How podcast studio can help businesses build relationships

For Lancashire businesses, a good conversation with a customer, supplier or industry contact can be worth recording, and not just for the finished video.

That's the thinking behind Bigtank Video Productions' podcast studio in Ramsbottom, which brings business owners, industry leaders and professionals together to share experiences, exchange ideas and explore opportunities.

The studio has welcomed guests from across manufacturing, engineering, education and professional services, with discussions covering everything from entrepreneurship and leadership to recruitment and workplace culture.

Through its own Q&A video series, hosted by Rob Hallam, Bigtank has interviewed Tim Webber, founder of Barnfield Construction, about his 50 years in business, and Sally Blades, HR director at VEKA, about the importance of people and workplace culture.

Educational publisher Twinkl has also used the studio to produce episodes of its Leading With podcast, bringing education professionals together to discuss challenges facing schools and their leaders.

The opportunity for businesses goes beyond producing a podcast.

Inviting a customer, supplier or industry contact to take part in a recorded discussion creates an opportunity to spend time together, exchange ideas and develop a better understanding of each other's businesses.

For Lancashire's manufacturing, engineering and aerospace sectors, this approach has particular potential.

These industries are full of specialist knowledge, innovative projects and experienced people. Yet explaining complex work to customers, prospective employees or the wider business community isn't always straightforward.

A conversation between an engineering company and one of its customers, for example, can reveal the collaboration and problem-solving behind a successful project in a way that a conventional sales presentation might not.

It also gives businesses a chance to introduce the people behind their work.

The benefits can continue long after the recording has finished.

A single discussion can provide a full-length video podcast, shorter clips for LinkedIn, material for a company website and useful content for sales teams to share with prospective customers.

For businesses with longer sales cycles, particularly in specialist industries, this can help potential customers understand the people and expertise behind an organisation before they make an enquiry.

Importantly, it doesn't require businesses to continually invent new things to talk about. Often, the most interesting content comes from the experiences, challenges and knowledge they already have.

At Bigtank's Ramsbottom podcast studio, professional cameras, lighting and sound are combined with a relaxed approach to filming, helping guests feel comfortable and speak naturally.

Because while the finished video is valuable, sometimes the biggest opportunity comes from bringing the right people together in the first place.

Find out more about Bigtank's podcast studio in Lancashire and its Q&A video series.