Everyone always talks about adding value, but what does that really mean? How do you do that? What does it look like? Today, I’m breaking down what it means when someone says you should add value to your clients and three tried and true ways to do so.
#1: Create an Organized Workflow (when/if the client doesn’t have one)
One of our very large clients, SharkNinja (known for the best vacuums and blenders out there), is a huge company with thousands of employees that produce products in 50 different categories. We shoot how-to videos for a lot of these product releases and, in turn, work with several different production, product, marketing, and brand teams.
Organizing all of that over the last year got to be so complicated that a lot of dates were getting missed, we weren't able to get the information we needed on time, and the work was suffering. So, we created a workflow project management document that kept track of invoices, product dates, when we were going to get things delivered, and when we were going to do our walkthroughs so that we could create and schedule a cadence for every single production to follow.
We shot over 70 videos for them this past year and were able to deliver things on time and maintain really, really good quality. That was instrumental, and in turn, they renewed us for 2025. The team thanked us for how seamless the HTV productions have been, and it has to do with how we were uniquely able to add value by looking at the problem and finding a solution.
#2: Go The Extra Mile On the House
One of our other big clients, Fjällräven, is a huge company out of Sweden that makes the best backpacks in town. This year, we produced a billboard for them in Times Square which was a huge deal for the company and a huge deal for us. When I heard that they were going to send someone to get iPhone footage of the billboards, I told them that I would fly out there to shoot it because I wasn’t going to let them be the person at the wedding who posts the bride and groom walking down the aisle after getting married…from their iPhone.
So, I flew out there, brought a nice equipment set up and photographed, shot video, and documented the whole process of their billboard and sent it to them on the house because we love them and they're a huge client of ours. They're fantastic people and a great brand, and going that extra mile puts us in their ecosystem and embeds us in their culture. Dare I say makes us a part of the fam and more than anything, shows that we care because we do care about them and how they're functioning as a company.
#3: Get Inside Your Client’s Ecosystem
We worked with the team at Dr. Bronners (you may know them for their multi-use soaps) to shoot their new chocolate line which is launching soon(!). The brand has a very spiritual, esoteric vibe that we wanted to lean into during our shoot, so we decided to bring in a sound header and do a sound bath during lunch. Everyone from their team and our team got to lie down and enjoy a 15-minute guided sound meditation with crystal bowls. This was significant because it allowed us to show them that, hey, we see you, we’re listening to you, and we understand what kind of company you are. We put ourselves into their arena and got to go on that journey together. It was really special and a huge hit among their team and the rest of the company.
This is another great example of adding value – be memorable and commit to the greater good, make sure relationships are being built, and find creative ways to ensure productions run smoothly for everyone involved.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for ways to add value, these are real-world ways that we’ve seen come back to us tenfold. They come from a genuine place of doing things that we want to do because we want to connect with our clients in a meaningful and memorable way.
Comments