The 2.0 Approach to Video

Of all the videos watched daily on YouTube — more than 200 million, according to Answer.com — I’ve been wondering how many of them are used in sales and marketing to connect with prospects and customers. I’ve also been asking how sales and marketing leaders are measuring the effectiveness of video. Some companies are reporting a 20% increase in response when they incorporate a video link into e-mail campaigns, compared to those without video.

That got my attention.

We decided to produce and test our own video, featuring one of our most loyal Phone Works customers: Dave Holmes, VP of sales and marketing operations at Informatica, our client for the past six years.

We went with a customer testimonial video — with the help of video production company Micro-Documentaries — because we wanted a convenient way to allow our prospects to hear about a customer’s experience with us and the results they achieved, in their own words.  We also wanted to be able to

1. feature the video in multiple places such as on our website and LinkedIn profiles, and in sales presentations, social media and e-mail communication
2. give prospects an easy and immediate way to connect with us following the video if they liked what they saw
3. measure their response

Check out our video (with countless thanks to Dave Holmes and Informatica!):

Micro-documentaries takes a very Sales 2.0 approach to video production: They embed a strategically placed call-to-action button at the end of the video. That call to action is connected to a landing page where prospect data can be collected and tracked. It is precisely that tracking and measuring capability — ideally from the beginning to the end of the sales cycle — that makes this a 2.0 approach to video.

Headed by Phone Works client Natasha Giraurdie, Micro-documentaries has its roots at Stanford University, where many of the company’s young filmmakers studied. They also have ties to the Stanford Persuasion Lab, where research proved the positioning of the call-to-action button within the final video screen — not off to the side — significantly increases response rates. Given that a prospect’s emotional response and willingness to take action is highest immediately following a viewing, sellers and marketers should make it as easy as possible to respond at that moment.

The Micro-documentaries philosophy is also somewhat contrary to the prevailing views of many YouTube movie-makers, which hold that poor-quality, unpolished, “quick and dirty” videos are more authentic than the polished variety.  Micro-documentaries believes an effective video can also be high-quality and visually appealing — even beautiful. All agree that glitzy, scripted videos that often come out of marketing departments are definitely not the way to capture the attention of Customer 2.0.

Instead of a script, Micro-documentaires has a process for capturing the essence of a story. I was directed to a website form and asked key questions about the story (background, context, issue/opportunity, resolution, implication/what lies ahead), as well as location, people, pictures and graphics. The only difficult part about scheduling the shoot was the limited windows of times: sunrise or sunset. It turns out that was well worth it, given the quality of light at those magical times of day that professional film people live for.

Like other content, videos can be re-purposed, so the very reasonable investment of a few thousand dollars can be tested in multiple marketing media and programs. We are eager to start tracking and reporting on our own results, and I will post about how we are doing that, as well as what we find out.

What do you think? Is the video effective? How are YOU using video in your sales and marketing? What are the results?

Tags: Sales 2.0, video

Sales 2.0 Thinking: Get an Outside Perspective

We are all insanely busy these days. In our day-to-day jobs, we are so focused on execution that it’s difficult to think about how to improve performance and productivity.    Here’s an idea:  talk to people outside your company, compare experiences and share ideas.   I’ve been interviewing Sales 2.0 leaders for my new book project and they all have one thing in common: they find time to call their peers doing similar work in other organizations, attend conferences and networking events and read about how others are improving results in sales. These Sales 2.0 practitioners seek out and are open to outside perspectives.

Last week I traveled to Atlanta to deliver several Sales 2.0 workshops, thanks to the invitation of Mark Barry of OpenView Partners, Marge Beiler of RareAgent, the AA-ISP (American Association of Inside Sales Professionals) and others who sponsored the events. I call these events workshops rather than presentations for a reason. I am not the only person contributing information: participants share their successes and challenges and everyone learns from each other.   In order to be a credible and current Sales 2.0 “expert”,  I feel I need to be continually learning from my clients and those that come to hear me speak.

In my Sales 2.0 workshops, I start by presenting the key concepts of Sales 2.0, what is driving it, and how companies are producing better results by practicing it. Then I get to my favorite part: facilitating a conversation with the audience.  In two days in Atlanta, I got to hear from Venture Capitalists and investment partners, business executives running venture-funded start-ups, sales professionals,  inside sales managers, inside sales reps, recruiters, trainers, and several other service providers, all of whom were eager to learn – from me as well as from other participants – what is working in the new world of selling and buying. Here are some of the things I learned:

1. In order to engage prospects, stand out from the crowd.

• At one company, e-mails that include a humorous video are getting a 20% better response than those without
• Prospects appreciate a personal touch: hand-written note cards and physical mailings are being well-received

2. Companies are experimenting with allowing inside sales reps to work from home.

• Most managers agree that this works well as special recognition for senior reps who are performing (but not recommended for new hires)
• Bringing the sales group together (face to face) is still important for team-building
• One company found a loss in productivity with remote reps

3. Large, established companies are learning from smaller companies.

• Much of what start-ups (and we in the Sales 2.0 community) take for granted is new learning for the Fortune 500
• There is huge potential to expand the role of inside sales within large companies (and improve their margin and customer satisfaction)

4. Sales teams are using social media  but don’t yet know how to evaluate the results.

• Most managers buy in to using LinkedIn in the sales process; many are skeptical about Facebook and Twitter
• Connecting to customers and prospects is a good idea

Read also Mark Barry’s excellent blog post about these events, Sales 2.0: Succeeding in the New World of High Productivity.

What have you learned by looking outside your company for new ideas? And where do you find them?

Tags: inside sales, Sales 2.0, social media, telework, video