One of the biggest challenges marketing has is to get customers and clients to tell your story on video.   The customer is naturally reluctant, and sales, though they understand the benefit, is loath to ask a customer anything risky.  They’d rather let someone else step forward.  So how can you create a library of customer video testimonials?

There are three things that prevent most customers from appearing on video: fear, fear, and fear.  It could be fear of the camera, fear of judgment by the company for endorsing an outside vendor, or just fear of the unknown.

However, people don’t fear things where the risk is small or may be in the distant future.  Our brains don’t operate that way even when the consequences are large.  One reason that prevents customers from agreeing to be videoed is that we don’t ask at the right time, and we don’t ask often enough.  By asking early and often we can reduce the fear factor and get the customer to agree.

The first time to ask is during the initial sales cycle when the prospect is requesting proof points like references from your sales team.  A request for a reference is an opportunity for a quid pro quo (this for that).   When a prospect asks for a reference, your sales team should always ask them if they would become be a reference if you proceed to a successful mutual engagement.  Very few will turn you down at this point because it’s too far in the future.  This approach also demonstrates confidence.

The second time to ask is during the consummation of the deal.  Many vendors now build the request for a case study into their business agreements.  During the negotiation of the agreement, in exchange for price, feature, and service concessions, you can ask for a media case study testimonial contingent on successful implementation.  Again, getting agreement is incremental.

Too many sales people wait until the engagement is over and they have nothing else with which to negotiate.  The next time to ask is when you are reviewing the successful results of your product or service with the customer’s upper management.  If you are saving the customer bundles of time, money, sweat and personal effort, why shouldn’t they agree?  Why shouldn’t the customer’s upper management agree?  Ask them, then remind them of their commitment and you will get their blessing in having your buyer do the video, and you may even get the CFO to agree as well.

I’ll cover additional steps you can take in the next several posts.

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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Sales people like to talk.  The good ones listen.  Marketers, on the other hand, tend to be verbal but more focused on reading and writing.  They wind up working on the copy for websites, PR releases, direct mail, email, literature and whitepapers.  The problem is… no one reads any more.  So much of this activity is wasted.  Too bad.  What are you going to do about it?

It’s time to consider a couple of things.  Getting your ‘prospect universe’s’ attention and then finding the best way to communicate with them.  This doesn’t mean that marketers can stop writing, thinking, generating relevant content and being creative at getting attention.  Just that the medium might change.

To illustrate the point, one extreme example of this change is the movement from posted advertisements above urinals in men’s rooms to flat screen video. (I hear women read more than men, but I don’t know what goes on in the other side.)  Or another example is tweeting.

Let’s get use to the idea that our attention span is limited.  We have so much competition for our attention, we want our information pre-digested in bullets so we can determine whether it’s worth another 30 seconds.  Many marketers slave over written case studies trying to satisfy this need.  Don’t waste your time.  No one reads case studies anymore.

Instead, try using the 30-second client testimonial video.  This is especially important at the point in the sales cycle that requires proof, especially in the “tornado” portion of the market (see my post on Crossing the Chasm).  Buyers in the mainstream want to know who else has your product and service, how are they using it, and what it’s done for them?  Since buyers today are much further down the sales path before they call or contact you, they often need this information before you even know they exist.

Here’s an example of 20 seconds from the CFO of a small company:

Now imagine a library of 200 of these videos catalogued by customer experience, benefit, savings and service.  I know one company that accomplished this and there are more.

There’s nothing more credible than a customer saying how much you’ve done for them.  Many marketers will tell you how difficult it is to get a client or customer on camera.  It’s less difficult than you think, and I’ll cover the “how” in my next post… I mean video.

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Driving Sales Through Customer Focused Marketing
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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