In the dynamic realm of the attention economy, where every second counts, it’s a race to capture the spotlight and win over the hearts and minds of tech-savvy buyers. The behavior of tech buyers has evolved, and we now find ourselves in the era of the self-serve buyer. Buyers crave a purchasing experience free from direct seller involvement, dedicating virtually all their time to self-education. Therefore, if your team isn’t educating your customers, they’ll start turning to your competitors.
Enter the power of video—the unrivaled tool for engaging and influencing buyers at every stage of their self-research journey. The statistics speak volumes:
- 96% of buyers say they turn to videos to learn more about a specific product and/or service
- 8 out of 10 users have purchased software or apps after having watched the brand’s video
- 92% of brands say video generates positive ROI
Marketers who say video has given them a good ROI (Source)
As you can see, when it comes to captivating and influencing buyers throughout their self-research journey, there’s no tool more potent than video. Its immersive and persuasive nature makes it the ultimate choice for engaging buyers at every stage: awareness, interest, evaluation, onboarding, impact, and growth.
Let’s dive into each stage to uncover the types of videos that wield the greatest impact, the crucial metrics to track, and top-notch examples that will ignite your creative spark. By embracing a Customer Generation approach to video, you will set in motion a transformational process that propels your tech company toward substantial growth and leaves an indelible impact on your audience.
6 Video Types for Complete Coverage of Your Buyer’s Journey
To establish a high-performance 24/7 buyer engagement and conversion funnel, you must focus on 2 critical aspects: customer acquisition and subsequent retention and growth.
The journey begins with capturing the attention of potential customers and nurturing their interest through the stages of awareness, interest, and evaluation. Once converted, the focus shifts towards fostering a seamless onboarding experience, creating a lasting impact, and nurturing sustained growth.
Let’s see each stage in action.
1. Brand Awareness
In the Brand Awareness stage, the foundations of your company’s identity and purpose are laid bare, answering vital questions such as who you are, who you serve, and why your company exists. It’s here that you have the opportunity to captivate your audience, enticing them to explore further and immersing them in your brand’s compelling narrative on their preferred platforms. By strategically developing Brand Explainer videos, Video Ads, and Social Media videos, you can forge a deep connection that resonates with your target audience.
To gauge the effectiveness of your brand awareness efforts, key revenue attribution metrics and KPIs come into play, including impressions, view count, video replays, shares, channel growth, and click-through rate.
In this Brand Explainer video for Calendly, we focused on encapsulating the essence of the company by effortlessly conveying the problems their target users have and how they solve them, all with an aesthetic that showcases their liveliness as a company and product.
2. Interest
In the Interest stage, the focus shifts towards answering critical questions that pique the curiosity of your potential customers. It’s here that they seek to understand what your product does and the transformative benefits it can bring to their lives. They want to learn from real-life success stories to discover how companies similar to theirs have leveraged your product to achieve remarkable outcomes. They also want access to your best content and insights, allowing them to quickly upskill and stay ahead of the curve. To cater to these needs, we recommend building videos such as Product Overviews, Testimonials, and Blog and Thought Leadership videos.
To gauge the effectiveness of your efforts in capturing interest, track metrics such as the view-through rate, watch time, engagement, brand sentiment, share of voice, and conversions.
In this Product Overview video for Extend, we used compelling storytelling and seamless visuals to illustrate Extend’s features, benefits, and unique value proposition, all while answering key questions.
We recommend using animation and motion if you need to simplify complex topics, would like to create something for social media, or need to visually showcase your UI or platform in use. They are easy to edit and repurpose and are great for making snappy and digestible content.
3. Evaluation
During the Evaluation stage, potential customers seek answers to crucial questions that help them assess the value and fit of your product. They want to understand the hands-on experience of using your offering and explore specific use cases where your product has delivered tangible results. They are also eager to discover personalized offers that align with their needs, bringing them one step closer to becoming your valued customer. To address these inquiries effectively, we recommend producing Demo, Case Study, and Custom Proposal videos.
To measure the impact of your videos, it’s essential to track metrics and KPIs such as visitor duration, bounce rate, purchase intent, conversions, lead quality, and pipeline velocity. These indicators provide valuable insights into the level of engagement, intent, and readiness to make a purchase.
