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What finer way to sell your company than to let your delighted customers and clients do it for you on DVD or web stream?!
It doesn't matter what you sell, or the product or service you provide. Everybody has customers, and these customers can clinch deals for you.
The question is how to package and use testimonials in a video or DVD.
Packaging customer testimonial videos
Customer testimonials can form all or part of your company video.
Short client testimonial soundbites work particularly well as streamed video on the web, as they add credibility to the message on the page.
Individual testimonial video clips can also be deployed in company presentations such as powerpoint or multimedia.
You can intercut testimonials from different clients to produce a short testimonial video, a compilation of the best clips edited to form a short interesting story.
Or you can use testimonials as part of a larger video production, perhaps as proof of business or product claims in your Scope & Capability video.
Client video testimonials - Key Pointers
Here are some key pointers when producing customer testimonial video:
Customers will often agree to appear in your business testimonial video, but experience shows that they can be choosy about the time date and place of their video appearance.
For example while it may be possible to shoot 4 clients inside one day by traveling to their premises if they're local, it can often mean 3 days of short days shooting to accommodate different wishes for time and place.
In theory there's no logical reason for for this, but many years experience has shown it to be so.
The impact is to ensure you budget for the extra days filming to accommodate convenient times for customers to be available to shoot.
When you do this, and allow for a full day rate cost for the video crew, as crews charge by the day even if they only shoot for half a morning.
Clients have 2 key issues when it comes to being filmed:
> They want to look good on camera
> They want to be certain they don't say anything that later looks inappropriate
Here are some approaches to these client concerns about appearing in your testimonial video:
Making the client look good on video
First off you need to use a video crew that knows how to put a client at ease. This usually means using experienced testimonial video crew, who can handle people in a tactful, confidence-boosting and smart way.
Often the camera operator (still called the cameraman by some people) will remain mostly silent during the shoot, while the director will do any talking required.
Of course you can shoot the testimonials yourself with the aid of a colleague using the camera, or hire a professional camera operator to accompany you. But you're taking a risk, as any blemish in the subsequent camera performance will annoy the client, either secretly, or vocally to you afterwards.
A smart colourful location at the client premises is best, as this forms a quality backdrop.
An alternative to the "MD and potted plant" syndrome is to shoot the client against a portable green screen. This allows the client to be later dubbed during post production against a graphic corporately styled background.
This is often the route of choice as it looks more impressive and dynamic than actual premises.
As well as video footage of the client speaking to camera, or an invisible fly on the wall interviewer, it's useful to shoot additional footage of them in meetings or talking to your staff / account managers / customers.
This extra video footage can be dubbed over them while they talk. It shows them "in action".
This is especially useful if the subject isn't very photogenic.
For example, a fat or wrinkly person, or one with crooked teeth, might feel sensitive about their appearance, and while they're happy to speak in your favour on film, they don't relish seeing themselves. So dub footage of them "in action" over their close ups. This will almost always make them look better in the finished video.
The client can also be reassured that post production will make them look more attractive.
For example, teeth can be whitened, pale skin given a tan, wrinkles smoothed, and a subtle halo applied.
It's often better to shoot the client standing up, and to film them before lunch as they'll project much better than they would if they were sitting down in a comfortable on a bellyful of food.
Lastly, making your client look good in your testimonial video will add to their credibility with your customers.
Ensuring the right things get said in the testimonial video
Two things will help ensure this more than any other:
1 - Send the client a proper written questionnaire in advance of the video shoot
2 - Assure the client that they will have full editorial control, ie, they see the footage of themselves prior to release of the video. And they are invited to make any amends they see fit, free of quibble. Allow for any time this may take in your video production schedule.
When developing the questionnaire, think of as many questions as you can.
Each question can be phrased in two ways:
1 - On the feeling level, eg, How do you feel about our service? What do you think of our staff? Do you feel they perform as specified?
2 - On the mental level, eg, What do you think of our service? What do you think about our staff? Do you think they perform as specified?
Ask both ways, as you'll find some interviewees respond better to feeling questions while others to mental questions.
Never assume simply they'll want to answer question in the way that you personally might prefer yourself.
No matter how many questions are asked, no matter how much praise has been solicited previously, always end on "finally, what's the best thing you can say about our company?"
Time and again a high note response is obtained. They say what they really think in an emotional and convincing way. The last question is often the best.
It's always very helpful to ask the client to repeat the question you ask them before they reply, as this will make a big difference to the editor downline in the video studio.
Always make sure the client has the testimonial video questionnaire a few days in advance of the shoot - minimum.
And when you arrive, don't discuss the questions with the client until the camera is rolling. This way you get a fresh reaction that doesn't look contrived.
These simple guidelines will maximise the testimonial video opportunity your client has so kindly given you, whether for mpeg, wmv, flash video stream, or full-on DVD.
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