The video did not perform and the message has arrived. What you say within the hour decides whether it becomes permanently your fault.
Three things may have happened
Three possible causes, to be told apart before any conclusion.
The creative did not hold attention: the drop happens in the first seconds.
The product or the offer does not convince: people watch, but nothing follows.
Or distribution is at fault: wrong targeting, insufficient budget, wrong platform, wrong moment.
Only one of the three is yours
You sold a production compliant with a brief. The creative is yours only to the extent that the brief left you choices. The product, the offer, the price, the landing page and the distribution do not belong to you, and nobody paid you to decide them.
The figures that separate them
Four indicators are enough to decide.
The retention rate in the first seconds, which judges the opening.
The full-view rate, which judges the body of the video.
The click rate, which judges the promise and the call to action.
And the conversion rate after the click, which no longer depends on the video at all.
One simple rule: if the click rate is fine and conversion is weak, the problem is after the video. If nobody watches beyond the fifth second, the question about the opening is worth asking.
What exactly to send
Six elements of a useful reply, in this order.
A short acknowledgement, with no comment on the substance.
A factual reminder of what was delivered, in one sentence.
A request for the four indicators above, framed as help and not as defence.
One hypothesis, only one, about what the figures might show.
A concrete, priced proposal: two new openings on the same video body.
And precise availability, in dates.
Do not offer a free reshoot
Five reasons not to give in to that reflex.
You confirm that performance was part of the order, which will bind you on every future one.
You work free on a problem whose causes you do not have.
You deprive the client of a diagnosis, since redoing a video without knowing why proves nothing.
You create a precedent the campaign's other creators will also suffer.
And you lose the time you would have spent on a paid order.
What is offered instead, at a small price: two or three alternative openings on the existing body. It is fast, it genuinely tests a hypothesis, and it shows you can work with figures.
What protects you before it happens
Six sentences to put in the quote, once and for all.
The object of the order: the production of a file compliant with the brief.
The number of variants included and the price of extra ones.
The number of revisions included.
The absence of a performance commitment, worded simply and without aggression.
The offer of access to the indicators, which turns the question into a collaboration.
And the rate for a second session, known in advance to avoid negotiating under pressure.
What you check before reshooting
| What you look at | What it reveals | What you change |
|---|---|---|
| 3-second retention | The hook does not hold | The opening alone |
| Drop-off in the middle | The message is confused | The structure |
| No click despite views | The ending says nothing | The close |
What is not the video's fault
Targeting that is too broad, a budget too small to exit the learning phase, or a slow landing page. Three common causes no reshoot fixes.
What you change first
The opening, always. Three hooks cut onto the same body cost an hour and are usually enough, whereas a new shoot costs a day.
If the client insists anyway
Four possible answers, depending on the client's value.
Offer the two alternative openings at a reduced rate, once, without making it a habit.
Offer a paid diagnostic session, where you look at the figures together.
Accept an explicit and limited gesture, presented as such and not as a repair.
Or politely refuse, recalling the quote, which is sometimes the best commercial decision.
One last marker: in the United Kingdom as elsewhere, a video's performance depends on ten factors of which you control one. The only moment it becomes your fault is the moment you agree to say so. Answer with the brief, offer a hypothesis, and keep the conversation in the figures.
