A creative process guide for customer experience videos

We all understand why it's a good idea to use video in CX (and what not to do!), so let's take a closer look at the process of creating a customer experience video . It involves a lot of strategic thinking, but with a little consideration for your customer and some careful planning, you'll be on your way to making compelling, engaging content that greatly improves your brand's CX. 

Who will make your CX videos?

Before you begin, you have to figure out who's going to create your video. We talked about this briefly in the last section but we’ll go into more detail here. You have two primary options: going with an outside agency or producing it with your own team, in-house. 

The perceived advantage of an agency, of course, is that hypothetically, you can send your wish list to them and get back a CX video perfectly tailored to your needs. 

While that sounds great on the surface, there are a few drawbacks. 

One is that first, you need to identify the right agency which can be a time-consuming and costly process. You'll have to vet each agency properly to ensure they do high-quality work. If they don't? You'll end up spending additional funds having them fix it or finding someone else to do it for you. 

The second issue is that no external agency can understand your organization's unique mission and needs like you do. They can ask you questions and try to put themselves in your shoes. But no one's going to possess the intimate understanding of your company that you have. 

Compare this to producing the video in-house. You save time by avoiding the process of selecting the right vendor. You can also save a substantial amount of money by not paying someone else to do what you can. If you have easy-to-use, intuitive video content management software in place to manage your CX videos, you can easily create and manage video in-house. 

Again, no one "gets" what you do like your own team. Keeping your CX video production internal ensures that you capture that subject matter expertise without having to break the bank. 

The solution is simple: find the right software and produce your videos in-house. Remove the hassle of finding an entirely new crew to trust and go with the people who understand what you do best.

What do you want to say in the video? 

After you've figured out who you want to make your videos, you have to figure out what message you're trying to convey. This has to be done before you can begin production.

Starting the process of making a CX video without knowing what you want to say is like taking a road trip without knowing where you’re headed - you’re likely to waste a lot of time and money. You need to have a clear message in mind throughout the entire process. There are several questions you could ask to determine what this is: 

• What audience are you trying to reach? Who is your trainee or customer? You can't figure out what you want to say without knowing who you want to say it to. Knowing who your audience is - and understanding them - will help guide you through the production process. It will inform your choices on what kind of video to make. 
•  What's your desired result for your audience? You've established who your viewer is. Now you need to determine exactly how watching this video will improve CX. When they're done watching the video, what action do you want them to take? If they’re an employee being trained, is it to come away more knowledgeable about a specific subject? If they’re a customer, Is it to make a purchase? Whatever the result, you need to know this going in. You also need to understand how your audience best consumes information and match the format of your video accordingly. 
•  Does your message align with your brand's mission and objectives? You could make the world's greatest CX video, but if it doesn't reinforce your company's values, it won't do you much good. Make sure that as you develop your content that the messaging, production value, tone, and style all align with your company's set of values and its established brand. Otherwise, you may draw criticism from your company's leadership after you launch, end up with confused employees...or even worse, confused customers. 

Once you've established your message, think of the tone you want to achieve. It can be funny, uplifting, melancholy, or educational. The important thing is that it fits with your messaging. This will help inform your video's premise. After that, you should develop a script, or at the very least a rough outline that promotes your message in a concise yet engaging way. Remember to write your script based on your limitations and budget. 

Where will you shoot and edit?

You know who's making your video and you know what you want to say. You have a killer concept and you've got everything needed to make it come to life.Now you have to figure out where you'll shoot and edit the video. For shooting, you'll need to find a location that A) accurately reflects the setting you want to portray in your video and B) you have access to. For example, if you're recording a CX video showing off your business's convenient location, you'll want to use exterior and interior shots of your facility. 

The best place to film? It might surprise you, but this is often your very own office. Setting up your own office studio is actually rather easy. With a minimal amount of space and the right equipment, you can turn your own facility into the exact location you need to create a winning CX video. 

Once you've wrapped on shooting your video, you'll need to edit it. Do you have an editing bay with the right software needed to splice up your footage? Do you have a large monitor and crystal clear speakers to help you sync the audio with the video? 

Editing your CX video can be as big a part of the process as any of the aforementioned pieces. It's one last chance to make it as tight as possible, telling your story in the most effective way without an ounce of fat left on your finished product. 

Once you've edited the video, you'll need to consider the following: 

• Where will you store the finished product? Know that the cost of available storage is high, so it may help to use frame-accurate proxy streams that allow for archiving as well as reduced storage costs. 
• How do you plan to share and promote it? 
• Who needs to see it for final approval before you can promote it to your customers? 

When's the best time to create CX videos? 

Right now! The better-trained your employees are and the more content you can give your customer, the better experience you can help create for them. And, the better their experience, the more they’re likely to buy! As CX-focused content - video, in particular - becomes more and more popular, you don't want to be left behind. Start thinking of creative ways to tell stories around your brand and message that will help strengthen your customer's experience. 

Key takeaways

• While it may be tempting to use an agency for video production, there are huge advantages to in-house creatives if you’re planning on making lots of video.
• Knowing what you want to say and achieve, as well as who your audience will be is essential before you start.
• ·Making sure that the messages you want to convey align well with your brand and company values will create a consistent experience for customers.
• ·Shooting and editing in your office premises can be easier than you think – and save you lots of time and money if you’re planning on making lots of videos.