How To Boost Sales Funnel Performance Using Video

Video has come a long way since the early days of the internet. So much so, in fact, that, 95% of people have watched an explainer video to know about a product in detail. This makes it a perfect tool to integrate into your company’s onboarding and sales programs.

With the right set of tools, your marketing department can reliably fill the top of your sales funnel with the most high-value prospects and help move them along the onboarding process faster.

So, how does video come to play in all of this?

How to use video in creating a complete sales funnel

Up to 60% of the world’s top companies rely on video at some point in the sales process – from the initial awareness-building phase to the final justification phase. However, since the buyer’s decision is one that’s supposed to be made completely independently, your job should be to guide them during the initial phase, when they are evaluating their interest in your product.

A typical sales funnel can be roughly divided into three parts: the top, mid and end of the funnel. Each of these should typically be handled differently for every individual customer.

Top of the Funnel: initial outreach.

This phase is dedicated to both creating awareness of your product and what you do. It’s usually the most delicate phase of the funnel, so it needs to feel as authentic as possible. You can accomplish this by giving them autonomy, so they accomplish tasks that are important to them.

This will include, for instance, video lead generation by presenting them with your video library, so they watch whatever videos they are interested in all on their own rather than shoving a particular one down their throats.

Once they are properly onboard and part of your funnel, for example, by subscribing to your newsletter or weekly email, it’s time to introduce yourself. According to a study, adding the word ‘video’ onto the email subject increases the click-through rates inside the email by as much as 13%. The same study showed that using a video in the email itself also increases conversion rates by as much as 21% as opposed to static images and text alone.

The most common content used to create a rapport with consumers include how-to videos to help them familiarize themselves with your product, videos detailing company culture, and content from the CEO to create a personalized touch. Bonus points if the whole process passes through a video automation system rather than being done manually.

Middle of the funnel: nurturing leads

The middle of the funnel is dedicated to getting closer to people that are getting to know your product better, hence known as the evaluation phase. Evaluation implies they are sufficiently interested in what you have to offer to either consider you or one of your rivals for the solutions you offer with regards to the problems they face.

In other words, this is the point at which you should prop yourself up to justify your approach to the problem. In other words, it’s time to show you’re better than the competition. Naturally enough, this is the part of the funnel that involves the greatest amount of work. There are several ways this can be achieved, however.

i) Testimonial Videos

The first is testimonial videos. These can be used with varying degrees of success, depending on how efficient your presentation is. It’s an especially useful choice for small business owners.

These usually work great because they show the potential lead that other people face just the same problems as they and your solution satisfied them. They will be able to relate to the problem and are a lot more likely to accept your offer. The key is to nail the storytelling and creating realistic dialogue.

ii) Case studies

Video case studies are another viable option for your sales funnel. Case studies are effective because they can create trust better than any other method. If words are worth a thousand words, imagine the kind of resounding effect a video case study will have.

Rather than advertising yourself to show how great your company is, you instead reach out to existing customers and let them tell prospects how you benefited them. Bonus points if you’re able to get an influencer on board. Recall, up to 84%, of people are likely to trust a product if a familiar face advertises it to them. Besides, social proof has always been a reliable way to get the wheels turning for increased interest in your product 5.

iii) Detailed product demos

Apart from social proof, some users are best onboard with product demos that cover as much ground in your product as possible. The main thing you should always remember when you decide to go with this choice is still to make the customer curious and interested first. A big mistake that’s usually made with a lot of software is to pack it chock full of features and no apparent functionality. Software developers are passionate about their craft, but at the end of the day, people care about value – not functionality or features.

The only real thing that matters is how it can help them and how little work they need to do to get from point A to B. Showcase the solution aspect because at the end of the day, the fact that you solved a problem is the most important thing in the world.

The end of the funnel: wrapping it up

Once they get to the end of the funnel, you will need post-purchase integrations. These exist to assure the buyer that they made the right choice. This can be achieved by giving the customers easy ways to contact you should anything go wrong. At the end of it all, they will likely have more and more questions that need to be thrown at someone.

A simple video integration, as long as video automation on your system is feasible, is FAQ videos. Since it will often happen that multiple people have the same questions over and over, personalized video content won’t be as easy to pull off just yet. Instead, cover the most common complaints that people have when dealing with your product and how to overcome them.

The FAQ video can also be broken down into single instructional videos that cover the most basic how-tos of your business. If you’re a website hosting service, for instance, you could send them an email with a series of videos explaining how to use CPanel, how to secure their server or how to set up an SSH connection. You could always have the support staff introduce themselves at this point.

Most purchasing decisions come down to how you present your product. Therefore, content at the bottom of the funnel can also be used to create further video lead generation at the top of the funnel. Despite how downplayed the importance of individual features is, you’re better off capturing how to get around them and how their inclusion is a plus rather than failing to detail them anywhere altogether. The key is to focus on the problem and its solution first – the rest comes as an added benefit.

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Originally published on September 24th, 2018, updated on September 8th, 2019
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How To Boost Sales Funnel Performance Using Video

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