When is okay to go low-end on the production value?
You run the risk of damaging your brand or business with a cheap and not very cheerful video and if you were quoted a price out of your budget and tried to compromise and cut costs. It’s probably your fault.
Your brand values and your audience should always be at the forefront of your decision making. Think to yourself if you were your ideal customer what level of professionalism would you expect from a video? Take a look at your competitors videos. Send examples to a production company, be open to discussing your budget and probably you won’t be disappointed.
When trying to decide on how much to invest in video ask yourself these questions
Can I do it in-house myself?
Do we have the skills?
Have we got the equipment?
If the answer is definitely no, then you need to start looking for a reputable company to take on the project for you. If you have limited funds or very little budget for a good quality video it might be wise to use your money in other ways to market yourselves.
A bad video will break trust with your audience, if it looks unprofessional then so will you. The money you spend will be wasted and the video will work in the opposite way it was intended. You are at risk of scaring off potential customers before they even consider you by undermining your business or brands integrity.
If you have a fairly reasonable budget to spend on video but not an extortionate amount that some companies can afford, being open about your limits and hashing out your ideas with a good video production company could be the answer. They should have plenty of ideas on how to lower costs and still produce a good quality video.
When speaking with production companies it is important to be transparent. That means laying out your budget so the company can accurately show you where the money will go for each video and how much your money is worth. I know it might sound silly revealing your budget early on in fear of being over charged because you have the available funds but remember - it is your video. You have the final say when it comes to spending, it is good to have some money to work with but you don’t need to spend it all. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and add suggestions, good companies will work with you and well within your limits.
Take a look at our infographic below to get a better idea of where money goes on a production before it has even started shooting.