BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—If your calls and emails aren’t being returned by potential customers like they once were, you aren’t alone. Research shows most are unanswered or ignored.
“My latest buyer study shows that if you place 100 cold calls, 96 percent of them go to voicemail,” said Shawna Suckow, marketing expert and four-time author. “Those are the results I get everywhere, all across the country. It doesn’t matter the industry. Cold calling is on its way out.”
Regular text emails aren’t generating the responses they once did, either. But add a video to those emails and the response improves dramatically.
“If you are not using video email, you are missing a huge opportunity that will never be hotter than it is right now,” said Suckow. “It’s 70 percent more effective than traditional text email.”
Why are video emails a game changer? See for yourself, here.
Sending a message with a video of yourself talking directly to a potential client humanizes the email, said Suckow, who spoke about trends to watch for in 2020 at the United Motorcoach Association’s inaugural Sales Summit, held May 28-30 at Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“Nine out of 10 buyers don’t trust companies these days. So if you are marketing as a company, you are already fighting a losing battle. You have to overcome distrust,” said Suckow, explaining that building trust begins with feeling a connection with another person. “Everybody who is in sales today is their own one-man or one-woman marketing shop, as well as for their company. You’re the face of your company.”
Suckow recommends Dubb, a video communication platform that lets users record, share and track video messages via Gmail, Outlook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and SMS as well as through CRM integrations.
“It drives more sales and builds trust because you’re almost face-to-face. It’s the next best thing to being in person because they can see you are a real human being, not a company, so that builds trust right away,” Suckow said. “Video email expedites sales and increases retention of customers and it promotes referrals.”
Like everything in technology, video emails will be less effective over time as they become more common. So now is the time to try them, she says. Suckow suggested highlighting that the video is personalized by writing the client’s name on a dry erase board with the message, “I made this video for you.”
Tips on using video successfully
-Add a short video about your company to your email signatures.
-Use a platform like Zoom to negotiate a deal so it’s done face-to-face.
-Use video rather than text for customer reviews.
