Capture Your Company’s Story in Video
By Steve Marsh
As we head into the busy spring-cleaning season, company owners must strategize how to capture the attention of a larger portion of consumers. One of the most effective ways to stand out from the crowd of competitors is to have a customized and branded company video on the homepage of your website.
Even with a well-developed website, consumers are taking a gamble when they schedule a job with a company. They don’t have any idea who actually will be coming to their home or what to expect when they arrive. A branded video on your website wields persuasive power by allowing the consumer to see an example ahead of time, showing what your technicians and vehicle look like. The way you will perform and interact at their home comes to life.
This reassuring knowledge places you at a huge advantage over your competitors who don’t have such a video. The peace of mind this type of video can provide is difficult to establish any other way.
Having a good video on your homepage also causes search engines, such as Google, to prioritize your website. This works because videos cause shoppers to spend more time interacting on your site. Google interprets this as a sign that your website is more valuable to consumers and, in turn, improves your page ranking score. Thus, your site moves closer to the top of consumer search results.
You can make your own video
You have the ability to create an outstanding video with just a smartphone, tripod, and simple video editing app. In this, the first of two articles, I will walk you through the preparation and filming stages of your video story. In my next article, I will take you through the process of producing and uploading the final product.
Finding a house location and model
The first step is to decide which of your primary services you want to highlight. For example, let’s say you choose wall-to-wall carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, and area rug cleaning. To demonstrate these services you will need access to a home with each of these items. It is best to select a house that looks slightly nicer than those in the target market you are actually trying to reach. It might work well to ask a customer if they would allow you to record video at their home in exchange for a free cleaning.
You also will need someone to act as the customer in the video. This will only be for video and not audio. They only need to act out the scenes and not worry about saying any specific lines. Usually a woman in her 40s to 50s works great.
Shooting the scenes
I highly recommend using a tripod to hold the camera during the video recording. A shaky video looks unprofessional. Before you shoot, take the time to make sure the area is tidy and neat with no distracting items. Check yourself, too: This video is supposed to make you look professional, not show the nitty gritty of actual cleaning, so make sure there are no rags hanging from your pocket. Limit how much is viewed in the video to keep the attention on what you are trying to demonstrate. In other words, zoom in on what is the focus of the scene.
Perform multiple takes to allow you to choose the one you think is best. Be sure to review your results before moving on to the next scene to ensure you are happy with what was recorded. Double check to make sure there are no distractions in the background of the videos.
The objective is to create a 60-90 second visual story of what it is like to use your company to perform cleaning services. Capturing about 10 seconds of footage for each of the following scenes should provide the makings of a good video.
1 | Vehicle arrival
Film your vehicle pulling up to the front of a house along with the tech quickly proceeding to the front door with a smile. If you do not have a branded vehicle in sparkling and good condition, skip this scene.
2 | Greeting
Capture the customer opening the door with a big smile to greet the cleaner. Consider shaking hands and handing the customer a business card. The customer should then signal the cleaner to come in.
3 | Inspection/ Measurement
This scene can either show how you measure the rooms to determine the pricing or show the tech consulting with the customer about the area rug or upholstery to be cleaned.
4 | Cleaning
Demonstrate application of the preconditioner and use of your primary carpet cleaning equipment. Limit cleaning equipment to the basics and avoid showing extra hoses, spotting bottles, and other tools.
5 | Spot cleaning
As part of your wall-to-wall demonstration, add this scene in which you act out the process of using your spot cleaning kit to remove a spot.
6 | Grooming
Perform the final carpet-grooming process.
7 | Upholstery cleaning
Demonstrate going through the process of spraying and agitating the upholstery preconditioner on a seat or back cushion of a sofa or chair. Follow this by using the cleaning tool to clean and extract the same piece. This scene will be made up of three clips quickly showing each of the actions.
8 | Area rug cleaning
For this scene you can either show the cleaning of the rug or rolling it up to be taken to the shop for cleaning.
9 | Closing bill with customer
This scene, along with the greeting, are the most important. It is critical to make eye contact with the customer during interactions. You can include reviewing the invoice and handing it to the customer. This can be followed by the tech smiling and shaking the customer’s hand or the customer, with a big smile, handing a check to the technician. This scene needs to convey the idea that the customer was thrilled to use the company.
Visit www.singletrucksuccess.com/video-examples to see an actual video shoot of these scenes along with additional information and tips.
Invest an hour
This entire video shoot should only take about an hour. With this small investment of time you can obtain video clips that can be turned into a great customized video. It is also possible to capture individual frames from the video clips that can be used as photos for your website and social media.
In my next article, I will walk you through the process of producing the final video and uploading it to your website. Following this plan will help you create a tool to give you a huge advantage over the competition.
Steve Marsh is a 40-year veteran of the carpet cleaning industry, an instructor, and a Senior Carpet Inspector. He helps home-service companies quickly establish profitable clienteles and then progress to serving higher-quality customers. To help companies achieve these goals, Marsh created the step-by-step programs Single Truck Success and Be Competition Free. For more information, visit www.professional-carpet-cleaning-service.com.