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The sales process has changed dramatically over the past several years. Yes, relationship building is still important and in-person meetings still generate trust more than most methods, but here is the rub: potential customers aren’t contacting companies until they are almost ready to buy.
Nearly 60 percent of the sales process is finished by the time a customer calls a sales rep, according to a study commissioned by the CEB Marketing Leadership Council and Google. This is a serious wake up call for small businesses everywhere. Instead of peppering sales reps with questions, customers are going online and doing their own research on review sites, industry forums and, perhaps most of all, checking business-specific websites.
So how can you, a small business owner, catapult your company to the forefront of this digital consciousness and bring in customers ready to buy?
One word: video.
Producing and promoting educational and entertaining videos around your product or service is an incredibly effective way to translate consumer research into consumer purchasing. Videos help to grab people’s attention. Instead of reading through dense text on a homepage, a video can provide a quick and simple way for a potential buyer to learn about your business and inspire them to click through to other areas of your website. And the longer they hang out on your site, the more likely they will be to contact your sales team.
Small businesses are smart to utilize several kinds of videos. Here’s a breakdown of the most important varieties.
These videos should last 30-90 seconds and display exactly what your product or service does and why it is important. Don’t get into nitty-gritty specifics here. Focus on your company’s value from a high level. I recommend featuring a product explainer video on your home page.
How-to videos should be much more detailed and focus on step-by-step directions for how to set up your service/product. It should also answer frequently asked questions. Post these videos to your product page.
Prospective customers love to troll review sites. Give them exactly what they want with a customer testimonial video. If you haven’t done these before, I suggest reaching out to some of your favorite clients to see if you can record them talking about your service. Then, create a tab on your website dedicated specifically to customers and post testimonials there. For more related tips, check out my recent Salesforce post, Your Guide to the Perfect Customer Testimonial Video.
A little more than a year ago, our team started responding to Facebook posts from customers with videos—personalized videos that would last 10-15 seconds—and pasting them into the Facebook text box. Our customers absolutely loved the personalized attention, so we’ve now made it regular practice (here’s an example). Beyond making our current customers happy, prospective clients often mention these videos when closing a sale as one of the reasons they choose us.
Thought leadership videos focus not on your company’s product or service, but instead on related topics of importance to your customer base. For example, if you own a law office, you might get in front of the camera and talk about the latest legal news. Or enlist the help of other local attorneys to talk about legal tips for common cases.
These videos are highly effective because they show customers that you aren’t just focused on sales but that you want to help them in other parts of their lives. I recommend posting these videos on your company’s blog page and even tweeting them out from time to time.
What other videos would you add to this list?
Yaniv Masjedi is the vice president of marketing at Nextiva (@Nextiva), a leading provider of cloud-based, unified communication services. In his role, Yaniv manages the firm's marketing and branding efforts by working to create strategies that drive awareness, strengthen the Nextiva brand and share the story of the company's unique customer-centric culture (dubbed "Amazing Service"). His responsibilities also include brand management, demand generation, advertising, marketing communications, nurturing programs and thought leadership.
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