The consumption of digital video content has exploded over the past few years. Zenith, a U.S. research and development company, estimates that the average person will watch 100 minutes per day of online video in 2021, up from 67 minutes per day in 2018.
For B2B sales teams who want to reach buyers, video has become an essential tool, particularly after the pandemic eliminated face-to-face selling almost entirely. The good news for sales teams is that B2B buyers don’t seem to mind this new remote sales environment. In fact, McKinsey reports that 75% of B2B buyers prefer remote or digital interactions because of ease of scheduling, savings on travel expenses and safety.
Source: McKinsey
According to Vidyard, a video hosting and analysis platform, B2B sales teams reported a 200%+ increase in their response rates and/or close rates since embracing a video-first approach to sales.
From a sales perspective, video is great for:
- Engaging with prospects
- Influencing deals
- Qualifying leads
In this post, we’ll provide an overview of the most effective types of video for selling (with a special focus on videoconferencing), highlight some important statistics and provide an overview of the top ways companies can incorporate video into the sales process.
The most effective types of video selling tools
In Vidyard’s 2020 State of the Video report, there was a 93% increase in respondents who reported using video in customer and sales conversations in 2020 versus 2019.
Demo/product videos, 1:1 sales videos, and training videos represented the top three types of video used during the selling process. Other popular video types included 1:1 customer videos and webinars. Here’s an overview of each video type.
- Demo/Product Videos: Demo and product videos show potential customers what they can expect from your product or service, emphasizing the value they offer in a succinct, easy to understand format. They can be shared on a company’s website, via social media or presented in a 1:1 sales call. Here’s an example of a demo video created by Salesforce which provides a simple overview of Salesforce Sales Cloud:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-QzP1ICitY
- 1:1 Sales Videos: 1:1 sales videos are personalized videos that can be embedded within email or shared directly with prospects. Video tools such as Vidyard and Hippo Video enable sales professionals to create customized sequences within the video using a drag and drop interface. Sequences include a combination of steps (calls, emails, social actions, videos, etc.) which can be personalized based on a prospect’s interests.
- Training Videos: Sales training videos help sales teams learn new selling skills and align their sales strategy with the key goals of the company. They’re also inspiring, and particularly important now, when sales teams are unable to connect face-to-face at company events and meetings.
- 1:1 Customer Videos: 1:1 customer videos are similar to 1:1 sales videos, but they’re created for existing customers and their purpose is focused on improving customer satisfaction and retention. For example, a subscription-based service might create 1:1 customer videos for each new customer when they sign up. The video could reference the customer by name, provide welcome links and information and invite the new user to book time with a sales rep for a walk-through of the product or service.
- Webinars: Webinars (e.g., web + seminar) are web-based presentations that replace face-to-face sales and marketing expos, meetings and conferences. Webinars have been around for decades, but thanks to tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and other popular platforms, businesses can easily create and host virtual events and webinars of all sizes. Webinars can be shown in real-time or pre-recorded then repurposed by sales reps during the selling process. More than half of the respondents in the Vidyard survey indicated they invested in webinars in 2020.
Videoconferencing is the new go-to-market sales model
The McKinsey study revealed that B2B buyers are willing to invest in large value purchases without ever meeting face-to-face with the seller. How large?
- 32% would make a purchase of $50K to $500K
- 12% would make a purchase of $500K to $1M
- 15% would purchase over $1M
Source: McKinsey
Video, along with live chat, play a huge role in enabling the success of sales teams in a remote B2B sales environment. These two tactics emerged as the predominant channels for interacting and closing sales with B2B buyers, according to the McKinsey study.
During COVID-19, videoconferencing over Zoom, WebEx, Teams and other applications drove more revenue than traditional go-to-market sales models including phone and in-person models. In fact, videoconferencing was (vastly) preferred and found to be more helpful by sales teams in all meeting scenarios including meeting with internal teams, existing customers and prospects as the following McKinsey chart demonstrates:
Source: McKinsey
The power of video
Over 75% of respondents in the Vidyard survey indicated that video content performed somewhat better or much better compared to other forms of content. Another study found that incorporating video into your company’s landing page can increase conversions by up to 80%.
There are many ways sales teams can incorporate video into the sales process and, in fact, this is happening more and more.
The Vidyard survey demonstrated that while video on channels more traditionally used by marketing teams decreased (e.g., social media, websites, YouTube and landing pages) in 2020 versus 2019, the use of video on sales-oriented channels increased. This includes email, sales and customer conversations (e.g., videoconferencing), recorded webinars and training.
This growth was seen in companies of all sizes, but was the most pronounced in large organizations with more than 600 employees.
A parting word about video analytics
As with any sales or marketing tactic, setting goals and tracking performance is critical for success. There are many ways to measure the impact of video and most platforms provide some level of reporting. Video viewing data was the most important metric for sales teams.
Nearly 90% of sales professionals in the Vidyard study indicated they use video viewing data to qualify leads, engage prospects and influence deals. Other KPIs can be monitored as well including conversions, shares/interactions (on social media), play rate, view count and clickthrough rate.
It’s clear that video is a powerful selling tool that’s more than a passing trend. More video is being created than ever before and it’s being utilized in more ways than ever before. 45% of respondents in the Vidyard survey indicated they created 50 videos or more in 2020, up from 13% in 2019. That’s a staggering 254% year-over-year increase.
With the right tools and planning, video can absolutely be a successful part of your B2B selling strategy. Check out our video services and inquire today to see how we can help!
