Improve Retail Marketing With Customer-Driven Video Interaction

If you're looking for a way to grab and hold a prospect's attention online, video works better than text. According to a Wharton Research Center study, 90 percent of internet surfers leave a text-only site in four seconds, whereas if video is present on the homepage, the drop rate decreases to 60 percent, demonstrating a significant increase in stickiness for sites with video.

Video also makes consumers more likely to buy your product or service. An Invodo study revealed that over half of consumers (52 percent) say they're more confident about buying after viewing a product video. While these statistics underscore the importance of using video for online marketing, there's another factor to consider: shrinking attention spans. Consumers’ attention spans average about eight seconds now, down from 12 seconds in 2000.

When it Comes to Marketing Videos, Shorter is Better
Attention spans are shorter, and one reason is the vast amount of information that's now at people's fingertips on the web. When consumers are evaluating products or services online, they're typically unwilling to invest much time in watching a long-form sales pitch unless it directly addresses their needs. Since each consumer has unique needs, it's a challenge for companies to decide which features and/or benefits need to be communicated first. Focusing on one portion of the value proposition will appeal to consumers specifically interested in that, but risks losing prospects who are interested in another portion.

So how do you make your online marketing video relevant to every visitor? How can you create a video that gives each aspect of your product or service the attention it is due without making your marketing video so long that no one will watch it?

The answer is to give consumers the option to satisfy their own unique interests. By breaking a long-form video down into bite-sized components and presenting it as a series of modules, consumers can select and view the video in whichever order they choose. You can be both thorough and brief.

Simulating a Two-Way Conversation for Better Results … and Superior Analytics
When you break a marketing video down into component messages and let viewers "choose their own journey" through your presentation, you're engaging them in a very personal way. Even though the overall message is crafted for a broad audience (using your most persuasive sales person to deliver the pitch), the fact that the prospect gets to choose which topics to view and the order in which to view it — and select subsequent options in the form of calls to action or pursue offers of additional information — means each viewer gets a customized presentation.

A customized experience is an advantage for consumers since they immediately get access to the information that's most relevant to them without being forced to endure a lengthy sales pitch, but it's also a big win for your sales team. With the right platform, you can receive valuable analytics that tell you what the viewer is looking for and where they are in the buying cycle.

Each action the viewer takes, from initial topic selection to choosing additional videos to accepting or declining a download or sales call — is a data point that can deliver powerful insights. The more you know about customer preferences, the better your chances of closing a sale.

An Automatic Stream of Qualified Leads
As an online retailer, you're aware that when consumers are conducting product or service research online, thousands of other retailer sites are just a click away. You need a way to differentiate your site and ad campaigns, providing compelling information that can grab and hold a consumer's attention. Video is superior to text when it comes to stickiness.

Not just any video will do, however. You need a way to address individual customer needs while still providing a comprehensive overview of what your company offers. A platform that allows viewers to choose short video bursts provides the best of both worlds — complete information and the ability to let viewers zero in on what's most important to them. It can also generate analytics that deliver a major advantage in the form of a steady stream of qualified leads automatically.

Michael Castellano is the co-founder and CEO of engajer, a sophisticated online platform that communicates complex and rich content in a personal, easily digestible way.