Why Are Your Business Videos Attracting the Wrong Enquiries?

An interested person isn’t always the right customer

I’d rather get one enquiry than 2,000 likes. But that doesn’t mean every message is the enquiry the business needs.

Someone might love what you’ve shown and ask about a service you don’t offer. They might need work outside your area, or expect a small one-off job when your team is set up for a much larger project. They’re interested. You’re just talking about different things.

My first test for content is whether it fits the audience we’re trying to attract. The camera work matters, but making the wrong message look better doesn’t fix the direction.

Before changing the filming plan, I’d want to see what people are actually asking. Not to criticise them for getting in touch, but to find out where the misunderstanding starts.

Define what makes an enquiry unsuitable

“We’re getting the wrong people” is too vague to plan a useful video around. Be specific about the mismatch.

Are people asking for the wrong service? Is the location impractical? Do they expect a different level of support? Or are they suitable customers who haven’t understood the value or aren’t ready to book yet?

Those need different responses. Don’t put every person who hasn’t bought into the same category.

Look through recent genuine enquiries with the staff who handle them. For each, note the requested work, any relevant location or timescale, what made it suitable or unsuitable, and how the person says they found you. You don’t need to circulate private customer conversations in a filming brief; a short, anonymous summary of the pattern is enough.

Some enquiries may come from referrals, directories or old pages rather than the current videos. If you don’t know, leave the source unknown. A busy inbox isn’t proof that the latest post caused every conversation.

For the wider reporting method, our social media ROI guide explains recording enquiry quality without confusing it with bookings or profit.

Check which customer your examples are speaking to

I wouldn’t assume I know a business’s customers just because I know its sector. Two construction firms can want completely different projects. The people taking the calls and doing the work will know those differences better than an outside producer guessing from an industry label.

Start with the projects you genuinely want more of, then look at what the videos show. Does the type of work match? Do the people, explanations and invitations make sense for the customer you want?

Imagine a North East contractor moving towards planned commercial maintenance, while every public video still shows small domestic repairs. I’d question whether the content explains the work the team now wants. That doesn’t make the old customers bad customers; the public picture and the current offer may simply be out of step.

That’s an illustrative brief, not a DS Media client result. Don’t claim experience in a new market that you haven’t earned. You can explain a genuine capability or intended service without pretending an unrelated project proves it.

Business Wales’ guidance on identifying customers recommends understanding buying motives and what people are prepared to pay. That’s general business guidance. My application to video is to let those real customer needs shape the examples and explanation, not invent a standard customer for every company.

Turn the misunderstanding into a filming change

I’d use the enquiry pattern to make a small, clear change to the next brief:

What people keep asking	What to check first	A useful content change
Can you do a job you don’t offer?	Whether old examples or broad wording imply that service	Explain the work you do take on and update the relevant examples
Can you travel somewhere you don’t serve?	Whether the video, caption and linked page make the area clear	State the genuine service area beside a relevant invitation
Can they buy one small part of a larger service?	Whether the content shows a task without explaining the wider scope	Show the planning and support around the job, and explain what’s included
Why does the quote differ from the offer they saw?	Whether the public price and pictured work describe the same thing	Correct the price or scope information before promoting it again

These are checks, not proof that the content caused the problem. Compare them with the actual conversation before deciding which change is needed.

You don’t have to remove all personality or turn every clip into a list of restrictions. You can keep the warmth and humour while making the service clear. The aim isn’t to make people feel unwelcome. It’s to help them understand whether you can do the job they have in mind.

Don’t use “wrong audience” to avoid checking the offer

If suitable people are enquiring but not booking, I’d check the price and value of the offer first, then buyer fit. Being interested and being willing to buy are different things. That was my point when we discussed what happens after someone responds to a post.

Don’t respond to one price objection by deciding you need wealthier customers or another shoot. Look at comparable offers, what your price includes and your own booking history. Ask what the person expected and where that expectation came from.

If the extra cost reflects real care, preparation or support, show that. Our guide to using business videos to explain a higher price covers that filming decision in more detail.

If you advertise a price, keep it connected to what’s actually shown and available. For marketing within its scope, ASA/CAP’s pricing guidance covers matching price claims to the featured offer and including applicable non-optional charges. An attractive headline isn’t a good filter if it gives people the wrong expectation. Check the guidance relevant to your offer rather than treating this article as a full pricing-compliance checklist.

Make the next invitation more specific, then review it

A useful invitation tells someone what conversation they’re starting. For the hypothetical contractor, it might name the commercial maintenance work and ask about the site and location. That makes more sense than an invitation to ask about “any building work” if that isn’t what the team offers.

Make the linked service page continue the same explanation. Don’t narrow the message in the video, then send people to an old offer that says something else. And don’t make a complicated enquiry form do the work of explaining the service.

For your next filming brief, agree three things with the team:

1. The kind of work you want to be asked about.
2. The misunderstanding you’re trying to clear up.
3. The real example or explanation that will help clear it up.

Then look at the questions that follow. A quieter inbox isn’t automatically an improvement, and a larger one isn’t automatically a success. Has the recurring misunderstanding reduced? Are suitable people still getting in touch? With only a few enquiries, keep reviewing rather than declaring a result from one post.

For North East owners selling to other businesses through LinkedIn, Founder on Camera is our ongoing route for planning and filming useful answers. You publish from your own profile and handle the replies. It isn’t general social-media account management or a guarantee of better leads.

My advice is to make the direction clearer before increasing the volume. Help the right person recognise the work you’re offering, and let the next conversation tell you what still needs explaining.