be videoed?
This rarely happens but if it does you could try another way - use a reporting approach similar to what you would see on BBC TV News. So if you have selected a customer who has the right things to say but does not want to be interviewed we would use one of our team to act as a reporter quoting comments from the customer. Where possible we would show the service in action on the client's premises to convey more information.
How will this affect the relationship with the customers being interviewed?
It will strengthen it and you will get more insights to their business. In our experience filming testimonials with top customers has a number of advantages. It is usually an enjoyable and interesting experience for them, it provides an opportunity for you to engage with the customer, which previously might have been a rare occurrence. The relationship strengthens and that can lead to new and repeat business opportunities. Most importantly a strong relationship provides an excellent defense from competition.
What's in it for the customer being interviewed?
Recognition that they are a valued customer. Customers volunteering to make a testimonial will be sacrificing their time and this should be recognised by the client. The customer will also benefit from the stronger relationship with the client in terms of, for example, special offers, new product development or a new service or over-rider discount. The customer may also wish to use the video clips in their own marketing activities.
What about the costs of making changes to your website?
You may have to pay your website people to make the changes or they may do it as part of their service agreement with you. If you prefer we can take the hassle of managing online videos for you. For example, we can produce a replica page from your website on our servers and load up a library of your video clips. This means you don't have to worry about the work, effort and high cost of making changes to your website. Once loaded up your sales team can login into a secure customer area and download video clips from our web servers e.g. for there sales presentations. We can also take the hassle out of email campaigns and manage the whole process for you.
What is a video testimonial library?
It is a collection of short video clips that can be used for different sales campaigns and at different times. We put a lot of effort in to the design and filming day because our aim is to take enough video footage that can be edited into mini video clips with content that links to a particular service or product you are promoting.
This is where our skill and experience in sales and marketing pays off. When editing we know how to capture the most impactful comments and we know where they can be applied to your sales activity. We can build you a library of testimonial video clips and you would be able to use them in future sales campaigns.
What results can I expect if I go ahead with Reputation Selling?
Better sales performance and increased credibility. You will get a more informative and interactive website to attract prospects; you will notice that your sales team will be producing more engaging sales presentations; your top customers involved in giving testimonials will feel more valued; the period from contact to contract becomes shorter and conversion rates start to improve as customer objections to buying your service are minimised; you will also notice the relationship with involved customers gets stronger leading to new opportunities and referrals.
Why can't we make a video testimonial on YouTube for less?
Yes you can but the old adage is appropriate “you get what you pay for.” It is not just about the ability to point a camera and interview customers, it's about understanding the sales process and determining where best to video-enhance and then turn that into reality by 'managing' the film content and editing.
What's the difference between a typical sales training course and Reputation Selling?
Quite a lot really - short, sharp and sweet sums it up nicely. There is a wide range of traditional sales training courses available usually involving a face-to-face trainer over a 1 or 2 day period. With our experience of working in sales limiting the amount of time away from selling activities is crucial. Another factor is that sales people want impact and engagement combined with practical tools not burdened with over-blown theory.
Reputation Selling training focuses on those parts of the selling process where video clips of customer testimonials can add valueFor example, delegates will learn how to present them and use them to engage customers in their buying choice.
Our training is participative and delegates will leave with tools and techniques that they can apply immediately. We run 'learning shots' of no longer than half a day. We can integrate these sessions into your sales conferences and monthly team meetings. We add another feature too. We use actors to act out typical sales scenarios and to take the role of customer in role-plays. Participants play themselves so they don't have to get nervous about playing a part that they do not know. Our acting team brings typical challenging sales situations to life and they give delegates a chance to try out new skills.
If you have a diversely located sales team who do not meet up regularly we can provide virtual sales training sessions - online. We still use acted scenarios and we get delegates to do exercises around pulling out the learning from them. See our training page and team page.
How much does it cost?
About the same price as printing 5,000 leaflets or three laptops or perhaps promotional gifts. Our service is very affordable and costs much less than a full video production production company but delivers the same level of quality. Prices start at £750 plus VAT and for this you will get a library of one x 3 minute video clip that includes footage of your company's services plus two x 30 second bite size video clips.
That is just the video clip part of our service, we offer a lot more. Our primary aim is to help your business to grow its reputation and improve sales. Using testimonial video clips is a means to achieving this but not an end in itself. We draw on our experience in sales, marketing and people development to help businesses make maximum use of their website, their sales team and their e marketing campaigns. See our prices page