Shopping for production services for your upcoming virtual event is not easy. With so many different cost structures and pricing models, it’s easy to focus on price.
But you know it’s more than that. After all, you are trusting your whole virtual event to an external company.
So how can you look beyond the price and find the production partner that will help you bring your vision to life?
We’ve narrowed it down to 6 elements and they are:
Vision, Focus, Expertise, Process, Offer, Price
Let’s take a closer look at each of them
Vision
It all starts with your vision. The better you understand your vision, the more efficient the whole process will be.
This will allow you to communicate your needs, set expectations, compare offers, etc.
Now, if you can’t figure out your vision, then you want to make sure the company is able to help you articulate it for you.
That means understanding it, developing a workflow to make it happen, and selecting the right tools to deliver it.
What many people don’t know is that there are companies that expect you to have everything figured out and are just waiting for you to make an order.
Not knowing this can make your experience very challenging.
So how can you know if the company will be able to walk you through the process?
2 Ways.
- If the company keeps asking about your needs, driving you to make decisions, and then holds you accountable by saying “this is what you told us.” They expect you to do all the thinking and then make them an order. If this is your first event, then go with somebody else.
- You can also ask them about how they manage the different levels of knowledge and expertise clients have on virtual events. The goal here is to see if they have helped other clients deliver their first virtual event.
Focus
Imagine you are in the mood for a burger, would you rather eat it from a sushi restaurant or a burger restaurant?
Many production companies can become the pizza, burger, sushi, risotto, steak restaurant. And while both sushi and risotto may have rice, the process to make them is very different.
In other words, is the production company focusing only on virtual events? Or are they also doing image videos, cat commercials, weddings, animations, graphic design, websites, etc
They may seem related, but they aren’t.
Nothing wrong with doing any of those services. It’s just that each service requires its own dedicated process, making it hard to be good at all of them.
So take a look at the services they offer and ask yourself, is the scope narrowed and focused or spread into different “related” fields?
Expertise
Focusing on one product helps develop area expertise. So ask yourself, after your initial call, do you feel that you’ve gained clarity on your vision?
Do you have a better overview of what is possible and what is not? How do the tools work with one another? Do you feel you’ve found a partner that will work towards making your vision a reality?
Didn’t have a call to get your proposal? That’s like a doctor prescribing you medicine without meeting you first and going over some clarifying questions.
Process
Focusing on one product develops efficient systems that deliver successful results.
So after going through the proposal, do you feel you have a clear overview of the process? Who does what? What’s needed when? What does the road to the event look like?
Look for rehearsals, calls with speakers, communication channels, ongoing preparation. Do they have a clear step-by-step, proven process?
Offer
When you solve one problem, you create new problems. For example, if you buy a car because you need one, now you need to deal with parking, insurance, maintenance… All things you didn’t need to deal with before.
In the case of a virtual or hybrid event, you’ll need things like a place for people to watch, chat, q&A, registration tools, graphic design, production, briefing speakers, maybe even a studio.
What’s included in the proposal?
Price
This is one of the trickiest elements because a company can have poor production quality and still be expensive.
We used to be cheaper, that was also back when we didn’t have a clue of what we were doing. So if the price is low, wonder why.
Focusing on one service improves efficiency and that means lower production costs too, but not necessarily.
Look at your budget, look at the other variables, and bring them all together. Keep in mind that if you plan to build a long-term relationship with your supplier, too cheap might not be good for you.
Why?
Well if they are too cheap, all quality aside, chances are that they will not be in business for long.
Production is a service-based business that requires people to do things. Each project not only requires tailoring the service but, also blocking the dates which limit the number of productions a company can do. A business without cash is not a healthy business.
In Need Of Virtual Event Production Services?
Not sure where to get started? What’s possible and how to make it happen? Feel free to book a free strategy call with us by clicking the link below.
Get clarity on your vision and action plan on how to make it happen. If we can’t help you with your event needs, we can for sure point you in the right direction.
