How Personal Post-Purchase Videos Increase Conversions

Many eCommerce businesses undervalue the effects of engaging with customers beyond a purchase. They fail to see the importance of following up with shoppers or thanking them.

This is unfortunate as positive engagement leads to shoppers returning to ‘friendly’ stores. It’s even more regrettable when you consider that there’s an easy and fast way of creating engagement:

Customer service response videos.

Sharing short videos with your customers is an effective way of building a strong rapport. Among other reasons, it shows that you care and it makes it easy for shoppers to remember you.

But these aren’t just any regular videos, they’re personal and unique. They take less than 20 seconds to record and share, and through them, you can easily increase retention. And it’s crucial to retain customers because getting new ones can cost between 5 to 25 times more.

Take the video below as a brilliant example of a personal post-purchase video done right. It’s friendly, directed specifically to the customer by name, and inviting them to engage. The customer is sure to return and purchase more from this store.

The customers that I don’t get to meet face to face have given fantastic feedback saying that they feel really connected, and as a result they have stayed a customer with us. It’s easy to get lost in that flood of emails coming to the customer, so Bonjoro is a great way to stand out from the crowd, and get your business noticed.” – Jane from Gathered Green on using Bonjoro

Here, you’ll learn about why and how you should create such videos to increase your conversions.

The Benefits of Post-Purchase Videos

If you want a higher conversion rate, engaging your buying customers is crucial. Engaging them through videos is smart. Here’s why:

Why You Should Engage Your Customers

You need to ensure that you keep your customers coming back to increase your conversions. Purchase frequency means more sales from a loyal community and a better bottom line. It has to be at the core of your business.

Engagement allows you to build those loyal customer relationships, but you already know this. You send customers emails after they’ve made a purchase, thanking them, like countless other eCommerce professionals.

But you don’t want to be like every other store owner, you want to stand out. And that’s where post-purchase videos come in. Few sellers even think of doing this, but those that do are reaping the benefits.

When you create personal post-purchase videos, you ought to create a specific sequence:

1. Thank each customer for purchasing from your store. Everyone loves to be appreciated and seeks more of that feeling through purchases. Shoppers who receive a personal thank you message know that they’re essential to you. They know that you rely on them specifically.
2. Inform them of updates on their online orders as they wait for their deliveries. This builds trust in your store and allows shoppers to put their minds at ease over shipments. That sense of calm lets them know that they can comfortably shop on your site again.
3. Let them know that they can reach you if they have any concerns about your product/service. Providing shoppers with an easy way to review your brand shows that you’re reliable. Many shoppers won’t complain –  even if they have a reason to – if they don’t know how to. This means that you miss out on valuable information on ways to improve.
4. Educate them on what new things your store has to offer. This can include new items or special offers. Letting them know what to expect builds excitement and increases the chances of impulse buys.

Your videos should be in this order, both in terms of importance and sequence.

Here are four examples of showing how to use personal videos in a post-purchase sequence:

