How to create the ultimate personalized customer experience using video
“Tom, don't let anybody kid you. It's all personal, every bit of business.”
If you read “The Godfather”, then you’re familiar with this scene. I think it was left out of the movie for some reason. But boy, Michael Corleone really knew what he was talking about. Business is personal by default and it always has been. It’s like that because we’re human. Despite the fact that we might participate in the rat race, we still seek deeper connections and have motives that transcend financial ones.
In the 21st century, marketing is heavily relationship-based. If you want your business to succeed, you need to focus on creating personalized customer experiences. Just think about it: with so many brands fighting for consumers' attention, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to invest in really smart marketing. No better way to do that than to make your customer feel important. Speak to them on an eye level, make them feel seen and valued, and you just might encourage them to spend more.
Not sure how to create a memorable personalized customer experience? Well, I have one word for you: video.
The fundamentals of a personalized customer experience
Customers expect brands to understand and acknowledge their unique interests and preferences. This means companies have a challenging task ahead of themselves - to find a way to engage their customers as individuals rather than parts of larger customer segments.
Here’s one example. Netflix relies on a complex recommendation algorithm that collects feedback from every browsing session of a user. Thanks to its advanced intelligence, the algorithm generates recommendations that are relevant for each user. And voilà, that’s how Netflix uses technology to create great personalized customer experiences. Other brands that utilize the same approach are Amazon and Spotify.
But personalized customer experiences come in many different forms. Ecommerce shops might personalize the experience for a buyer by allowing them to choose whether they are interested in women’s or men’s clothes the moment they open the website. By introducing this step, they are enabling the user to feel seen and to browse through products they are truly interested in.
The point is, that with plenty of brands to choose from, customers are now in a position of power. If you disappoint them, they’ll easily turn around and direct their money to one of your competitors. This implies brands need to adjust and invest in personalization (big time).
Benefits of creating a personalized customer experience include:
- Building trust with individual customers
- Strengthening the bonds you have with your customers
- Encouraging sales through personalized recommendations
- Increasing brand loyalty
- Boosting perceived brand value through well-designed personalized interactions
- Increasing customer satisfaction and generating word of mouth
So how can you reap these benefits by using video?
Video = amazing format for personalized customer experiences
Personalizing customer experiences means taking care of the way customers interact with every single touchpoint of your business. It might imply direct contact (e.g. when a customer makes a purchase) or indirect exposure to your brand (e.g. reading online reviews about your product or service).
So, where does video fit in?
Example #1: Solving issues through a personalized customer experience
Let’s say you’re a user who logged into a project management software. Suddenly, you get an error message. You don’t have a clue what’s it about. However, because the error message has previously been set as an event trigger, you immediately receive a personalized video that’s there to help you resolve the issue. Apart from your login details (e.g. user name, job role), things like the error code and the issue at hand may be personalized in the video.
As you can see, the user immediately received the information they needed - in the most engaging medium of them all, video. Not only does that save customer support time, but it also helps you stay proactive and ensure users have everything they need ASAP.
Example #2: Creating a personalized customer experience to push prospects through the sales funnel
You can also set triggers at any point of the customer journey you mapped. Let’s say that they landed on your sales page which indicated that they are in a consideration phase. This would be an amazing time to show them a personalized video with relevant data that will help them move further down the funnel. All you have to do is set up an email capture form, user enters their data and they get a personalized video with relevant data.
The value of this is that users get a relevant, personalized message that’s probably built around the previously identified sales objections. In that sense, a personalized video is a powerful persuading tool that also directly addresses the user, making them feel closer to the brand and more likely to convert.
You can achieve so much more with very few resources if you incorporate personalized videos strategically into specific points of your customer journey.
Benefits of using personalized videos across different industries
Using video for designing the perfect personalized customer experiences makes sense for all industries. Let’s take a look at a few examples, just to give you an idea of the value video could bring to your business.
Example #1: Personalized customer experience in travel and hospitality
Personalized videos in the travel and hospitality industry can do wonders for your CX. Considering the amount of competition, you want to communicate with your customers in an honest, authentic, and engaging way.
Personalized customer experiences might look like this:
- Year in review videos where the customer can see how many miles they flew, which cities they visited, how many days they spent abroad, etc.
- Personalized videos that invite customers to book accommodation in advance
- Loyalty programs can be explained through personalized videos
Example #2: Personalized customer experience in banking
For banks that are competing with fintech solutions and trying to tackle low customer engagement, personalized video is a lifesaver.
Personalized customer experiences might look like this:
- Personalized videos that address the customer directly and explain how to set up e.g. mobile banking app
- Acquisition of new customers can be done through dynamic ads and personalized videos
- Use personalized videos for customer service instead of having call agents available 24/7
Example #3: Personalized customer experience in insurance
Insurance is a tricky industry. It’s not particularly fun or interesting, which means companies need to invest extra effort to engage their customers.
Personalized customer experiences might look like this:
- Use a personalized video for policy renewals and prevent customers from churning
- Prepare personalized educational videos (e.g. a video that explains how filing a dispute works)
- Cross-sell your services through personalized video and expect to see higher conversion rates
Example #4: Personalized customer experience in real estate
There are only a few milestones in one’s life that are as significant as buying a home. This is the opportunity to personalize the customer experience in a human, warm way, and increase both sales and customer satisfaction.
Personalized experiences might look like this:
- Send buyers a personalized video with a quote and give them all the information they need to make an educated decision
- Use a personalized video to explain to your customers the process of buying a house and, more specifically, what happens during the handover phase
- Educate your customers through a personalized video to help them with complex stuff such as Escrow statements
Use Plainly to create personalized videos and enhance your customer experience
I hope that you now have a better understanding of the value personalized videos can bring to your company. Not only will it help you connect with your customers but it will also add a new dimension to the way you’re handling communications and help you increase revenue in the long run.
Because I was aware of the business potential of personalized videos, I decided to create Plainly. It’s affordable, and suitable for both tech teams, and those not tech-savvy. Once set up, you don’t have to think about it - it’s fully automated.
Book a 15-minute demo for Plainly, I swear you’re not going to regret it.
