Difficult to scale our customer stories while maintaining brand consistency
HubSpot has a very strong visual brand which made it tough for them to find a strategic partner who could scale their customer stories while maintaining the high-quality required by HubSpot.
Concerns over remote video production quality
Remote testimonial videos are a great way to scale your customer storytelling but there are so many examples of really poor remote videos out there. Ron was looking for a partner who could provide exceptional remote video quality.
Overcoming the long queue of an internal video production team
HubSpot has a large and very talented video team, but Ron was having a difficult time getting his projects into the queue and created quickly. That’s where we came in.
Testimonial videos are more important than ever, and there’s nothing like video to effectively convey a brand’s message to busy prospects. But in-house teams often don’t have the bandwidth to take on more projects—even at a company the size of HubSpot.
HubSpot is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform. They have over 8,000 employees worldwide, including a top-notch in-house video team. But that team already had a full slate of projects. So when HubSpot for Startups Principal Brand & Content Strategist Ron Dawson needed customer videos to inspire founders around the world about the power of HubSpot to help companies scale, Testimonial Hero was the perfect solution.
“HubSpot is a global platform, and we’re very dedicated to providing localized products, features, and services to our customers,” Ron explains. “Being able to tell the local stories of those customers is extremely important.”
Whether content is produced in-house or by a partner, everything HubSpot publishes needs to be of the highest quality. It’s not easy to meet that high bar while scaling internationally.
“The biggest challenge producing testimonial videos globally is finding qualified filmmakers you can trust,” Ron says.
He has two decades of video production and experience building a network of qualified filmmakers across the US, yet he admits that growing a network internationally—to places where Ron knows he doesn’t have context—would be a massive lift.
“It can be nerve-wracking if you’re producing a video with a big customer across the Atlantic. It’s good to know that they’re taken care of and things are running smoothly,” he says.
HubSpot for Startups’ customer stories page is now filled with Testimonial Hero videos from locations like Prague, Paris, Dublin, Toronto, and New York.
“It’s been great to tell the stories of our customers no matter where they’re located. Because as a global platform, we want to let our customers worldwide know we’re able to serve them,” Ron says. “Testimonial Hero has been a strategic partner for me in being able to tell these stories.”
The testimonial videos are a mix of onsite and remote productions. Testimonial Hero also provides 30- and 60-second cuts for social media marketing. Ron says he likes having the flexibility of choosing between onsite and remote:
“I like having the option that allows me to still get a high-quality video that fits my budget. Then, those times I have the budget to do something with a bit larger scope, their onsite option has been great.”
There’s more to producing a quality testimonial video than high technical production values. Testimonial Hero started by understanding the HubSpot brand. Then, the team worked with Ron to craft interview questions that would capture the desired sound bites.
“Not only do they focus on delivering a technically high-quality video, Testimonial Hero also brings the strategic mindset of capturing the right message for your brand,” Ron says.
The collaborative relationship continues through onsite production. When Ron has a new video to produce, he emails his Testimonial Hero project manager, who responds with a selection of local filmmakers Testimonial Hero has previously worked with. These filmmakers are specifically picked for the look and feel Ron wants. He has the chance to review their portfolios and choose the best fit for the project.
“One of the things I appreciate working with Testimonial Hero is knowing—whether we do a video in Prague, Dublin, or Paris—they’re going to find a local video producer to knock it out of the park.”
Testimonial Hero adds unique value to the remote production process, too. Ron initially worried about quality, but modern smartphones are capable of shooting high-quality video—the trick is helping customers get there. Testimonial Hero guides customers through lighting and camera setup, using terms the customer understands to maximize production value. Then, Testimonial Hero’s post-production turns the final remote video into near-professional quality. Ron says: “You need a trained eye in most cases to even tell the difference.”
Ron has worked with other agencies that have global networks, but Testimonial Hero stands apart in their strong communication, dedication, and collaboration. It’s clear they care about his projects.
“The process is turnkey from beginning to end, making it easy for both me and my customer to create a testimonial video.”
If Testimonial Hero videos didn’t meet HubSpot’s standards, Ron says the partnership would be a non-starter.
“When we hire a company like Testimonial Hero, we do it because they deliver quality at par with the value we deliver to our customers.”
Ron knows he can trust Testimonial Hero because the team attends to detail, understands what Ron wants, and implements his directions. Where scaling international video testimonials would normally be labor-intensive and stressful, working with Testimonial Hero makes it easy.
“The biggest benefit of working with Testimonial Hero is knowing I can get a qualified filmmaker just about anywhere in the world. And peace of mind knowing my Testimonial Hero project manager ensures everything runs smoothly.”
In Ron’s calculation, “the return on investment is extremely high.” It’s why he recommends Testimonial Hero to any business scaling video production nationally or globally.
