Today's consumers respond to engaging online experiences -- the more personal, the better -- at every stage of their relationship with an online brand. As a result, today's marketing leaders differentiate themselves by offering compelling online experiences that balance information and entertainment, consumer empowerment and satisfaction.
By engaging the consumer with personalized and real-time information, online brands can ensure the right person is receiving the right message at the right time. Online video tops the list as one of the most effective media for attracting, supporting, servicing, and expanding customer relationships in a highly personalized manner.
On-site video for attracting new customers
For online brands, increasing organic search helps enable topline growth. Innovative online marketers, like Office Depot, boost SEO and conversion results with videos that showcase their entire product catalogs. Why not? Google's search engine favors video. Video can add new listings on the first page of organic search, and search results with video icons are more likely to be clicked. Data demonstrates that videos with links drive click-through-rates 10 points higher for each product listing, and quality on-site product videos drive higher quality traffic because they scale to reach long-tail keywords.
It's proven: Acquiring customers through organic search initiatives can be more profitable than any other marketing channel.
Online video ads for retargeting prospects
Online brand advertisers are focused on uncovering new customers while delivering a favorable brand experience and maximizing return on ad spend. Smart use of online video can deliver on all three of these imperatives by combining the power of video advertising with the effectiveness of retargeting.
For example, Office Depot monitors who visits and leaves its website without purchasing. It uses smart video to target relevant consumer segments with higher buying intent, as well as site-abandoners more likely to respond positively to ads. This is accomplished by tailoring each online video ad impression to the personal characteristics and past browsing behavior of the video viewer. This ensures relevance and helps brands invest advertising dollars where they know they can engage their target consumers, and conversion impact is maximized.
Personalized video for engaging customers
It is commonly accepted today that a company's ability to attract and retain new customers is related not only to its product line, but also to the way it services customers and the reputation it creates within the market. Better customer experiences increase customer loyalty, willingness to repurchase, and the likelihood of becoming a brand advocate; all of which build barriers to customer switching. Simply put: Satisfied customers help drive growth.
Online video is used by leading online brands to deliver an effective and engaging brand experience, while affecting such business outcomes as retention, expansion, and care cost reduction. One leading consumer electronics company has adopted personalized online video for post-order customer engagement to explain order status and upsell additional products and services. Telco leaders are embracing online video to help onboard new customers, providing education on services purchased with provisioning status and action, while deflecting related calls from the contact center. And one the most well-known resort destinations in the world is enhancing customer nurturing activities with the use of personalized video in its newsletter designed to welcome, prepare, and upsell park visitors prior to their arrival.
Personalized video for administering bills, invoices, and statements
The first 90 days of a customer's experience are critical. During this period there is a huge opportunity to turn new customers into brand advocates, not to mention upsell them value-added products and services. However, the first 90 days can also be the most costly from a care perspective, especially for telecommunications and financial services companies, because of the high volume of contact center inquiries, usually related to statements and billing.
AT&T is proactively addressing the complexity of its bill administration with a personalized video presentation. AT&T's real-time, personalized videos explain account and usage information in a simple and digestible manner, while increasing stickiness and uptake on value-added services, such as paperless billing and autopay. All in all, the videos are reducing calls to the contact center and decreasing time spent on such calls.
In conclusion, savvy marketers use online video throughout each stage in the customer lifecycle to affect strategic business objectives and outcomes, such as acquisition, retention, satisfaction, and expansion.
Jim Dicso is the president and chief revenue officer of SundaySky.
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