You might have used video content for the odd product launch video or embedded an explainer in your company blog to make it easier to explain the services you provide. But did you know that 60% of major companies use video content at every stage of the marketing funnel? Seeing how information is being consumed, businesses are recognizing that video is the best marketing medium to support sales and customer retention. They want to make sure that they can win over customers at any stage of the buying journey, whether it’s the awareness stage or the post-purchase stage. This is why we recommend incorporating video at every step of the marketing funnel. It’s easily done, and we can show you how!
Defining the Sales Funnel
The marketing funnel or sales funnel is basically your consumer’s journey from the moment they recognize a need, to when they decide to purchase your product or service to fulfill that need. They must be shown the correct messages at each step to encourage them towards buying your product. The basic marketing funnel has three stages, Awareness, Consideration and Decision. However, depending on your product, your consumer’s journey might need to be split into even more steps. Take into account how your audience discovers, compares and buys products to define your own marketing funnel. Then, put yourself in your customer’s shoes to get an idea of what they might be thinking at each stage. Your audience research will help you understand what the average customer’s values are and what they expect at each stage.
The Awareness Stage
This is the stage where your audience has a problem and you have a solution they have yet to find. So, you have to make sure your content is posted everywhere they are likely to be looking for information. SEO driven videos that answer their search queries are an obvious option, social media videos are another great choice. Here, you need to use videos that attract views and answer questions. These videos should have mass appeal and should focus more on connecting with the audience authentically rather than pushing sales. A wonderful example of this is Blendtec’s viral” Will it Blend?” series.
The series attracted millions of views with its fun concept trying to see what kinds of objects their blenders can blend into a fine dust. It also told customers about their product as simply as possible – yes it will blend anything – but they’re not necessarily trying to hard sell it.
The Consideration Stage
At this stage, the audience is actively searching for a solution and comparing options. This is the time to get them to pick you over the competition by highlighting what you do better. They need more detailed information on your product benefits and why your company is trustworthy. For that, give them real information in the form of product videos, explainers, testimonials or videos on your company’s ethics and values. Essentially anything that talks about things that may be important to both your business and your potential customer. Explainers or informational videos are becoming an increasingly popular form of media because content with too much of a sales-ey approach can become deterring at this stage. If you empower customers by being a good source of information, they will trust you more and are more likely to choose your company for a purchase. The brand Dyson does this by producing their product video in the form of a case study. They show their product in use in an environment which shows off its best features and real users talk about how it was successful.
The Decision Stage
This is the stage where you need to close the deal and make sure the customer is convinced about buying your product. Make sure you address any final doubts and questions they might have. You can make purchase decisions happen by showing people a closer look at your products that only a video can provide. They can be how-to videos, product reviews or FAQs. Compelling videos about happy customers and specific features catering to individual needs are helpful in making that final push. And there you have it! You have your whole marketing funnel practically figured out. These kinds of videos accompanying your audience at every step will make your company more memorable and lead to more conversions and happier customers. Now that you know how to plan your video marketing funnel, let us help you put all these plans into action.