Polish up your video presentation skills to help engage customers with our 10-point checklist. We look at key elements that engage the customer from start to finish which can help with positive ratings and feedback.
1: Check the sound quality
The best-looking video of the most desirable car in the world is ineffective if the customer can’t hear the information you’re giving them. Explore using a microphone, like the iRig Mic Cast, to ensure you’re coming through loud and clear, and consider the use of a windjammer in windy outdoor environments. For CitNOW customers, you can also make use of Clarity powered by Dolby.io to block out any background noise.
2: Lights, camera, action
Every car looks better when it’s recorded in a well-lit area that shows off its features more clearly. When making a sales video, try to find a go-to area that can be used regularly. One that benefits from plentiful natural light (if outdoors), or where lighting can be set up (if indoors). For workshop videos, where the underside of the car and specific parts need close-up shots, make sure these areas are sufficiently lit prior to recording – and use a torch if you need a bit of extra light to show something.
3: Finish how you started
Whatever the main focal point of the video is, it should be the first and last thing the customer sees, so that their attention is grabbed at the start, and so a positive impression is left with them at the end. For a sales video, this could be the car in question, or even yourself if personally responding to a customer’s enquiry. For workshop videos, the front of the car being worked on is a good starting point, then finishing on the same point at the back of the vehicle. Even showing yourself as well, if you wanted to, would be a nice touch.
4: Preparation is everything
When it comes to delivering great service to customers, it’s the little things that can make the difference. They’re often overlooked, but there’s always room for attention to detail. Before you press record, make sure that the area being filmed is free of litter, tools or any other unnecessary items, and for a sales video, that the car is clean. Alongside this, make sure you’ve remembered the customer’s name and the key information they’re looking for, so that you can readily mention it when recording.
5: Give them a call to action
No video is complete without a sign-off that encourages the viewer to undertake the next stage in the process, such as booking a test drive, applying for finance, placing a deposit or agreeing to repairs. Consider what the right sign-off should be for every video you record, and make sure there can be no doubt in the customer’s mind what they need to do or what happens next.
6: Add some professional touches
On top of meticulous preparation before recording a video, there’s plenty you can do to enhance its quality and professionalism both during and after filming. For example, try using a tripod to mount the camera so that it stays stable, and utilise the Multipart function within CitNOW to stitch different sections of a sales video together.
7: Take another look
Just like re-reading your CV to make sure there are no nasty spelling mistakes, it’s always important to check over finished videos before sending them to the customer. Watch each video carefully and listen to your content, in order to make sure that all the information the customer is looking for is both present and correct.
8: Make use of your equipment
When putting together a workshop video, clear visuals are the key – and not only when focusing on particular parts such as tyres and brake pads. Use the tools at your disposal such as tyre tread depth gauges to add a visual element to your explanations, and help give the viewer the clearest possible picture around the condition of their vehicle.
9: Boost your ratings
Positive feedback and high ratings can do so much more than make you feel good: they can demonstrate to your managers that you’re doing a great job, which can sometimes generate financial rewards. Don’t forget to ask customers to rate the videos you send them – the more feedback you get, the better you’ll understand how good your videos are, and potentially where you can make improvements.
10: Get the vital measurements
Every video you make and send through CitNOW generates useful data that can help guide your approach with customers and find out which tactics work best. Make sure you regularly check your video stats to see which customers watched their videos, view your average ratings, and understand the success of your videos in detail. You can even turn on CitNOW’s Notify feature in the dashboard, to get an email as soon as a video has been watched.
Download these tips as a PDF »
The CitNOW team have created a variety of resources to help you get even more from your Sales and Workshop videos, including some handy tutorial videos. Take a look at our YouTube playlists for Workshop and Sales to get even more expert tips that can transform your next recordings.
