As an experienced SMB, you are no doubt aware of the importance of maximizing qualified leads for every marketing tactic you use. Because you don’t command the resources of large companies and corporations, you cannot afford to buy skyline billboard advertisements or TV spots marketing to a huge audience, hoping that a tiny fraction of these end up buying your product or service.

The Importance of the Sales Funnel

Recognizing the importance of the sales funnel is what ensures your survival and, indeed, allows your business to thrive. The internet has made it possible for you to outcompete niche companies that you wouldn’t have dreamed of outcompeting using any offline methods, and the emergence of video marketing is the next step in that evolution. With the explosion of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, and the steady transition of marketing to these forums, video has become a dominant method for obtaining leads. So the question now becomes, where in the sales funnel is video most productive?

Using Analytics

You simply can’t expect to maximize the effects of your marketing plan without employing some form of analytics to see where your customers are coming from. If, for example, you have a robust analytics campaign already going, video marketing can be strategically placed where most of your cold prospects are coming from. Industry stats – as well as common sense – show that people in general would much rather watch a video than read a wall of text on most subjects. In effect, show them, rather than tell them. You don’t need video as much for the raving fan or hot prospect, who may want something more in-depth. Frankly, video tends to work everywhere – but it’s most essential in the beginning stages of conversion.

Because most people retain a measure of anxiety about trusting online products, video in the beginning of the sales funnel goes a long way in helping to dispel that and establish your brand as trustworthy. In less time than even the most well-crafted and concise document, a well-made video that addresses the primary needs of your prospective clients can push them resolutely down the rest of the sales funnel – especially when your competition isn’t making use of video marketing. Thus, in addition to the information you wean from analytics, cold prospects respond to video best, because a picture is worth a thousand words. Placement is important first – to keep them from going elsewhere, to a more trustworthy source – and then content is king.