The standard paradigm for a sales video incldues showing a problem, and demonstrating that the product being offered has the solution. However, sometimes sales videos alter this paradigm and use a different technique to sell their product. The Cool SAP CRM Marketing Video Throw the Ball, found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GchfVy6hgVA&NR=1 , is an example of a sales video that distorts the normal sales presentation template by giving exaggerated amounts of time to the presentation of the problem, and to the equally important task of holding viewer attention, at the expense of demonstration of how the product solves the problem.
The SAP video exaggerates the emphasis on one of the crucial elements of any sales video, which is to hold the attention of the viewer. SAP CRM does this by presenting a viewer participation game, on screen. Two teams of actors, the whites and the blacks, each pass around a ball and viewers are asked to determine how many times the ball is passed among the white team members. While attention is riveted on counting the passes of the ball, a black belt gorilla walks among the participants, and most viewers fail to see him until the narrator reminds them and then replays the video.
The narrator then adds, “Make sure your marketing team doesn’t miss the obvious with SAPs new CRM, identifying new trends and acting on them will become second nature to your marketing team thanks to innovative new capabilities and an incredibly friendly user interface. They’ll see a black belt gorilla from a mile away.”
This video does not entirely change the normal sales video template, however some of the major elements, such as product description, pricing and contact information are presented briefly or not at all. The captivating intro, which spans most of the presentation, introduces the problem, i.e. the danger of missing hidden trends in the market. The short narration at the end tells us that SAP provides the solution, the ability to help the sales team find the hidden trends. What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of this template?
The very apparent positive quality of this video is its powerful ability to rivet audience attention on the screen As the actors dance around, counting the number of passes is difficult. Viewers attention is riveted on the video, as they seek to count the number of passes. Many people probably got the count wrong, and then felt sheepish. But then when viewers find out that they missed seeing the black belt gorilla walking amidst the teams, they feel really foolish. And now they felt obligated to listen to the rest of the message, The video then succeeds, albeit briefly in making one point about their product, it is designed to help sales people spot marketing trends so they know where to focus their efforts.
What are the negative qualities of taking this approach to sales video production? The expansion of one task of a sales video, namely holding the audience’s attention, has forced compression of two other major tasks of a sales video. The video presents only a brief explanation of how this complex technology will help spot trends. And additionally, it merely tells us that the software does this. It shows us what some of the graphs on the software look like, but it doesn’t show the software in action. And normally, showing a product being used by someone else is a good inclusion in any sales video. So the video compresses presentation of the product features, and compresses an explanation as to how the product will solve the problem being presented.
Beyond all this, the video makes no effort to tackle important sales considerations such as pricing or the invitation to contact the company.So while the video is touted as a “, which gets the name of the company out to the public, but does little to actually sell the product.
What is the take away lesson from this video? Sales videos can devote more or less time to the different tasks which they normally perform, but when producers decide to do this, they must take into consideration the benefits and deficits of adding and subtracting time from the different components of the sales video.
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