Today we’re going be be talking about the importance of testing everything in your video business. But why should you test everything?

Setting up a video production business entails a lot of things to consider. Likely, you have the talent and skills to make fantastic videos.

But, do you know what and how you can best set yourself apart from the many other video production companies out there, with the same general business objective as yours?

Why Do You Need to Test Everything?


We generally live in a very visual age, which also includes a whole plethora of videos, in different formats, from music videos, to trailers, vlogs to commercials.

Videos are also very mainstream and has been included as a necessity for events like product promotions, special events, and weddings.

With the skill and talent, who wouldn’t want to take part in this, and make a business out of it as well?

Some companies tend to have an initial niche, and then try to expand and diversify their business in an attempt to reach a larger customer base. This may not be a bad thing, but they may find themselves doing less projects on what they’re passionate about, and more projects focused around what they never considered their niche to be.

That may not always be a bad thing. But, as a person with many creative ideas, are you ready to have a complete shift in direction and perspective to keep your business alive? I, for one, don’t think that way. I definitely would like to still keep my creative juices in an area I have chosen to focus on.

At this point, you have already seen a glimpse of the potential competition out there. After knowing this much, the next typical question should be, “How can I set myself apart from everyone else?”

If you want to be successful, and I’m pretty sure that is the one of the reasons that brought you to this post, you could get to know a few tips and tricks that can both speed up the success of your business, and give you a better idea to continue to still have good business in the future.

In order to keep evolving your video business, you’re going to need to start testing things. We’ll cover different aspects that you should focus on testing in just a minute. But know this: the testing process starts…and then never ends. It’s a constant process of testing and then improving. Everything.



The Things You Need to Test


Here are a few things I can suggest that may lead you in the right direction on getting to the right customer base, and knowing what they are looking for.

1. Research the Market


In the beginning of your business venture, a lot of thought and research needs to go into how you would like your video production business to look like, act and what you want to work on.

It helps to start with identifying who would be your clientele, and what kind of profile they have, and a sense of what they would like their videos to be like.

For example, if you want to focus on creating music videos, look into your existing network. Stretch it out as far as you can to musicians and bands.

Get into a conversation with them, and understand what their needs are. Their real needs. Most people, especially those people who already have some idea in their heads to create a video, may be very willing to talk to you about their ideas.

You may want to be ready to ask them a set of questions that are relevant to your business like:

• Are they making it a priority to make a music video?
• How much money are they willing to spend to make this video real?
• Do they already have a concept in mind, or is there an existing video that they would like to base their ideas on?
• Are they already talking to other video production houses?

With this information, you may drill down to who your potential competition already is, and have an idea of the profile of clients you may be potentially working with in the near future.

After all, every client we work with, we learn more about the next clients. This is a constant and ever-evolving process.



2. Entering the Market in the Right Way


How do you want to enter the market, and promote your video production company?

Again, if your focus is on creating music videos, perhaps look into being engaged with the local music scene, and get to know musicians and their managers. Connecting very closely to your market can already get you a lot of leads.

So instead of sitting around wondering why those leads aren’t coming to you, get out there and go to them!

It helps that you try to communicate with them naturally, and look into similar interests, like your common love for music and entertainment, if that is the field you want to enter.

Generally, many people want to work with something they are passionate about. Take wedding videographers, for example – a lot of the time, they skew to the sentimental side who enjoy emotive events like weddings, and want to help capture these special events in an artistic and creative way.

This is where the passion for what you love can also come out and work to your advantage as well. With having that same foundation for passion: music, events, certain products, it is a good base point for connection. And people tend to feel more comfortable with someone they are able to connect with better.



3. Have some unique quality


It’s important to think about how you can be set apart from others.

Early on, when the drone first came out, many video production companies jumped in early before the rest and invested in drone equipment. This immediately set them apart as trendsetters who were doing something more dynamic with the video.

That definitely caused a strong buzz and, right now, it seems like a necessity to have drone / aerial shots (if the project requires it, of course).

And those first video production companies who initiated it all still have a name that stands out for being the innovative video production companies before the rest of the pack followed on.



4. Test the Market


Now that you have your unique value proposition, check again with your network if that is something they can get onboard with.

We are now focusing more on sales here, and trying to really lock down deals. Pitch your ideas and propose them to potential clients, informing them about what you are offering.

Test their reactions to your proposals and then reiterate from there, throwing out the bad and keeping the good. It’s a constant process of development, where you gradually improve on everything as you go.

Highlight that value proposition and see if they will get locked in and get engaged with your proposal.

Not everyone will share the same feelings on an idea as you, but don’t let this get your down. You haven’t lost them yet.

In fact, use this also as another opportunity. If your potential client may not be too enthusiastic with your ideas, you can definitely expand your idea, tweak your proposition, and try to get to know more about what they are looking for.

The questions starting with ‘what if’ can help move the direction of your proposal towards something they are more amenable to.

On the business strategy side of these conversations, take note of these tweaks, and then you can make it a part of your whole business concept, and incorporate this into your marketing material. For example, your demo reel, website and other methods that are used to promote your video production business.



5. Get Started


Now that you have done some research, identified your niche and your ideal target market, you are ready to launch your business!

Everyone has to start from the beginning, but with following these tips before you open shop can already put you in a better position than many other newbies out there!

You already get to avoid many pitfalls that startup businesses have, like investing in too much equipment that has little to no value in the business, going completely way off from the initial intent and objective with your initial business idea, or even not building a network around what you’re doing.


Test Everything – In Conclusion


Testing everything is important for any company, as business is an ever-evolving process. Things might be flowing in the right direction one minute, but then take a detour from that the next.

Learning where you’re at with your business is integral to success. You learn by testing and then reiterating your processes and systems based on the tests you did and the results they gave you.

You have to remember though, that these steps can’t work if you try to cut a lot of corners, speed things up, and take some short cuts by missing a step or two.

Going through all these steps in the beginning is a good exercise for gaining the right traction for your business. And, later on, you will have to think about going back to this to further refine and stay afloat as your business naturally evolves.

The methods and trends that worked 5 years ago may not still be unique today. The aforementioned drone technology, for example – now, everyone and his uncle has a drone! It was amazing two years ago, but now, every video production company has to have one just to survive.

Technology spews out so many new products all the time, and so you have to also keep your creative juices alive and active. But, really, that’s the real beauty of having your own video production business!

So, remember to test everything, especially in the very early stages of your video business.

We hope this article on why you should test everything in your business has been helpful to you. Do you have experience with testing things in business? Let us know in those comments below.


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