How to Speed Up the Customer Journey

• 81% of B2B buyers prefer digital channels to face-to-face encounters
• 63% of B2B buyers disregard content that is not personalized to their interests, needs, industry, or role
• More than 80% of the buying journey it taken up with independent research and buying group discussions

These findings are drawn from a Netline eBook Nology – State of B2B Marketing for Global Tech (a title made to be quoted in this publication). The findings point to this conclusion: “The breadth and depth of your content is the single most important variable in your marketing strategy.”

“Buyers want a self-driven, connected customer journey filled with relevant and meaningful content.”

So, what types of videos can help to accelerate the customer journey?

Technology Product Videos

Today’s customers want videos throughout the buying journey. Survey respondents said they watch product information videos (81%), videos about trends and predictions (59%), and real-world scenarios or case studies (56% ).

Business decision makers are more likely to watch advice or tutorial videos “with actionable takeaways.” IT is more likely to watch videos reporting on research summaries or in industry trends.

To increase the breadth and depth of a video library, real-world scenarios and case studies are good subjects, because viewers like to learn from stories. The everyday issues tech buyers care about — onboarding processes, learning resources, ease of integration, and the like — make humdrum reading on the page but can be brought to life in video.

Five minutes appears to be the upper limit on attention spans for these types of videos.

Demos and Webinars

Webinars continue to be a good source of product information. Respondents said they’d prefer to hear from several speakers, not just one, and agreed that 30–60 minutes is a good length. The more show-and-tell, the better. Recorded webinars are easier to watch if they include clickable chapter titles and edit out irrelevant introductory material.

Videos for Chatbots

70% of respondents were using chatbots when this survey was conducted — prior to the recent explosion of interest in AI. But, clearly, we should all be thinking about what kinds of video chatbots and other AI tools we will want to use. AIs learn largely by reading text — another reminder that videos should be published with transcripts and captions.

The Takeaway

Buyers want videos from which they can learn, and share, information that is useful for evaluating vendors and making decisions. They are looking for videos that are more than “explainers” in name only.