Videos in B2B Sales Outperform Other Content Formats

B2B sales have changed. Today’s customers can discover many ways about new products or services and their details without ever meeting a sales representative. It also becomes difficult for a company to differentiate its products or services or stand out. In addition, the attention span of potential customers is rapidly decreasing. This means that the way businesses and salespeople communicate with potential customers needs to change.

To thrive in this competitive environment, sales reps use a variety of content formats, such as PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, PDFs, and videos. To understand the status of video content usage in sales, and more specifically, how video performs compared to other content formats, Allego recently conducted a study. One of the key points is that video outperforms other document formats in terms of views and engagement.

Here are some detailed results.

Video outperforms text content formats in terms of views and engagement

Research reveals that shared videos are viewed more than shared documents. Indeed, the View to Share ratio (views divided by shares) of videos is 236% higher than other documents. The view/share rate for documents is 1.1 and this for videos is 3.6. Essentially, videos generate about 2.4 times more views than other types of material.

Recipients are more likely to engage with the video

Prospects and customers prefer watching videos to reading documents. According to research, videos shared externally are 12% more likely to be opened than other content formats. When users share content, the average open rate is just over half. But comparing the opening rates of documents to videos, documents are opened 50% of the time, while videos are opened 56% of the time.

Recipients interact with videos more often than with documents

It has also been found that users review videos more often than reread documents. When content recipients interact with a piece of content, they do so 3x more often with a video than with a static document.

Home videos get more views than other videos

Video creators influence view rates. Personal videos (videos created and shared by the same person) are viewed more often than non-personal videos. For example, videos created by sales reps and shared with leads are viewed more than videos created by sales support managers and shared with the sales team for external sharing. In fact, personal videos generate 3.6 times more views than non-personal videos.

Viewer engagement decreases with longer videos

Research shows that videos under one minute have a completion rate of 66%. Videos between 1-4 minutes have the highest completion rate of 71%. But after 4 minutes, the completion rate started to drop. Videos longer than an hour have a completion rate of just 36%.

Best practices for sales managers when using video

As remote and hybrid work becomes the norm, now is the best time for your business to leverage video in its sales efforts and stay ahead of the competition. Video can be the winning content format that helps you bring your leads closer to a purchase and win more business. However, to make effective use of videos in your sales efforts, here are some best practices.

Prospects and Buyer Retention

Customers today prefer to do their own research and are more likely to interact with video than with text or static documents. Recording and sharing personalized videos at key points in the buying process is critical to successful sales. Videos can help generate new leads and fill your sales team’s sales funnel. Adding videos is also a great way to improve the performance of your lead emails. Sales reps can use pre-recorded videos to engage with leads and build trust.

Personalize the previous meeting

Today, sales reps have fewer opportunities to meet face-to-face with potential customers. Therefore, appearing on video before a possible meeting could break the ice. Additionally, sending out videos ahead of time allows potential customers to see and learn more about the product/service at their own pace before the meeting.

Sales reps can also personalize lead nurturing materials, presentations, and video communications.

Differences after the meeting

Sales reps can use personalized videos to summarize conversations and fix missing points after meeting with a prospect. Video recording is an easy way to make a thank you message more personal and engaging. It also helps differentiate your communication from others.

Strengthen after-sales relationships

For companies, retaining a customer is just as important as winning one. High renewal rates improve customer lifetime value and enable companies to better realize revenue. Therefore, use videos to help customers get the most out of your product/service. Video content makes it easy to share tips and provide previews of upcoming features. Teaching existing customers how to find useful features and coming up with new use cases are valuable uses for video.

Monitor video engagement

Track potential customer engagement with shared content showing the content’s impact and revenue contribution. Make sure your reps can track the activity on videos and other media they share with potential customers. This helps sales reps understand the potential customer’s level of interest and purchase intent.

Leverage video to gain a competitive advantage

Research shows that video content outperforms static documents in terms of views, engagement, and overall performance. For the sales team, a video is a tool that can provide a competitive advantage. Short, personal videos can improve communication with potential customers, building relationships and trust, which ultimately leads to more sales. Therefore, take advantage of video and follow best practices to drive better revenue.