How to Use Video Throughout the Buyer’s Journey
Most business professionals are aware of a popular concept called the “Buyer’s Journey” which places an emphasis on understanding who your leads are and how they transition from first-touch to successful customers. With the Buyer’s Journey approach, instead of taking the role of a greasy salesman that’s trying to make a sale at all cost, you take the role of a trusted advisor that can help solve a problem and offer knowledge to curious shoppers along the way, which, over time, builds trust.
The Buyer’s Journey Roadmap
“90% of consumers say that product videos are helpful in their decision-making process.”-SmartInsights
This is where video comes into play. Video is an incredible tool because it allows businesses to provide value to their customers throughout the Buyer’s Journey in a meaningful way. This article is designed to teach you how video may be used throughout each stage of this tried-and-true concept. However, first, it is important to understand the basics.
Understanding the Buyer’s Journey
This topic is so complex that a whole book can, and has, been written about this business concept. So, for time-sake, we will keep this overview pretty high-level. The Buyer’s Journey is broken up into three stages:
- Stage One is the Awareness Stage;
- Stage two is the Consideration Stage; and
- Stage three is the Decision Stage.
These stages reflect the research and decision process potential clients transition through from start to end (all fresh leads must start, inherently, in the Awareness Stage).
Awareness Stage
In stage one, your leads find themselves in a predicament. They either have a problem that needs to be solved, such as a big interview in two weeks or they have an opportunity, such as their marketing department just got a big budget for next year.
This stage is where the magic begins because the potential buyer is now trying to decide how they should address their problem or opportunity. It is during this stage when potential buyers begin to research what they could do to remedy this problem.
The buyer, for example, may decide they might need to dress well for their interview. Therefore, the buyer may Google something along the lines of, “How should I dress for my first job interview?” It is at this time that video can start to add value. A tie store, for example, may decide to make a video titled “First Interview? Learn How to Properly Dress to Land that Job!” This would be an instructive piece of content explaining formal attire; khakis, a collared shirt, and a tie.
At this point, you have successfully helped a person in need without trying to sell them. This will build trust between the potential buyer and your brand, as well as achieve another view (and hopefully like/share) for your video. Now, you have an opportunity to continue helping them even more as they move to the Consideration Stage.
Consideration Stage:
In the Consideration Stage, the prospect is well aware of their problem (i.e. “Oh no, I have a dress shirt and pants but no tie!”) and now they need to do research on where they should get a tie. This is when the concept of “educational videos” or “Product tutorial videos” becomes useful as you can explain in a high quality video, why your products can solve a problem and add value to the potential buyer.
“Viewers are not only more likely to watch a complete video, but they also, reportedly, retain 95% of a message viewed in a video, compared to 10% when reading text.”
Forbes – Young Entrepreneur Council
Our friend in need is most likely to search the internet first. They may, for example, search on Google “affordable ties for men,” at which time they will be exposed to Google page after Google page of thousands of websites and ads. This is an important stage of the process because it allows for relevant popular choices to appear at the right time and place.
Websites rank well in this process when they utilize the top inbound video strategies. Companies that implement strong SEO tactics will be more likely to appear top of page (but that’s for another blog). Once the customer clicks on a link, they will be exposed to a product page. This is a great opportunity to expose your lead to a product video feature that highlights the product, it’s features, and product variations (such as different colors or sizes). The goal here is not to distract your buyer, but to prompt them to add the product to their cart or go to your store without being pushy.
Decision Stage:
In this stage, the buyer has done their research, decided on the top few businesses that can help them solve their problem and are ready to purchase. It can be moments like this when a quick, 10 second video (made possible when using proper video editing), can help seal the deal. However, it is important to note that adding a video might be more harmful than good, “When you’ve made a sale, stop selling”. However, there are many great ways to use video at the point of purchase, such as a “Thank you!” video or putting more educational product videos of similar bundle products on the “Thank you!” page to try and get them thinking about future purchases.
Get Started With Video Today
Video is a powerful tool for companies that know how to leverage it’s value for their clients. However, it’s important to make sure you are aware of the 5 reasons you should be using video in the first place.
If you have questions about how to use video in 2022, or would like to talk with a professional about video editing, video features, or drone video, please contact a professional today.
