Using Web Video for B2B Marketing

Posted by JasonB on June 8, 2009

Web video is the fastest-growing content channel on the Internet, the Web Video Marketing Council reports. And while consumer video sites like YouTube make up a sizeable share of the web video explosion, web video is making inroads into B2B web marketing quickly.

B2B marketers have embraced the fact that online marketing channels, because of their lower delivery costs and higher response rates, have a much greater ROI potential than traditional mediums, such as print and television.

Today, the majority of internet users have a high-speed connection, and over 95% of their computers are flash compatible.  This means there is a very good chance prospects will be able to easily access web video.

Time is Money – Reading vs. Watching

Simply put, decision makers at business are usually pressed for time.  They need information quickly, so they can take action.  If they’re searching for a service provider, it is probably because they have an issue that needs a solution now.  So given the choice of watching video or reading print, which do you think they prefer?

Web video enables businesses to present key pain points and their solutions’ benefits in an easily comprehendible format, all in minutes.   This shortens the amount of time and effort needed for a prospect to become familiar with, and understand, your brand and offering, thus reducing sales cycles.

Forrester Research predicts that websites will start to become video rich.    Features like “virtual demonstrations” and “video FAQ’s ” help companies selling complex products and services deliver their message in a manner that is easy for prospects to absorb and remember.

Tracking Provides Insight

Who is interested in what you offer?  Who could care less?   If someone’s interested, what feature intrigued them the most?

Web video can provide the user experience of television, with the tracking ability of email.  For salespeople, this means they can identify who opened and viewed a prospecting email containing a video, and then focus their follow up on hotter targets.  For the Marketing Department, this means they can see that “product A” was viewed X% over “product B”, thus future messaging can be tailored accordingly.

Consistency in Message Delivery

Let’s face it, every organization has their “star salesperson”, and those that could use some help.   Web video enables you to arm every sales person with the best presentation possible.    Sales managers can take ease, knowing that their salespeople only need to get that video in front of a prospect and hit “play” to deliver the exact message they want to convey.     Consider this….how many “pitches” do your salespeople make in a given week?   5? 10?  A web video can essentially sit online and “pitch” prospects 24/7/365, always delivering the right message at the right time.  It can be hosted on popular video sites like YouTube, emailed to hundreds of new prospects, or looped on a big screen at a trade show.    Wherever it’s used, it’s consistent, inexpensive, and doesn’t require commission for a sale .