the power of video in making your b2b story come alive

The Power Of Video To Make Your B2B Story Come Alive Laura Ramos, Forrester Research


B2B content doesn’t engage buyers or deliver value

Source: Forrester/BMA/OMI May 2014 Global Content Marketing Benchmark Online Survey and July 16, 2014, “Compare Your B2B Content Marketing Maturity” Forrester report.

16% Of content marketing efforts are very effective at delivering business value

26 out of 30 B2B websites we reviewed fail to deliver customer-centric, compelling content


B2B buyers don’t engaged with it

Base: 210 senior-level business and IT decision-makers at companies with 500+ employees Source: Forrester’s Q1 2016 Content Objectivity Study

64% Say “vendors give me too much material.”

50% Say “much of it is useless.”


Valuable resources are being wasted

Source: “2016 B2B Budget Plans Show That It's Time For A Digital Wakeup Call” Forrester report

Hypothetical $1B+ company

Average spent on marketing programs

Average spent on content marketing

Of content buyers find useless.

Estimate of resources/effort wasted as result of poor content

6% 12%

$3.6M 50%


Clearly a new approach is needed…

© 2013 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 8

68% want vendors who “understand my business, my problems – and help me solve them.”

50% want salespeople “to share insights with me that I haven’t considered before.”

Base: 418 exec buyers at global firms of 100 or more employees Source: “What Do Executive Buyers Find Valuable?” Forrester report


Don’t just reach your audience…


Engage them!


Time to adopt a post-digital mindshift


Tell stories to reconnect with buyers


Our brains are wired to think in stories.

14 © 2015 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Source: Uri Hasson, Associate Professor of Psychology, Princeton University


“Meet Simon, the head of security…”

Source: Symantec

Video makes stories come alive


Video makes stories come alive

Source: Symantec


A typical customer “story” …


Video makes the case study come alive


Source: Intel (http://www.Intel.com/BetterWayToWork)

Stories humanize business problems

Source: Intel “If Cables Were People – IT Negotiator”, MRM//McCann


Four key principles behind great B2B storytelling

› Empathy creates trust, deepens relationships

› Decision-making is emotional

› People trust friends, family, and peers

› Engaging the senses leaves a lasting impression


Understand and empathize with

your buyers

Strike an emotional chord

Deliver value in your stories


Show you understand what your buyers care about


TE Connectivity connects with buyer motivations

Source: TE Connectivity, http://www.te.com/usa-en/about-te/ecc.html


Shortel uses “day in the life” to create empathy

Source: ShorTel (https://www.shoretel.com/resource-center/day-life-shoretel-connect)


Oracle’s long-form video instructs and entertains

Source: Oracle Eloqua Marketing (http://www.eloqua.com)


Use stories to stir buyer emotions


Experiment with the twin muses of humor and tragedy

Source: Domtar (www.paperbecause.com) and Boston Scientific (www.raceagainstpain.com)


NetApp uses stories about failure and redemption

Source: NetApp Inc. (www.netapp.com)


Deliver something of value without expected returns


Verne Global curates the most relevant content

Source: http://www.greendatacenternews.org/


Reltio uses relevant, personalized video...

Source: Vidyard


…to connect with prospects and boost engagement

Source: Vidyard


Pentaho gives buyers something useful to do

Source: http://app.snapapp.com/pentaho-blueprint-example


5 ways to use storytelling to engage customers today

1.  Repurpose your “great” content as stories or narrative.

2.  Experiment with long-form, multi-chapter.

3.  Put customers center-stage.

4.  Shoot more video.

5.  Create a value exchange with buyers.