The Hidden Costs of Making Explainer Videos
When a company offers to create an explainer video for your business, they don’t always mention all the additional costs of their services until after the creation process has begun. That is why we’re going to dive into the truth about explainer videos and all the hidden costs associated with them.
It is important to ask a lot of questions upfront before hiring a company to create your explainer videos. If you don’t ask questions, then you may agree to a lot of things that you don’t need or want. Salespeople are very clever in getting customers to agree to extra services, but without mentioning their costs upfront. Don’t make the mistake of falling into this trap. Ask questions until you have a clear picture of everything involved in the deal, such as the costs.
A salesperson of the company might give you a price and an estimated time of delivery. This could be a package deal which is supposed to have “everything” included in it. But the word “everything” could mean something different than what you think it means. Therefore, you must learn which questions to ask and how to uncover the truth about the hidden expenses of explainer video creation services.
Amendments and Revisions
You may be given an initial price by the company which captures your attention, but does it give you everything? A lot of these initial offerings do not include amendments and revisions to the video in case you are not happy with something in it. The company may try to charge you the full price each time you want an amendment made. Even if it’s not full price, it could still be a substantial price for an amendment.
Naturally, you expect the price you pay to include a perfect outcome. But that is not always going to be the case. What’s worse is that you may not have total creative control over the video. This could force you to think about your finances more than the video content.
For this reason, you should search for deals where you have the creative freedom to amend what you want without paying extra for it. You also don’t have to worry about finding another creator to understand your idea and make the amendments you need to be done.
When you initially try to describe your requirements for the explainer video on paper, it may be interpreted differently by the company’s creators. That is why amendments usually need to be made in the end. So, you want to make sure they have a fair amendment offer where you get free amendments until you’re happy with the outcome.
Delivery Time
You may be in a situation where you need your explainer video completed quickly before a big event or conference. Perhaps your boss is giving you less than a week to get it made. This gives you a limited amount of time to not only find a reputable company, but to also find a reputable company that can complete your explainer video within a short timeframe.
However, there may be additional costs associated with speedy deliveries. Are you willing to pay those costs?
As you talk to different companies, inform them of all your requirements upfront. That way, they’ll give you an estimated price quote that accommodates your time requirements too. Because time is money, you can expect a higher price quote for a delivery that needs to be done faster than usual.
Just ask the question, “What are your additional fees for faster delivery of the work?”
Styles
When you look at the homepage of a company’s website, you’ll see all their best work and accomplishments on display. That may give you a great first impression of their skills and abilities, but it won’t tell you the whole truth about their past work.
Don’t assume their initial offer to you will include everything you see on their homepage. Sometimes a “tier system” is offered that has different prices to accommodate different styles available.
At this point, you should be asking all sorts of questions. If you want to see more examples of their past work, then ask for them upfront. They should not hesitate to give them to you. Once you see these examples, you’ll have a better idea of knowing whether their video creation style will suit your needs. And if their style is appropriate, do they charge a fair price for their services?
Ask: Do you have any examples of your past work to show me? How much did you charge your clients to make these videos?
You must ask yourself all these questions before striking a deal.
Sound
Each company will likely have a different offer when it comes to sound and music. Any good company will provide royalty-free music, voiceovers, and/or sound effects. Wyzowl, for example, has some great voiceover options like this. Look at their options carefully and ask them any questions you may have about them.
Great graphics cannot do everything alone. You need great quality sound to ensure the videos are powerful for people. When you enquire about the costs, ask the company: “Does your price include royalty-free music and voiceovers?”
Personal Time
Do not assume that you can just request for a company to make you an explainer video and then forget about it for weeks until they’re finished. A company won’t handle everything about your explainer video project on their own. It will require you to consume some of your own personal time as well.
For instance, the company’s video creators will want to ask for your feedback on their progress along the way. After all, they want to make sure they’re not wasting their time by creating a video you won’t like. They’ll ask for feedback in order to make edits that will satisfy your needs.
Therefore, you need to reserve time in your schedule to devote toward offering feedback on the project. Ask the company, “How often will you need me to provide feedback?”
Quality
On most e-commerce websites, shoppers have the option to filter the item listings from highest to lowest price or from lowest to highest price. The latter is often more popular because people want to see the lowest-priced items first. Unfortunately, the lowest priced items are usually the lowest quality items too.
This logic also applies to explainer video creation companies. If you find a company which offers a low price for their services, they most likely charge extra for amendments because they know you’re probably not going to be happy with their creation the first time out. This is how they make their real money.
The cheapest quote doesn’t always mean it is the best quote. Just remember that. What you should be focused on is their timeframe for delivery and any additional costs associated with their work, such as the resources they need or the extra staff that needs to be hired. Once you find out all the hidden costs involved, you will receive a more accurate quote. If it is still cheap, then maybe they are worth considering.
Positive Reputation and Reviews
These days, anyone looking to book a hotel room will go on Tripadvisor and search for hotel reviews first. So, why should it be any different when looking for the right company to create your explainer videos?
Before you hire any company to create your explainer videos, check out their customer reviews first. Think about whether bad reviews for a company will make you look somewhere else. But are you willing to pay more money to hire a highly reputable company with lots of positive reviews? If you’re on a lower budget, would you be willing to hire a less reputable company?
It is always vital to conduct your own research on any company before you hire them. Visit their website and see some of their past work. Although, you must be careful about websites which might display someone else’s work. That is why asking questions about the specific details of the videos is important. Ask them to describe their video creation process and the costs involved in producing it. Most importantly, ask about who actually works on their projects.
If their answers have still not convinced you of their authenticity, try communicating with the clients of their past projects and ask them directly about their experience with the company. This is really the best way to get the truth about the company’s integrity, honesty, and skill level.
In order to find these clients, you should flat out ask the company to provide you with their name and possibly even their contact information. A truly reputable company with nothing to hide should not have a problem providing this information unless the client does not want their information shared.
Conclusion
Inovit offers a comprehensive service to customers. Every second of each video is set at one fixed price. This is what we’ve always offered to customers from the beginning. They are entitled to unlimited revisions and turnarounds on a fixed price system.
Big companies should not be the only ones to take advantage of explainer videos. Businesses of all sizes have the right to access them.
In closing, always remember to ask questions to a company before you hire them to create your explainer videos. If you’d like a free checklist of important questions to ask, then you can find it here. As you talk with the company representatives, write down their answers next to the questions on the checklist.