Using Video for B2B Sales

The thing I love most about my B2B clients is they usually have a service, not a physical product, that they’re offering. But let’s pause . . . how do you know if you’re B2B since that’s the lens for this whole article?

Simply put, B2B stands for business-to-business and typically involves your business offering a service to another business, rather than a product to an individual consumer. For example, Wendy’s selling you french fries…delicious, but not B2B. Their business sold you, the individual, a product. But a printing company selling Wendy’s their printing services and manufacturing and installing all of Wendy’s signage, that’s B2B.

For my B2B clients, I get to be extra creative when communicating the value of their brand’s services to their audience. The lack of a physical product shifts the conversation from a purely promotional “BUY THIS!” to an invitation of “See if we’re a solution to your problem.”

Video is the perfect medium for you to invite the audience to consider your services on their buyer’s journey. Your video’s goal? The prospect reaches out for more information. As a service-based business, the more you can show the human individuals behind your brand, the better. People want to know who they are buying from and supporting. Video helps prospective clients get to know you as an individual and as a brand.

Let’s talk about what video content to make and how your salespeople can use it effectively.

Content making guidelines.

Your goal is to be memorable and stay top of mind. One strategy is to provide content that moves your target audience past being stuck on a problem in their buyer’s journey. You should see the buyer’s journey as their decision-making process: recognizing a problem, searching for information, evaluating the alternatives, making a purchasing decision, and evaluating that decision post-purchase. If you want to do a deep dive on the subject, these steps come from the model presented by researchers Schiffman and Kanuk and their textbook Consumer Behavior, 8th ed. 2004. 

For now, what you need to understand is that when a buyer makes a purchase decision, you want them to evaluate their options and purchase with you. People google problems looking for solutions. They are in an awareness phase, gathering their research. Your content can help them learn about a problem, present some solutions, and help them decide to invest in your brand’s solution (i.e. get them passed stuck).

Be seen as the expert and use video to build your authority in your industry. Share industry insights. Talk through solutions for the problems your target audience is experiencing. Video helps you show off your brand and engage your audience in a conversation. Remember, YOU ARE NOT SELLING THROUGH VIDEO. You are showing your value. For more about what content to make, see our blog on What Videos Should You Make for B2B?

Know that once a prospect has moved from researching a solution to evaluating service providers in their buyer’s journey, they typically require an average of 7 interactions with your brand before they choose you. They’re evaluating your brand by reading blogs, looking at you on Facebook, and watching more of your content. Your videos invite them to further explore your services and hopefully make their purchase decision with you.

Video alone will not make a sale. The humans behind your brand will.

Video is a communication tool used to market your brand and connect with your audience through your brand voice. Following up with video engagement provides a connection to a new lead. Your salespeople are responsible for nurturing that relationship and converting leads into clients. The marketing department allows them to break the ice with content.

Easy first steps for your salespeople are to share the marketing team’s video content with prospects directly through email or passively on social channels. If your sales team knows how to communicate your brand’s value, challenge them to go further and get on camera to show off their personality and share their perspective about a video resource. (It’s worth noting that it takes a special sales person to be able to do this) They can pair it with a direct link to the landing page where the video lives (We gotta track that performance!). 

For an easy script, have your salespeople tell your prospective audience you’ve got an amazing resource and what they’ll learn from it. Keep it short, and make a video series explaining the benefits. You’ll have multiple pieces of content to share and more opportunities to connect with your audience.