Video plays key role in B2B sales, study show

There's plenty of evidence to show that video is a powerful way of generating business-to-consumer sales. But what about business-to-business (B2B)?

Well, research from the United States suggests that video is playing an increasingly key part in B2B purchasing decisions.

The study, jointly produced by the B2B marketing agency TriComB2B and the University of Dayton in Ohio, is based on a survey of 443 B2B buyers conducted during the second quarter.

58% of respondents said they use online video as part of the information-gathering process - up from 51% in 2011.

The researchers broke decision-making down into three phases: criteria selection, search and evaluation. Although buyers said video was important in all three, evaluation was the most crucial phase.

Interestingly, the same survey suggested that price is a less important factor than it was two years ago, as are a company's green credentials.

The researchers also found that people who decide on B2B purchases are more likely to use smartphones and social media - especially LinkedIn - to help them come to a conclusion, and increasingly less likely to rely on printed materials.

So, if you're in B2B sales and you haven't yet used video, now would be a good time to start. One more thing... Respondents overwhelmingly said they wanted product features and benefits to be clearly spelled out. So make sure your videos clearly spell out what sets your product or service apart from the competition.

Author: Robin Powell

Robin worked for many years as a television journalist with ITV, Sky and the BBC. He is the founder of Ember Regis Group and heads up Regis Media, a niche provider of content marketing for financial advice firms. He blogs as The Evidence-Based Investor and also works as a consultant to disruptive companies in the financial services sector. https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=45830333&snapshotID=&authType=name&authToken=6sSD&ref=NUS&trk=NUS-body-member-name https://twitter.com/ember_robin