As effective as video brochures are, executing proper follow-up after distributing them will boost ROI. Without it, companies miss out on low hanging fruit.
For example, we recently had a customer send out 500 custom video brochures to targeted prospects. The piece looked amazing, and the video they used in it was fantastic. They fully expected their response to be through the roof. What actually happened was that, while their response was still good, it wasn’t nearly as good as they were hoping it would be. When asked about follow-up, they said it hadn’t even crossed their minds and they had no plans for it. They just expected the video brochures to blow away many of the people they sent them to and for a lot of responses just to happen.
As awesome as that would have been, getting a good response in marketing just doesn’t work that way. If it did, every company would use a one-touch strategy and be filthy rich. Instead, more than one touch is usually necessary to get positive results. (BTW, sometimes follow-up is all it takes to get someone to make a purchase.)
What happens when follow-up doesn’t happen
Normally I like to take a positive approach to explaining things, in which case the title of this section would have been “What happens when follow-up does happen”. Instead, explaining the importance of follow-up with an opposite approach might be more effective.
In reality, most people are busy. We tend to have long lists of things we want to do as well as things we should do. Our “whirlwind” is where our focus tends to remain (our whirlwind consists of normal responsibilities, obligations, routines, everyday interests, and putting out “fires” when they arise). When something like a video brochure comes along introducing us to a product or service we might actually be interested in, we normally don’t respond right away. What we usually do is put it aside with every intention of giving it more attention later. Or, we show it to others who probably also think it’s awesome, but they’re busy too. Then we fall back into our whirlwind and continue doing what we were already doing. Next thing you know, the video brochure continues to be set aside, and even though we still fully intend to respond, we just don’t quite get to it.
An example of this concept would be like RSVPing for an event. We might already know we want to go and might even be planning on it, but RSVPing just isn’t something we do right away most of the time.
Hopefully at this point you can see how people not responding to marketing right away is common behavior. It doesn’t mean they’re not interested or saying “no” to what is being offered. More than likely, they’re just busy focusing on other things.
Proper Follow-Up On Video Brochures Boosts ROI
The best strategy we’ve seen with video brochures is for companies to follow-up soon after distributing them. It also helps for prospects to be made aware they’ll be receiving one. Then they’ll know something special is coming, and they’ll feel valued by the sender.
To put this all in perspective, over 80% of sales are made after the fifth follow-up. However, from what we’ve seen, video brochures tend to shorten that number because they elevate trust and have the ability to provide a lot of information in a short period of time. They’re also easier for decision-makers to share with each other, and they’re extremely impressive.
At this point, my guess is you understand the importance of follow-up. Without it, companies who distribute video brochures increase their chances of missing out on recipients who might truly be interested in becoming paying customers but just haven’t taken the time to respond. Again, by not responding, it doesn’t mean they’re not interested or even saying “no”. It just means they haven’t responded yet. It also might mean if companies don’t follow-up with them, they might miss out on making sales to low-hanging fruit.
To learn more about follow-up, video brochures, or any of the marketing products we offer, contact us today.
Having owned an advertising magazine in Utah, I’ve worked in marketing for over twenty years.
I started writing for MediaFast in 2014. The first time I held one of their video brochures, I thought something like, “Wow! This blows away our magazine and any other print advertising I’ve ever seen. This is like a TV commercial, and I’m holding it in my hands. Amazing!”
Since then, video brochures, video mailers and video boxes have become leaders in marketing performance. It’s a privilege to write about them. I also love MediaFast—with its top-notch product quality, industry leading customer service, and all of the wonderful people I get to work with.
