For many B2B products and services, technology itself is a big differentiator. But vendors of technology solutions that provide this competitive advantage often struggle to differentiate their own solutions. It’s a problem because, according to Gartner research, when technology buyers aren’t sure what makes a solution different, they don’t buy from that vendor.
Touting customer benefits can increase confusion
Most technology marketers believe that buyers don’t care how technology does what it does — buyers just want to know what it can do for them. This may be true, but when it comes to differentiation, dramatizing the customer benefits may be counterproductive when
- how the technology works is the differentiator
- the benefits are the same ones everyone wants (superior performance, increased efficiency, higher productivity, etc.)
- competitors’ offerings promise to deliver the same benefits
So, time spent touting the same benefits your competitors promise is more likely to increase confusion than it is to make your differentiation plain for all to see.
Video to the rescue
Video is the best way to explain — at a high level — how something works.
Video animation can make the differentiation story simple and compelling, highlighting the unique attributes that form your solution’s personality.
Video is good at drawing the side-by-side comparisons that distinguish your solution from the one buyers will choose — if they don’t see a difference — from a better-known competitor.
Videos that make a point credibly, without marketing fluff, are more likely to be shared with the right people in the buyer’s organization.
Speeding up the conversation
Short videos that are primarily visualizations speed up conversations (including on-line chats) and sales presentations. This is particularly true for solutions that have a lot of moving parts and need to be explained step-by-step.
Sales reps don’t want to interrupt their conversations with prepackaged videos that feel like commercials. But a short animation depicting a dynamic process flow makes it easy to put things clearly into the buyer’s context. This matters, because, as Gartner’s Barnes notes elsewhere, “a low-quality sales presentation is one of the top causes of them rejecting a vendor immediately.”
