According to research from our friends at ExactTarget, driving increased conversion rates is the single highest priority for digital marketers today. How did “conversion” displace some of the big marketing challenges like branding, big data, social and mobile? Two reasons:
First, as more and more of the buyer journey takes place through digital channels, the responsibility for “conversion” has shifted to marketing.
Second, marketers today have to be keenly aware of every stage of the buyer journey and every incremental “conversion point” along the way. Although there is much debate in marketing circles about “the death of the funnel,” there is no doubt that each opportunity you engage with your audience is a moment of truth that involves conversion. In other words, the definition of “conversion” has significantly expanded to encompass all the small decisions a buyer might make when evaluating a product or service. Should I download this paper, attend this webinar, watch this video?
Earlier this month, we released a great new infographic focused on conversion (check it out here). One of my favorite sections of the infographic is where we look at different types of conversion and overlay some compelling stats about the power of video.
The great story here is that for each stage of a buyer journey, and for each interaction type, the data shows that marketer’s can improve their results by adding video too the mix. Not just small, incremental results but the kind of results that trigger cartwheels in the office and high-fives across the cube walls. More views, more email opens, more landing page clicks, and more leads.
As most marketers who have become part-time funnel mathemeticians can tell, conversion changes in one part of the funnel can have a massive impact on the overall buyer journey.
Consider this simple example: a B2B marketer spends $100k on a paid search campaign that resulted in 50,000 clicks and 1000 leads. Based on the most recent research, that same campaign with video on the landing page would have driven 1,800 leads for the same investment.
For marketers, the story is clear. Conversion matters not only because it represents moving prospects closer to a buying decision, but because it represents the quality of offers and content you deliver.