The Power of Contextual Video in the Era of Personalization

In today’s digital world, personalized content and user experiences hold the key to winning customers. Brands that are able to provide tailored content based on an individual’s preferences and interests stand a better chance of engaging with their target audience and building relationships with them. Contextual video is a new form of personalized content that is taking the B2B world by storm.

The decision-makers you are targeting as a sales rep are the same consumers who are conditioned to personalized products, services, or content. Gartner predicts that companies that incorporate personalization will outsell those that don’t by 20%. While face-to-face interaction was the gold standard in sales, using video as a medium of outreach took over in the last few years.

In this blog, we will explore the significance and benefits of contextual video in the world of sales.

What is contextual personalization?

Contextual video is a type of video content that is tailored to the interests of a specific audience. It is dynamically created based on user data, such as interests, behavior, demographics, location, and browsing history. Essentially, contextual video is the art of delivering the right video to the right person at the right time and in the right context. This allows businesses to deliver highly targeted messages that are more likely to resonate with the viewer and result in a higher engagement rate.

Why is contextual personalization effective in sales videos?

While you may already know the power of video as an effective sales tool, contextual video used at the right time during the sales process has the most impact on your prospect. In essence, a contextual video is meant to deliver a message to your prospect that is relevant to their position in the sales cycle. Every video that is made and sent to the prospect needs to get the context right for it to deliver the desired result. Here is why contextual videos work so effectively:

a. Contextual personalization convert better

As mentioned above, contextual videos have relevant information that helps prospects on their journey through the funnel. Videos that are perfectly aligned with the prospect’s interest at each stage of the funnel will hit the mark better than ones that lack context.

For example, during the prospecting stage of the sales cycle, the goal of the video is to grab the prospect’s attention and establish credibility while laying the foundation for relationship building. A quick 90-second video of you with the video background of their website and dropping pointers on what you think can be improved, along with a CTA, is a good start. If the prospect finds your findings to be valid and connects with you to move to the next stage, it’s a win. On the other hand, dropping a content-heavy video describing your product at the prospecting stage can be a surefire way to the recycle bin.

b. Contextual personalization helps in rightly timed videos

Contextual videos have a greater impact on viewers because they are sent out after analyzing previous video email data and based on specific viewer actions. This targeted approach ensures that the video content is relevant to the individual viewer and is more likely to generate a genuine connection. As a result, viewers are more likely to engage with the videos and form a stronger connection with the sender.

When can you use contextual personalization in sales videos?

The essence of contextual video is sending the right message at the right time. Therefore, as long as you’re getting the proper message across, you can use videos at various stages, as follows.

a. Videos for the prospecting and introduction phase

Prospecting is when you are just reaching out to a new person, and the most important task in the beginning is standing out from the cacophony of sales emails. Once you have your prospect’s attention, you can start working on building value. Here are four types of videos you can send in the prospecting stage: 

• Video for standing out in the prospect’s inbox

Consider these staggering statistics for a moment: the click-through rates for emails with video content are 300% higher. At a time when video outreach is still considered a little unusual, sending a video email will definitely earn you the spotlight in their inbox. To make it more compelling, you need to include a strong subject line and an eye-catching thumbnail that gives a good idea about your personality and hints at your intent.

• The value proposition video

This is your first shot at making an impression. A good value proposition video is crisp and short. You have to quickly deliver the value of your product and add a compelling CTA to entice the prospect. A screen share video is a great video to send on your very first touch by giving a quick brief on your product and how it can improve their business.

With the screen share shot, you highlight the value proposition while still remaining on screen in a small window to build familiarity. Unlike cold calls to prospects, which might disrupt their day, a video can be watched at their leisure. To build credibility, include your prospect’s LinkedIn profile, the website of the company, and your own sales deck as the video background.

• Follow up response video based on analytics

Perfectly timed follow-up videos are essential to building on the interest you have already generated in the prospect. Waiting for them to get back to you might never happen in this age of options and busy schedules. Having a video tool that is designed for sales analytics is the trick to sending the right contextual video on cue.

While email tracking only notifies you when your email is opened, the video tools give you real-time analytics on when your prospect opened the video, how long they watched it, and what parts were replayed. Time your follow-up call immediately after they watch your video to have a good connection rate and make a proposition to lead based on the parts that they found interesting.

b. Videos for the selling phase

Now that you have built familiarity with your prospect, it’s time to take them further down the funnel using videos until the point of hand-off to the account executive (AE). Here are some of the videos you could use at the selling stage:

• Reminder videos before the scheduled call

Sales reps often experience no-shows at calls and meetings, especially when the prospect is not too enthusiastic about moving down the funnel. Sending a reminder video before the scheduled call helps minimize no-show rates, as you have an opportunity to reiterate why they were interested in the first place.

Refresh their memory about the upcoming call so they know you are waiting enthusiastically for the presentation. Reminder videos also make the prospects feel guilty if they already have a plan to bail on the call. The result would be that they would either attend the call, where you have a chance to change their mind, or reschedule, where you get a chance to refine your approach.

• Thank you video after the call

Thank-you videos have a warm appeal after a call. It shows the prospects you appreciate their effort and builds a positive connection that makes them more likely to engage with you or your brand. It also showcases your organizational culture and establishes your company as someone they can have good ties with.

A thank-you video can be as simple as a 60-second webcam video thanking them for their time or a 30-second selfie video snippet showing your appreciation. Thank-you videos can be sent at all stages of the sales cycle and incorporate a quick summary, reminder, or CTA. The key to making the strongest impression with a thank-you video is to personalize it to a great degree. 

• Post-sale follow-up video

All companies experience some ghosting by leads during the hand-off phase to the account executive (AE) or the customer success manager (CSM). They usually lose interest, become confused, or get uncomfortable with having to talk to someone completely new. To continue the rapport and familiarity you have built with the prospects, it’s a good idea to familiarize them with the new person they’ll be interacting with. To make it personal, you can always make a short video with the AE or CSM in the picture to explain the change and what is to be expected in the future.

c. Videos for lead nurturing

There are times when you already know your leads, so there’s no need to introduce yourself all over again. However, the lead hasn’t panned out in a long time, or they have gone cold. In such cases, it’s essential to take a different approach such as contextual personalization to nurture the leads and nudge them to purchase.

• Video messages for prospects who know you

When you already know the client, you can skip the formalities and adopt a different approach, such as sharing marketing content, keeping them updated on the latest trends, or showing a comparison video of how their competitors are performing with your product. Always be approachable and open to dialogue, and make their interactions hyperpersonal. Maintain logs on previous interactions with these prospects and adapt your approach accordingly to entice them.

• Video messages for prospects who have gone dark

Sales reps would always have a closet full of leads that had gone dark at an earlier time. Video messaging, with its human approach, has a good chance of reviving interest in your product or offering. The approach incorporates most elements as with the unresponsive leads mentioned above, except you show greater contextual personalization in the videos.

Maybe they went cold because of a better product, or maybe they disappeared because your offer was too high. Make a note of historical interactions and send fresh videos with a different approach. Always answer their question faster and personalize the video to have a strong emotional appeal.

Closing Thoughts

To make winning contextual personalization in your sales videos, you need to create content that is relevant to prospects at the stage of the sales cycle they are in. Have a script or playbook for video creation, and don’t be afraid to deviate a little from the norm to stand out. When done correctly, contextual videos build relationships, nudge prospects down the sales funnel, and convert them into long-term customers.

To learn how to create winning sales videos at scale, check out Hippo Video today!