Do you know what your customers want from you? Of course, you know that they want quality products and services, but before they start buying yours, they need to make it through the buyers’ journey. In each phase of this journey, your (potential) customers will want something slightly different from you.
If you can give them what they want, they’ll move on to the next phase and eventually buy your product. But how can you tell what they want? Entirely too many Australian business owners ignore this journey, assuming that their customers will immediately recognize the need for their superior products or services.
Others rely on outdated and inefficient techniques to answer customers’ questions and give them what they want. Too few are doing the smart thing and using branded videos to deliver their business messages to their customers. These will be the companies to see major growth and success in the coming years, as video traffic is expected to reach at least 84% of all online traffic by next year.
The Buyers’ Journey – What Do Your Customers Want?
Before you start making and posting all kinds of haphazard videos, though, you’ll need a good video strategy. This should be based on your customers’ needs and wants, depending on where they are in the buyers’ journey, which consists of these four phases:
- Suspect – This person hasn’t decided to make a purchase yet. They may know of your brand, or they may just have come upon your company for the first time. At this point, they’re just beginning to think about a problem that needs to be fixed.
- Prospect – The prospect knows they have a problem to fix, and they’re just beginning to research solutions to do the job. They’re researching brands and products, and they’re asking more in-depth questions. However, they haven’t made a definite decision to buy anything yet.
- Lead – They’ve decided to make a purchase, but they want to ensure that they’ve chosen the right company and the right product. They’re serious about delving into specific research and comparing products and/or services before they make their final decision.
- Customer – They’ve made a purchase from you and are officially now one of your customers. They’re trying out their new product and asking questions about customer care and service. They want to know that they’ve made the right purchase.
Videos Cater to Each Phase of the Buyers’ Journey
A good video strategy doesn’t focus solely on one phase of the buyers’ journey. It doesn’t draw in the suspects and leave them wondering why they visited your site in the first place. It also doesn’t assume that every viewer is a lead who’s serious about purchasing a product and is already familiar with your brand. Most importantly, it doesn’t abandon your customers after they’ve made a purchase.
Here’s an example to help you stay ahead. You can implement a new video strategy with just four types of videos, one for each phase of the buyers’ journey. Start with a short, eye-catching brand video as your splash screen for your home page. Then create category videos to give visual and aural senses of what kinds of products or services you offer. Individual product videos cater to your leads, and, finally, helpful tutorial videos can help your customers better use the products they’ve purchased.
Video is truly the best way to give your customers what they want. Just identify the phase of the buying cycle they’re in and how to reach out to them where they are. Then use the best medium for engagement and retention: video.
Source: Blundell, Jules. Capture More Customers With Video: The Why, What and How.