In former times, video content and budgets were largely incidental to B2B marketing strategies. Both sales and marketing organizations deployed video opportunistically to meet tactical objectives, but neither needed a “video strategy” as such. But times have changed.
Video is now the preferred mode of sales communication
“Three quarters of buyers and sellers say they now prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions” according to McKinsey. (See “These eight charts show how COVID-19 has changed B2B sales forever.”) “Digital self-serve” and “remote human engagement” both take place on video screens. So the customer sales experience is now, essentially, a video experience. Beyond that, top-performing sales professionals, neuroscience, and common sense all tell us that video is arguably the best form of sales communication. Now it makes sense to develop a strategy for video production in sales.
Improving the cadence structure
Most sales organizations develop a structured cadence with a target number of sales communications (“touches”) for each prospect (say, 6 – 20), delivered over several channels (phone, email, social media posts) in a set period (say, three weeks).
Obviously, video “touches” are likely to get more attention and make a bigger impression than text or voice messages. A scalable cadence of repeatable, memorable messages can be based on a library of videos about use cases, specific product features, competitive advantages and differentiators.
Repurposing existing sales content with video
Sales team members don’t need to be videographers to create simple video messages to tack on to other content. A personalized video introduction to any appropriate video, white paper, or blog post adds credibility and urgency.
Besides, just the word “video” in an subject line increases opens. An attractive thumbnail in the email clearly tells the prospect what they’ll learn by clicking the link and makes it much more likely to be clicked.
Sales team/buying team matchups
Given the effectiveness of video in sales communication, it’s worth considering coordinating the efforts of different members of your sales team so that each is sharing videos with appropriate members of the buying decision team. Assuring that a buying team member receives video messages from more than one member of your sales team is sure to make a positive impression.
The strategic video library
Increasing the impact of sales communication with video won’t scale if it’s done opportunistically. You need to think strategically, if you want to provide the sales team with video resources to respond when a question arises or a customer signals interest in a specific product feature. To do this, you don’t need a library full of spiffy productions. For example, animated gifs demonstrating software ease-of-use in different situations can be produced at minimal cost and will add value to your sales team’s outreach programs for years to come.
“Video strategy” isn’t complicated
Plan video production in terms of what the sales team needs to stand out in an environment where both buyers and sellers prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement. They need resources that help them show, instead of tell. Make a list of the things that need to be shown most frequently. Think of the frequently-asked-questions that are best answered with visuals. Then you’ll be on your way to building a video library to advance your video strategy.
