Do you have a best friend that can finish your sentences? Someone who “really gets you”? When you’re talking with this person, you feel as if you can read each other’s minds – it’s almost magical. This is the kind of relationship you want with your video production company. This should be a true partnership and this team needs to “get you”.

To have this relationship, you need to find the right partner, and work at the relationship once it’s established.  We want to help you find the right video partnership, so below are 8 tips for finding the relationship that gets you results.

1. Consider going local. If you are located away from the big city, consider hiring from your community or one that’s nearby. Remember, a big city company has big city rent to pay. Local producers might have better pricing and may be able to give you more personalized attention. Besides, going local could help the local economy. What better way to get noticed? 

2. Look at their work samples thoroughly. Does what they have on their website or social media pages look like something you would want for your company? If you are not seeing what you like, or you’re concerned about quality, don’t be afraid to ask for other samples. If you’re evaluating a local company, compare their samples with that of a big city company. There may be little to no difference in quality of the visual and audio elements in their available samples, so don’t be afraid to dig deeper into their sample library.  (Here’s an example of one such library)

3. Align your needs and strategy with your company’s marketing needs. What messages do you want out there? And where is out there? Where will these videos be seen?  What context makes most sense for your message? The video production company should be asking you these questions.  If they’re not, you might want to find another partner.

4. Consider buying in bulk. There’s a reason places like Costco exist. Sometimes buying in bulk makes financial sense. If you know you want a series of videos, as part of an overall marketing plan, then you should ask about different pricing options. You should expect to save some money when you’re willing to commit to a number of video projects over the course of 6 or 12 months.

5. Be ready to discuss your project in depth. The more you know about what you want, the more likely you’ll get what you want from the company you choose. Makes sense, right?  But you must be able to articulate your wants and needs! Be prepared to spend some time with initial conversations.  Remember, it is in the production company’s best interest to be clear on what you want before they start, rather than having to start over mid-project. If you are not sure about your video project or goals, ask if a video strategy is part of the package you’re buying.

6. Talk about your business. In order for a video production company to develop effective visual messages about your business they have to understand what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. They need to know your company’s image and how you want it to be perceived.

7. Have a plan for measuring success and ROI. Ask yourself this question, how will you measure success of your video project? How will you know when you’ve achieved a return on your video investment? Then ask the video production company. They should be able to clearly articulate how they deliver insights and discuss results.

8. Once you get going, get advice on future projects. Once you’ve got projects completed and you’ve developed a release schedule, make sure your video team is willing to help you with more than data points. Interpreting data as it aligns with your business is key to giving you solid advice on where to invest future video dollars.

Having a clear understanding of your needs and goals for video will help in establishing a valuable partnership with the right video production team. The stronger your relationship is, the deeper understanding you both gain about your strategy, goals and success. You’ll notice a shift in conversation from what the video looks like to what the video accomplishes. You might even finish each other’s sentences.

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Don’t just hire “video guys” for your next video production in Chicago