Six Important Videos for Lead Nurturing and Demand Generation

Can the right videos really help improve your sales funnel, reduce your costs of sales and make it easier for your buyers to buy?

Introduction

If you are consistently closing B2B deals, you already know how to target markets and are skilled at explaining what makes your solution unique, what problems your solution solves and how your solution solves that problem.  This is how your sales team builds trust.

Building this trust requires that you systematically educate buyers. This pre-sales education process that builds trust over time (supported in large part by educational videos) is what differentiates a lead generation process from a demand generation process.

The Difference Between Lead Generation and Demand Generation

 This 90 second video explains the difference between lead gen vs. demand gen.

Historically this trust building pre-sales education was accomplished by Sales Development Reps (SDRs) meeting with the buyer in one on one meetings.  But exiting the pandemic, video became the breakout star to educate buyers and nurture leads (as we detailed in Key Video Trends for B2B Sales and Marketing Operations).

Videos replaced SDRs because one on one meetings were time consuming and expensive for the seller. And this process could be inconvenient for the buyers–because this process requires the lead to schedule a meeting with and SDR to learn more – even if the early stage leads are not certain the product is the right solution to solve their problem. This is why videos are now a required part of any sales and marketing process.

Here are several key insights from Salesforce and Wyzowl that explain how buyers now leverage video and content and why video is now required to develop sales ready leads.

According to Wyzowl

• 86% of Buyers now prefer to use educational videos to learn about a solution
• And 94% of the United States top B2B Sellers now use videos to explain their solutions

According to a recent Salesforce study:

• 87% of sellers reported that video gives them the most positive ROI as part of their lead nurturing process
• More than 99% of current video marketers told us they’ll continue using video in this year, and two-thirds plan to increase or maintain their spend.
• And why 79% of marketers that don’t currently use video, told Salesforce they expect to start. (10% higher than last years figure of 69% and 20% higher than the previous year before that.)

It’s clear video is now a required tool to ensure you meet the pre-sales education needs of your buyers.  You need videos to consistently fill your sales funnel with “sales ready” leads and opportunities for your sales team to develop and win.

The 6 Types of Sales Education Videos You Need for Lead Nurturing

The six types of B2B videos that any company can use to make it easier for their buyer to self-educate, and increase production of sales and marketing are: 

1. Awareness and Explainer Videos
2. Problem and Challenges Videos
3. Tips Videos
4. Teach the Shopper How to Shop Videos
5. Demo Videos
6. Who We Are and Why We Do This Videos

The examples we are sharing below were produced by our parent company Gabriel Sales. Watched episodically they  allow buyers to self educate as they move from the “awareness” and “consideration” stages of their buyers journey. 

For additional samples of later stage videos designed for your buyers’ “preference” and “decision” stages we invite you to check out What Videos Are Most Effective Late Stage B2B Lead Scoring and Sales Automation.

When taken as a whole these early stage sales education videos will help to automate your buyer’s pre-sales journey helping them to understand:

• What problems you solve
• Why you solve them
• How you solve them
• Who you are
• How they will benefit

Notes on Production

These early-stage lead nurturing videos don’t need to be expensive and over-produced. They can be shot on camera, as screencasts or a blend of the two.

These videos need to address the pre-sales education needs of the buyer. These videos should replicate and meet the needs of the buyer as they move through the sales funnel from “awareness” through “consideration” towards their “preference” stage.  

1 – Awareness/Explainer Videos

Short videos, explaining the problem and how you solve the problem.  Keep these video succinct and under three minutes if possible to frame the situation your target buyer faces,  the complications it creates and how you help the solves thier problem.  These are designed to help them become aware of who you are and how you can help.

B2B Ecommerce and Managed Service

2 – Problem and Challenges Videos

Clearly state the challenge your target market faces.  These videos prove you understand their potential problems and starts the empathetic dialogue around solving a problem.  Creating this common ground and goal is a first step to move a buyer towards serious consideration of your solution.

Data Challenges Faced by Marketers

3 – Tips Videos

State the problem and how it is solved.  These videos are a great way to introduce some of your thought leaders as you move buyers from their early awareness of you solution to starting to trust your approach as they start to seriously consider your solution.

Five Key Ingredients for a Success…

4 – Teach the Shopper How to Shop

For many solutions the buyer understands the problem they are trying to solve, but they don’t know what’s important or how to frame solving the problem. In some cases they have never bought this type of solution before. This is your opportunity to help them do that.  These videos allow you to influence what a buyer needs to consider when making a decision.  It helps buyer to prefer you solution. 

Five Things to Consider When…

5 – Pitch Videos and Demo Videos 

As buyers move deeper into the funnel, they are open to understanding your value propositions, features and benefits and how you solve their problems. These pitch videos can be longer because the buyer is now willing to invest more time as they start to seriously consider what solution they prefer.

Hardware and Technology

Company overview that shows the products, and introduces the engineers, the service team, value props and satisfied customers that is also leveraged in dozens of tradeshow booths annually

5 – Who We Are and Why We Do This

The pitch videos frame your solution. These help you to increase trust by explaining the “Why” of the product and the people behind the solution.  They are also a great way to introduce founders and executives.

Why and the Benefits for Stakeholders…

About Gabriel Sales™ and Digital Demand Center™

Gabriel Sales was founded as an outsourced sales and marketing company in the early 2000s in San Francisco. Gabriel Sales started leveraging video and marketing automation in 2012 and since then has helped build, launch and deploy more than 150 sales and marketing engines for companies ranging from the Fortune 100 to start ups.

In 2020 Digital Demand Center™ was developed as a turnkey demand generation and lead nurturing solution designed specifically for small a mid-sized B2B sales organizations compete more effectively to win more business from the modern digital first B2B Buyer. We are passionate about help our clients compete for and win more business. You can learn more about how and why we designed this solution on our About Us page.

Digital Demand Center’s™ parent company Gabriel Sales continues to help companies of all shapes and sizes grow and flourish in this digital first environment with:

• Go-to-Market Strategy Consulting
• Sales Automation and Deep Funnel Content Production

You can learn more about Gabriel Sales’™ team and our approach to help you grow sales and improved marketing operations on our About Us page. You can learn more about our services at www.gabrielsales.com