How Does The Market Perceive You? EP #360

In this episode, Den reflects on the importance of perception and clarity in running a video production business. He emphasizes the value of niching down to stand out in a crowded market, the significance of keeping strategies simple and focusing on measurable goals. 

Den also shares insights on effective marketing strategies, including Instagram content and targeted ads, while stressing the importance of maintaining work-life balance. 💡

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Transcript

 G'day guys, it's Den and it's episode 360 of the How to Scale a Video Business podcast. And as we lean into this second week of January,  it's a great opportunity to really reflect on how you operated your business in the last 12 months. But also, more importantly, how do your clients perceive you in the marketplace in 2025? And that is going to be today's topic. 

Welcome to the Video Business Accelerator podcast. Each week, we uncover the secrets to creating a wildly successful and scalable video production business with your host, Den Lennie. Discover how the Accelerator program is transforming the lives of our members at www.videobusinessaccelerator. com Enjoy this episode. 

So we've just finished our first elite call for the year.  And the thing about the elite, the VBA elite group is  it's really a  room where we get together in a safe space and share exactly what's going on in our businesses. Good, bad, ugly and otherwise.  And what that allows us to do is be extremely.  I'm  honest about the state of the market and our business and how we're showing up in that business.

And one of the topics came up today in discussion was  something I've been reflecting on over the three week Christmas break was  how is my business perceived in the market with an ever changing market. And it's something that I put to the group today on the call.  And that is,  if you're not reinventing yourself and iterating and innovating in your business is slowly going to die in the market.

Let me give you some context around that. There are so many video production companies available to the market, that if someone is interested in hiring a video production company,  if they just go and google video production company in their area, they're gonna be hit with, just dozens and dozens of options.

Most of them saying pretty much the same thing. Things like, Hey, we're here to tell you a story. We're cool people. Let's have a coffee. Let's have a chat. It's all very casual,  but it's very confusing for someone who doesn't know what they're doing or what they're looking for.  And so the businesses that will win are the ones that niche down into a specific market with a specific problem and a specific solution because they speak their language.

And them speaking their language is going to mean that.  They're going to feel seen, heard and understood. And that is what human beings want most in the world, is to be seen, heard and understood. And it's one of the reasons that niching is such a powerful tool and antidote to competition in the marketplace. 

Now, it's the same with video production coaching. It would appear that every time I switch on Facebook, there is some new person who's claiming to have the secret to winning 30k jobs in 30 days.  I'm here to tell you that's bullshit. It's not really likely that you're going to do that. But for a lot of people, they just want leads. 

And they think that getting leads is the single most important thing to them growing their business. And leads are only part of the equation. Because I've had conversations with other coaches,  and we all agree, we could give you a hundred leads tomorrow, but that'd be crap. I can find you a hundred people on LinkedIn right now. 

and say there's a hundred leads, but if they're not qualified and you don't know what their problems are and you don't know the solutions you provide, if you're providing generic video services, you're going to end up at the bottom of the pile, fighting alongside everyone else, being a commodity like you're an electrician or a plumber.

And there's nothing wrong with those trades, but they're a commodity service.  So if you want to be a specialist,  then you have to niche and you have to pick a channel and you have to be focused on that one thing. Yeah. But even at my elite mastermind level, we still have those conversations. We have to continually remind ourselves that complexity kills growth. 

Simplicity is the key. I worked with Sam Ovens for a year in his mastermind and he was the absolute master of simplicity. Everything he did was like super simple. If you can do it on a spreadsheet, do it on a spreadsheet. Keep the data black and white. and don't color it with too much fluff. And, we have an expression in the VBA, which is put the crayons away. 

You don't want to get the crayons out and start coloring stuff in. That's not necessary. Or another analogy would be you're editing something and you've got an editor who starts opening DaVinci Resolve and starts coloring things before you've even had a lock in on the picture card.  So it's really important that you don't Allow yourself to be distracted.

And at this time of the year, it's a little bit quieter than normal. People are just waking up back from the holidays. And it's a great opportunity to narrow down your focus on things that actually move the needle. Look at your website. Make sure your website is clearly talking to a single person.  Make sure the industries you work with are super clear.

Take any reference to others. our work out of the equation and call it examples, call it, case studies, call it I don't know,  stuff that you'd like, it just, that's actually a terrible idea but do you know what I mean? You've got to be thinking in terms of what does the audience see here and feel, not just what do you want to talk about?

And that is the single hardest part. of being objective in your business,  which is why being part of EBA is such a good idea because we tell the truth and we come at you with the reality because we want to see you grow and scale. We have so many success stories of people growing and scaling, but like I said to Grant this morning, it took him three years to get to where he is, not 30 days, but he's on a massive trajectory for growth.

He's got a team of five now and is really on his way to that magical seven finger number.  So really, I want to just share that with you today. Keep it super simple. Keep it, nailed down to the things that actually move the needle. You only have so many resources. Now, one of the things I'm doing this year definitely is I'm leaning into Instagram content.

So if you're not following me on Instagram, please go and follow me at den underscore Lenny. The reason for that is that I forgot the password to Den Lenny and I can't get into it. So it's Den underscore Lennie and I'm posting reels five days a week now. Please go and give me some love follow the account, leave a comment, leave a like. 

I'm going to focus on Instagram content for the next 90 days to build up a library of really valuable stuff and that is going to be my. Predominant marketing strategy for the first three months of this year. I've also flicked my ads back on and you might start seeing different ads from me and you'll see a lot of different things, a lot of different ads, because when you're running ads, you have to test an enormous amount of creative to find the winning ad that resonates directly with your target market and my target market.

Is predominantly men and women in their mid-thirties who are settling down, looking to buy a house or have a house or looking to start a family or have a young family who are looking to balance building a business with maintaining a relationship and having quality time with their family. That is our target market.

It's very specific. So we're not looking to work with absolute beginners. That's not who we work with.  We're not working with very established businesses. Some of them are quite established in our elite program, but I would say the average business in there is doing between half a million and a million dollars a year, and they're looking to streamline their operations.

So get very clear on the problems you solve and who you help. And that way.  You can focus all of your attention on stuff that actually moves the needle and it's important to have KPIs, key performance indicators, data metrics. You can measure the effectiveness of your marketing and sales against benchmarks and that way You know what to fix, what to tweak, and where to put your effort. So next week folks, put my teeth back in. I'll see you later.  

You've been listening to the video business accelerator podcast with your host, Den Lennie. If you're a video business owner. Who is tired of going it alone and would benefit from mentorship, support, and weekly accountability. Then mouse over to www.videobusinessaccelerator.com to learn more about how the Accelerator program can help you today. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show over on iTunes. And we'd really appreciate you taking a few minutes to leave a review.