Take, for instance, this compelling Case Study video we created for Omnipresent. This video serves as a powerful tool in the evaluation stage by presenting a real-life success story of a customer who has achieved remarkable results using Omnipresent’s solutions. Through authentic interviews, detailed testimonials, and cheerful visuals, the Case Study video showcases the value and impact that the product brings to businesses. It provides target customers with tangible evidence of the benefits they can expect and helps build trust in your offering.
Opt for live-action videos when you’re trying to humanize your brand for relatability, want to create an emotional bond, and need to execute bigger ideas. This way, you can use original footage and there are no limitations to your story.
4. Onboarding
During the Onboarding stage, customers have successfully signed up for your product or service and are eager to hit the ground running. They seek clear guidance on the next steps to maximize their experience and understand how to leverage your product effectively. To facilitate a seamless onboarding process, incorporating video content such as Welcome / Get Started videos and Tutorial / Customer Success videos is crucial.
To measure the impact of your onboarding videos, key revenue attribution metrics and KPIs come into play, including product usage, support requests, NPS (Net Promoter Score), and retention. These metrics provide insights into the level of customer engagement, satisfaction, and long-term loyalty.
One notable example of an impactful onboarding video is our own Welcome / Get Started video. This video stands out in its ability to provide a warm and informative introduction to our company with customer success stories that set the expectations right from the start. With its concise yet comprehensive overview, it ensures that new customers feel welcomed and supported from the moment they join us. By showcasing the key steps and resources available to them, this video sets the foundation for a positive onboarding experience, empowering customers to navigate our offerings with confidence.
Testimonial productions are a great way to validate your product ROI with a real person. They offer instant brand credibility and are extremely convincing.
5. Impact
In the Impact stage, customers are eager to delve deeper into industry insights, maximize their product usage, and enhance their skills and knowledge. They seek answers to questions such as the best ways to leverage your product, how to excel in their roles, and how to stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends. To address these needs effectively, we recommend incorporating video content such as Infographics / Reports, Success Tactics, and Educational Videos.
To measure the impact of your videos in this stage, track the product usage, users added, NPS (Net Promoter Score), retention, and referrals.
One standout example of an impact stage video is our own Infographic / Report video, “The Verdict on Paid Media.” This video excels in delivering comprehensive industry insights in a visually engaging and easily digestible format. By condensing valuable information into a report-style video, we empower our audience to stay up-to-date, gain a competitive edge, and make informed decisions within the realm of paid media. The combination of captivating visuals, clear messaging, and actionable takeaways makes this video a powerful tool for our audience’s professional growth and impact.
6. Grow
In the Grow stage, customers are looking to take their experience with your company to the next level. They are interested in exploring additional functionality, scaling their operations, and discovering what more your offerings can do for them. This stage is an opportunity to showcase new products and services through video content that highlights their value and benefits.
To measure the impact of these videos, track the product usage, users added, average order value, NPS (Net Promoter Score), retention, and referrals. By tracking these metrics, you can assess the effectiveness of your videos in driving growth, expanding your customer base, and increasing revenue.
A noteworthy example of a new product and services video is one created by the Canva team. This video stands out for its ability to introduce and showcase their latest offerings in a visually compelling and engaging manner. With its captivating storytelling, vibrant visuals, and clear demonstration of the benefits, the video effectively captures the audience’s attention and sparks curiosity. It not only informs but also excites viewers about the potential of these new products and services, making it a valuable asset in driving growth and expanding Canva’s customer base.
Start Captivating Buyers at Every Stage of Their Journey with Video
In today’s attention economy, where self-serve buyers dominate, video has emerged as the ultimate tool for engaging and influencing tech-savvy buyers throughout their self-research journey. Videos are a great way to learn about products and services and, today, brands are experiencing serious ROI from video marketing.
To establish a high-performance buyer engagement and conversion funnel, focus on customer acquisition and retention. At each stage of the buyer’s journey, use specific types of videos that make the greatest impact. From brand explainer and social media videos for brand awareness, to product overviews and testimonials for capturing interest, and demo and case study videos for evaluation, video content is key.
Once customers are onboarded, leverage welcome and tutorial videos to provide seamless onboarding and enhance their experience. Then, use industry reporting and new service videos to drive growth and expand your customer base.
By embracing the power of video and adopting a Customer Generation approach, your tech company can ignite growth, leaving a lasting impact on your audience.
To learn more about how you can gain a competitive edge in the world of video with Customer Generation, let’s get on a call. We’d love to partner with your team to drive meaningful growth and revenue for your tech company.
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