Thank you for purchase

Delivery follow-up

Post-delivery testimonial request

Final follow-up with an upselling offer Why You Should Do It Through Videos Videos are great because they provide a better context than any other medium. And context helps people retain information better. According to a study by Doxee, “The average user retains 95% of the messages in a video; when it comes to text, this percentage drops to 10%.” Short videos are more captivating, easily understandable, more personal, and more entertaining. If you record post-purchase videos, shoppers: See that you’re talking directly to them. This personal link creates a greater sense of loyalty between them and you.“We are loving it and so do our customers! Thank you for making it so we can build a relationship right off the bat!” – Kelsie Rios from Rylapack on using Bonjoro Get to know you and your brand better thus creating the trust they seek from businesses.“Absolute best way to increase your visibility with your audience (short of visiting them at home!)” – Angi B. on using BombBomb There aren’t many brands that share personal videos with their customers. This means that you’re more likely to stand out from other businesses if you use them. Online shoppers get bombarded with text-based messages from eCommerce stores every day. However, they’ll pay attention to the ones that grab their attention and dare to be innovative. Engagement and recording personal videos are keys to eCommerce success. But they’re not the only ones. There’s a lot more you can learn about eCommerce and implement in your own business. Joining a community of like-minded eCommerce professionals helps you discover more. eCommerce Fuel is that community. As a member, you get to learn new frameworks, tactics, and ideas on a regular basis. Join eCommerce Fuel today and take advantage of the vast amounts of knowledge shared by your peers. How to Create Your Personal Videos Now that you know why you should engage your customers through videos, let’s look at how to do it. What follows are tips and relevant examples you can use in your engagement. Use the Right Tools You can find different customer service video software to suite your needs. It is, however, important to note that these aren’t videos you create on YouTube, Wistia, or Vimeo. No, those and others like them are long-format video platforms. You need platforms that are specifically designed for instant micro-format videos. These platforms record your videos and deliver them to your customers on their phones. Some of the best micro-format platforms include: Bonjoro: An easy way to send a personalized video message to your customer’s email inbox. Bonjoro allows you to customize your short videos by including your own brand and CTA. It can also integrate with your existing business tools like Mailchimp, Google, Patreon, and more. Acquire: This allows you to connect directly with customers through live video chat. You can also interact with your customers in real-time with video or audio calls. This allows you to not only thank them but also assist them with issues and hold sales demos. BombBomb: This allows you to create videos through its Chrome extension or mobile app. You can then add them to your emails for greater engagement. BombBomb also offers custom action plans and analytics to ensure you get the best out of it. You can integrate it with platforms like LinkedIn, Salesforce, Gmail, and more. Loom: Another video software that you access through your browser extension. Loom allows you to record screencasts. This is ideal if you need to show customers how to resolve an issue through step-by-step guides. It’s fast and simple to use and makes it easier for recipients to understand what you’re explaining. Gain Customers’ Trust Using videos can create the sense that you don’t have anything to hide and you run a professional operation. To gain customers’ trust, you should: Be genuine. Your customers want to be able to relate to you so authenticity is important. Your videos don’t have to be incredibly sophisticated as long as the customer feels like they know you. Pull back the curtain. Show your customers parts of your business that they don’t get to see on product pages. This can be achieved by showing different operations going on in the background. Talk naturally. Use a conversational tone like you would when talking to a friend. Customers don’t want something that sounds rehearsed or scripted. You can use an outline of points you want to cover in your video and then address them naturally. Grab Their Attention Instantly Because we’re constantly bombarded with content, customers have short attention spans. Your video has to captivate them immediately and keep them watching. You can achieve this by keeping your introductions brief. People start losing concentration after 8 seconds. You have to include your most important information within that timeframe. Then you can elaborate on it further as you have their attention. But don’t make your elaboration last too long either. Include Video CTAs There has to be a point to your videos that convinces customers to take a specific action. Give your customers the next step they’ll want to take after watching your video. Your call-to-action could be to: Sign up for a newsletter or webinar. Provide feedback on the customer’s experience. Join your community. Start a free trial for a feature customers would find interesting. Take advantage of a special offer like a discount on your online store. Produce Quality Videos Yes, your videos don’t have to be incredibly sophisticated, but they still have to be of a certain quality. No one wants to watch sloppy or grainy videos, and low-quality videos can hurt your brand. Avoid poor quality by: Ensuring that your video is clear. It should flow well from beginning to end without lags or interruptions. Watch it before you send it to your customer. Optimizing your video for mobile users. Whether you share the video through email or a page on your site, ensure that it fits on mobile devices. You should also make sure that any action you want customers to take is clearly visible. Use Captivating Thumbnails A video’s thumbnail is what your customers will notice first. You want it to appeal to your customers so that they click ‘Play’. Otherwise, your customers won’t bother watching and will carry on with their days. Great thumbnails include: Friendly faces that show customers they’ll be receiving a message from an actual human. Branded elements like a logo or other imagery that create recognition. Contrasting colors that make the thumbnail stand out. Measure Your Efforts To know whether your customer service videos are effective, measure key metrics: Watch Rate: How long your customers watch your video. If the watch rate is low, your content might not be captivating or relevant to your customers. Remember to keep it short. View Count: How many people view your video. Most platforms count a view after someone watches for the first few seconds. This tells you whether your introduction is engaging enough. Click-Throughs: How many people act on your CTA. This allows you to gauge how effective your call-to-action is. Conversions: This is what you really want to know. The higher your conversion rate, the more sales your store is making. Post-Purchase Videos Feedback To better understand the value of post-purchase videos, we’ll highlight a specific example with feedback from: An online brand owner who uses them on a daily basis. Customers who share their experiences. The owner we’ll focus on here is Carole Rains. Carole is an eCommerce Fuel member and she owns Emu Joy, a body-care brand providing products that are: Naturally anti-inflammatory Highly moisturizing Hypoallergenic 100% natural Here’s what she has to say about using the Bonjoro after just a few weeks: Carole Rains Video_for wordpress Carole uses Bonjoro’s branding and call-to-action features brilliantly to effectively engage her customers: You can clearly notice the Emu Joy logo and products in the background, while her CTA is displayed evidently next to her message. We asked Carole what has surprised her the most about this new technology: The ability to create a conversation with the customer. Barely anyone ever replies to standard ‘thanks for your order’ emails, but they are happy to reply to the videos and give you all kinds of information. Sometimes we go back and forth several times. Talk about establishing rapport!” – Carole Rains, Emu Joy As you can see from her Bonjoro screenshot below, her results are impressive: With a 71% opened rate and a 68% watched rate, personal post-purchase videos are effective in engaging customers. People truly appreciate these direct messages and it makes them happy. Here’s feedback from Carole’s customers that illustrates customer excitement perfectly: Thank you, Carole, for taking time to send me the message. I’m touched. – Anon. What a treat to receive the personalized video. You are amazing and so is your company! Thank you. – Margaret That was so kind of you to send the video! I actually have used your emu lip balm before and loved it! So much so much I had to order more. – Melissa Thank you so much for your message it truly meant a lot. – Anon. Thanks for your personal message to me. I love dealing with someone like you. Keep up the good work. – Sandy Thank you Carole for your message. I feel very special receiving a message just for myself. – Aileen Hi Carole, I really appreciate you reaching out to me. It made my day! – Larissa Improve Your Brand With Personal Videos You should communicate with your customers because engaged shoppers return to buy more. You can do so through videos because they’re more captivating than other mediums. Customers enjoy them more and retain more information through them. Videos also help create a strong rapport between you and your customers. To ensure you’re sharing the best possible videos, you need to: Grab your customer’s attention. Gain their trust. Include a call-to-action. Produce quality videos. Use the right software. Use captivating thumbnails. Measure your video metrics. Pick ideas from other eCommerce professionals. Start recording and sharing personal videos with your customers today to increase retention and engagement. Photo by Pexels from Kaboompics .com The post How Personal Post-Purchase Videos Increase Conversions appeared first on eCommerceFuel.

July 10, 2020 at 07:44AM

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Katrina McKinnon, Khareem Sudlow