Let's talk about what makes a great client experience, and what better way to do that than to take you all the way through our process at Sunday Treat, starting right from the initial brief to post-production through the lens of our clients!
At Sunday Treat, the essential part of a good client experience is making our clients feel that everything is in hand and they can kick back and relax whilst we drive the process forward, and that’s why asking the right questions is so important. Our purpose is to nurture our client’s ideas efficiently yet uniquely, so during the initial briefing call, we aim to get as much detail as possible. What’s the video aiming to do? What’s the ultimate goal of the video? Covering bases from the initial call, such as budget considerations, timelines and how fully formed the brief is, is a great jumping-off point that lets us know the key priorities. Outlining the entire process for our clients with tools like Gantt charts for deadlines, one-pagers for key visual references, and estimates to ensure the budget is being adhered to are just a few of the ways we ensure this happens.
So, the brief has now been established, and the pre-production process can begin! Keeping our clients in constant communication throughout the pre-production process is essential in ensuring we’re always aligned on the creative vision. We love booking regular virtual meetings with our clients to keep them up to speed on progress alongside regular emails with updates. We always listen to any concerns, and through speedy communication, we can ensure doubts are addressed before they cause problems on the day of the shoot or later in post-production. Some examples of this communication can take the form of sharing a location deck with options in terms of space and budget, sending showreels of actors or voice-over artists, pencilling shoot dates that work for everyone involved and sending detailed call sheets with the plan of action for the day (most importantly, making sure everyone is happy with the catering onset!)
Great, so we have everyone up to speed about what will happen on the day of the shoot - now it’s lights, camera, action! It’s fantastic when our clients can join us on the day of the shoot. A monitor’s always available for them to oversee what the shot looks like. It’s a collaborative process, ensuring everything is being covered and helping us add anything that may not have been considered during the initial planning stages. Not only that, but we love getting to know our clients face-to-face! Whilst it’s great to have our clients on set with us, it’s not possible on occasion, whether due to proximity or a small location space. In this instance, we’ll always provide some method of communication on the day to make it feel like they’re in the room with us. Options could include using a live virtual feed to the monitor or something as simple as regular video updates on a WhatsApp chat.
Okay, so now the shoot is complete, and post-production can commence! We always like to have a debrief after the day of the shoot to check in on timelines and deliverables. Getting a date for the first draft is established alongside definitive deadlines we must know. “Are there any internal review deadlines for your marketing team?” “What date does the campaign go live?” “Is anyone going away on annual leave so we can ensure they get a voice in the edit process?” Things can often shift during the process, so it’s always good to make sure the initial deadlines discussed in the briefing sessions still stand, and if not, let’s devise another plan to reassess goals. This period is also a great time to understand how broken down our clients would like our post-production process to be. For example, are they happy for us to run with the first edit, putting our creative stamp on it so they can see it in its entirety? Or would they like a far more broken-down version where we start by providing the selects and transcripts so they can pick out their favourite moments?
We use a fantastic software called Frame.io for our edits, allowing our clients to comment on specific timestamps of the video directly. Efficient communication is essential to a good client experience, and this software allows us to ensure that no comment is missed or misunderstood. Our editor can tick these comments off as they go, and if there are any questions on a client comment, this is flagged to the account manager, who communicates it to the client. One thing we’re proud of at Sunday Treat is that we will keep going through the post-production process until our clients are 100% happy with the end product.
And that’s a wrap! The qualities that make up a good client experience can vary from one video agency to another, but for us, it’s all about effective communication taking the form of attention to detail in the initial brief, regular updates in the pre-production phase, open and honest communication on the shoot day, and finally a quick and efficient post-production phase. From the first chat to the final product, we aim to make every step easy, enjoyable, and, most importantly, all about them.
