“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.”- Peter Drucker
Consumers seem to want everything business related on the go – communication, promotions, responses, videos, troubleshooting – who can blame them, everything is moving so fast! Jumping on to this ‘on the go’ bandwagon are companies that are building business through interactive videos that serve as non-interruptive advertising. Consumers see value in these interactive videos in promotion and also gaining an insight in to the latest offerings in the market and that too with a human touch. Companies are improving on the quality of these videos by making them easy to manoeuvre, share, discuss and understand. Easy accessibility via hand held and mobile devices are also helping to build their popularity. Brands can achieve success and fame overnight if these promotional interactive videos are done well. It is a chance to interact with many customers at the same time on a one-to-one basis. It is also an opportunity to influence them since you have their undivided attention to your brand.
For companies wanting build business through interactive videos, it is vital that they have a clear understanding of the consumer base. This understanding will ensure that the content that goes in to the videos will be relevant, catchy and bang on target. It will address the right audience at the most opportune time meaning when the content is relevant for the consumer. Successfully building business through interactive videos can only happen if the decision is driven by this relevant data. Attracting customers is hard as it is and so using this digital medium which allows a customer to focus on your brand is a wise choice. The important thing to remember that the video must be interactive, pack a punch and be riveting enough for the customer to watch it completely. If a customer is suitably impressed they may want to instantly share it with associates and friends, provide feedback and discuss the offering. The video will be considered interactive only if these actions by the customer are possible. By generating this content that connects with multiple senses of the customer – sight, sound and touch – companies will not only engage in a unique manner with their customer but create a brand connection powerful enough to sky rocket their business.
Although there is no single solution of how best to connect with and influence customers, the impact found through interactive videos certainly seems encouraging. The engagement and connection that interactive videos make through a dialogue with the prospective or current customer, provides a much better platform in understanding the needs and expectations of the customer. Business through interactive videos will be far better since the premise of such a connection is that a consumer will swiftly move from being unaware of the brand to understanding it well and so towards making a decision of buying and being associated with it. Interactive videos even overcome some of the disadvantages of a web-based application.
– They don’t require the user to have any special knowledge of web based applications or specific computer skills
– Use a very miniscule portion of the company’s bandwidth
– Engage the user from start to end since there is an interaction at a personal level
– They encourage and nudge the consumer to think about the value the brand will add to them
– The information provided is interesting, concise and focused and been put together keeping in mind the customer’s interests and needs
– The focused attention makes it simpler for the user to make a decision to buy
– It is a great way to stay ahead of competition since you will be reaching out to many customers at the same time
– The message that is going out to each customer is consistent and so even one positive comment or share, could quickly gather momentum and result in several purchases
– Users are able to be part of the campaign by providing feedback and adding value to the content
– Being part makes customers feel important and in control. This influences positively the buying decision.
“We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.” – Pierre Omidyar
Interactive videos prove more powerful than companies actually think. When customers can see that their opinion is valued, that feedback they may have given in the past has been used and the kind of commitment shown by the company in putting control in their hands – is enough to show the user the kind of customer service they can expect. From past expositions and real world scenarios, we know that customer decisions to buy are being more and more influenced by customer service. Great technology being put to great use with fabulous results!
Sustaining business through interactive videos is another way to build business and this is more an inward looking decision. Sending out such videos within the company, before launching it to the customers is a great way to get buy-in and insight from a larger group within the company.
– It encourages corporate dialogue and the involvement of a larger number of senior people shows trust and shares responsibility
– More people within the company are introduced to the product or service to be launched for customers.
– It is not expensive or time consuming and can be viewed by people in different locations without requiring them to travel thereby saving on costs and time.
– It proves to be an internal survey where feedback is instantaneous and genuine
– Allows for improvements to be made before the final video goes out to customers by the wealth of knowledge that internal customers will provide.
After all the effort that is put in to creating an interactive video, there must be a way of measuring its success. This sometimes can be difficult since there are no set standards that can accurately gauge how the video was received by the consumers. Did they like it? Did they hate it? Are they indifferent? The good news is that there are tools available on the internet that help companies make an assessment on how well the interactive video fared. Assessing the likes and dislikes of the video by the consumer will place companies in a better position to customize and make even better campaigns for the future. Trends and consumer needs and demands are fluid and will keep changing and so it becomes even more imperative to understand what to address rather than sending out something that will prove to be a complete waste.
The one thing that is certain is that business through interactive videos is here to stay. With social and business pressures rising, customer attention spans are becoming shorter and patience levels are dropping. If your marketing campaign through a video is not interactive, customers will most likely not view it beyond the first few seconds. The ‘call to action’ even in interactive videos must be early on in the presentation, if companies want customers to watch it from start to end. The key to keeping customers engaged and creating an exciting experience for them is to have properly spaced ‘calls to action’ through the video.
The consumer wants and needs more information and if it is an interactive means to get it, you can be sure that the user will be ‘hooked’. More companies are getting drawn towards using interactive videos to engage with customers as it increases brand awareness and accelerates the buying decision. Crossing your fingers and ‘hoping’ that your drab marketing efforts meet with success is certainly not going to make it work for you. Rather a concerted and effective marketing tool that will slice through your competitors strategies and put you way ahead in the fierce market of today – build your business through interactive videos.
