Every customer you ever had came to your company via a certain journey. In most cases the journey is fairly similar. At first customers become aware of your brand. They find you in search engine, they see your ad on TV, they find an answer to their question on your blog or they see a viral video on YouTube featuring your brand etc etc. Then they start to research their options. This is the phase when a potential customer faces a certain problem and realises that it can be solved by your or similar product or service. After the research is done they make the final decision and they purchase your product.

This customer journey is sometimes called the purchasing funnel. (Read more about purchasing funnel here.)

Video content can help energise and speed up the movement of your potential customer from brand awareness towards an actual purchase.

This post will give you some examples of how video can be used throughout the customer journey and how it can keep potential customers moving even faster towards the purchase of your product or service.

RAISE AWARENESS

During this phase the customer is made aware of several brands including yours. The customer considers this initial set of brands based on brand perceptions and recent exposure.

Brand Films

Brand films are designed to raise awareness of your brand overall. They capture the audience by creating a certain “feel” about your brand that customers can connect with.

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram Video Ads and TV Commercials

Paid ads in social media is something almost every business should consider. These can be text ads or ads containing photography. But the most effective are social media ads that utilise video. TV commercials is another traditional medium. Smaller companies can choose to run those in local TV stations. Only larger companies will be able to run TV ads in national or international level television channels. These videos are part of a more traditional outbound marketing and can be tailored to raise awareness.

Educational Videos, Tutorial videos, “How To” Videos

These videos fall into more a modern marketing category – the content marketing video category. By providing solutions to problems your customers are facing you will seamlessly expose them to your brand. You will also build trust and reputation as an authority figure in a certain field.

HELP CUSTOMERS RESEARCH YOUR PRODUCT

During this stage your potential customers are actively looking for a solution for their problem and are expressing an interest in your product as the potential solution. 

Product Demonstration Videos

If you provide physical product nothing is better to convince a customer to buy a product as a product demo video. These can be user generated (for example skin care product review videos in Instagram, created by Instagram users) or produced by your own company.  Product demo videos is a category which is one of the most affordable for smaller companies as not that many things need to be seen visually in the video apart from the product itself, which makes the video easier to make. 

Case Study Videos and Testimonial Videos

Recommendations and reviews are very influential part of marketing. Nothing is better for building trust in your brand than showcasing happy customers via case study videos and testimonial videos. Let other people tell why your product or service is excellent and how it has helped them. Building trust is essential to be able to increase sales. 

Corporate Profile Videos and Company Culture Videos

People prefer to work with and buy from people they like. You can influence your customers during their research phase by exposing them to your corporate profile and company culture videos. Your video will communicate a positive image of your brand, and this will definitely boost conversions and sales.

FINAL PUSH TO PURCHASE.

During this last phase customers are taking final steps towards purchasing the chosen product or service, e.g. they are filling in a quote form. Here you can use a video to answer the final concerns of your customers. 

FAQ Videos

When you are buying a product in a real, physical store it is often just before the final purchase that you ask your final and most specific questions. Let video be your sales person and let it explain all the details similar to a shop assistant in real life.

“How To” Videos

Prove that you will provide excellent customer care after the sales by creating instructional “How To” videos. It will create even more trust in your business and push the customer to purchase.

ADVOCACY

In this stage the customer (hopefully) is satisfied with the purchase and has become a loyal customer. She/he is providing referrals and recommendations to other potential customers.

Thank You Video

These videos will once again show that it is the customer that is most important for your business and not just the sales. Turn your customers into your fans!

CONCLUSION

Video is a very powerful medium that can really influence your customer at every step he/she takes during the journey from initial awareness to final purchase. Embrace video production now and stay ahead of your competitors!

Last updated: 15 June 2019