How to Improve Customer Acquisitions with Video Personalization
Reading: 5 mins
Photo by RODRIGO GONZALEZ on Unsplash
Intro
The desire to acquire new customers has long been one of the key principles in successful business practice so it's no surprise that acquisitions is usually one of the most important factors in a company's growth strategy.
However, as you've probably noticed, the last two years have been a little unusual. As a consequence of this, there has been massive disruption to the way we communicate, the way we consume and the way we do business. This in turn has caused a lot of rethinking about business and marketing practices in terms of acquisitions. It's true that acquisitions drive revenue while marketing only drives recognition, but successful marketing will increase acquisitions.
So perhaps it's time to redefine 'Improvement' in customer acquisitions and approach it in terms of quality rather than quantity. That is what this blog will explore and, as we will later see, that is where video personalization comes into the picture.
Disruption Accelerates Change
I'll begin with a bold statement:
We are at a stage in marketing where personalization has reached critical mass and is now an integral part of a successful marketing campaign. It is here to stay and not using it will have a negative impact on a campaign as competitors rush ahead.
It is possible to argue against this but all the data and industry debate points towards the fact that it is correct. If you agree, read on.
There has been a recent major shift in customer expectations whereby they now expect a new quality of service. Information needs to be targeted and relevant. People don't have time for irrelevance and strategies need to shift accordingly. So by providing a service with products that people actually want, customers will remain satisfied.
As marketing guru Seth Godin said, there should be more emphasis on finding products for the customer rather than finding customers for the product.
A happy customer is a retained customer Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels
The Importance of Retention
Acquiring new customers is expensive and there is no guarantee that they will stay with you. The traditional approach has been that if you lose customers, you need to spend time, money and energy on finding new ones. But they might leave as well and so the vicious circle of wasted resources repeats itself. It's throwing good money after bad and with marketing costs on the rise and the ROI diminishing, it doesn't feel like a smart long-term strategy.
However, retaining customers costs less than acquiring new ones and happy customers are more likely to purchase again - especially if they receive quality customer service.
The customers you want are the ones that will stay with you and become long-term or lifetime customers. To do that and to reduce customer churn, you need to give them an engaging, meaningful experience that will make them want to come back again and again.
A massively important factor in acquisitions is the fact that satisfied customers will refer other customers and act as promoters for your business. It's a self-sustaining model.
A successful customer acquisition strategy needs to focus on 4 areas:
Reliability – building a brand that customers trust and delivering on promises
Flexibility - knowing who your customers are and how their needs evolve over time
Sustainability – focusing on the long-term as well as short-term gains
Diversification - don't put all your eggs in one basket. Use different strategies and different channels to see which are the most effective.
Photo by KoolShooters from Pexels
Good and Bad Use of Personalization
Customer acquisition can be divided into short-term and long-term strategies, and it is the long-term strategy that is the more viable. This means focusing on retention and boosting brand awareness and customer experience.
This is why personalization has become increasingly widespread. It's part of a holistic approach that focuses on customer satisfaction as a key part of a healthy business.
However, it is important to realize than personalization is not the magic bullet that will instantly solve all your problems. Remember that personalization is not ideal for every situation and is only effective with the smart use of good data. Without data, personalization is meaningless. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and data used badly can have a negative effect on a brand's reputation and growth. Also, personalization is best when it is used as a communication tool.
Personalization should only be used for existing customers and not new ones unless it is used in a very subtle and non-intimidating way. This might sound like it means personalization cannot drive acquisitions but not if we focus on the need for quality rather than quantity and on the desire for delivering a rewarding customer experience.
If it is done well, personalization can create a solid foundation for growth. The starting point for doing this is the ability to gather and analyze data and then use it effectively. A flexible, targeted personalization strategy ensures you stay engaged with your customers and build a meaningful relationship with them that evolves and flourishes with time.
Effective personalization is a two-way street – in return for data, feedback and patronage, a company can improve its customer service and experience even more. Some services and content can be gated, meaning that customers must exchange personal information like emails and names to access them. It's a trade-off that most customers are willing to make.
A more balanced holistic approach Photo by Dmitriy Frantsev on Unsplash
The more you know about the customer, the better service you can provide but
data should always be used sensitively. Just because you have the data doesn't mean you should use it and over-use can drive customers away.
Data protection should always be prominently publicized with disclosure to customers about what data is being collected and how it will be used. This transparency will lead to greater trust.
Which leads us to Video Personalization...
There are many applications of personalization that can improve the customer experience and engagement including:
Customized experiences
Segmentation specific content
Location specific content
Personalized emails and newsletters
Content marketing
Email marketing
Exclusive offers and trials
Customer support and chat
Personalized video messaging and content
This last application brings us back neatly to video personalization. It's only one possible channel of a diverse marketing strategy but with the seemingly unstoppable rise of video as a marketing and sales tool, and nearly nine out of ten people wanting to see more videos from brands, video personalization seems well positioned to become a crucial marketing tool in 2022 and beyond.
A great example of effective video personalization is the award-winning HBO Europe campaign that Motionlab helped to create. This sophisticated campaign wasn't trying to sell anything or actively acquire new subscribers (although indirectly it did), it was just reminding loyal customers what a crazy year it had been and how much they appreciated their support. The video was about strengthening the brand and building stronger relationships. The customized video struck just the right note with viewers who made it go viral after sharing it on social media.
Conclusion
As in most applications, Video Personalization works best when using data to build a picture of the customer and then using that data to create engagement with them and make it more of a personal experience. It relies on a personal touch and addressing specific areas of interests. With 80% of consumers more likely to shop with brands that show they understand them, this is proof that caring about your customers' wants and needs is crucial for a successful business and will increase acquisitions in the long-term.
Danny Holman, Motionlab