“Make sure it’s not too sales-y” is a request we’re hearing more often when we begin scripting a marketing explainer video for prospects that don’t want to see a marketing video.
A software company CMO recently told us that his buyers, mainly software developers,
- Do NOT want to be marketed to
- DO want video, not reading material
When we began making 2-Minute Explainer videos in 2004, few technology companies were using video to help customers understand their solutions. We built our business helping explain unfamiliar concepts like BPM, SOA, MDM, etc. But these are familiar categories, today, and buyers have seen a lot of marketing videos since 2004.
“We cure your pain” — but doesn’t everybody?
Most product-oriented explainer videos have this structure:
- We recognize that you have these pain points.
- We provide relief.
- Here’s how.
- You’ll like the results.
This is a logical approach for a product introduction. But it is unmistakably marketing. Especially if there are competing solutions, you should consider a different storyline for the marketing-averse.
Alternative plot lines
Here are some other “plot lines” for solution overviews that can come across as more interesting than sales-y:
- A day in the life (before and after)
- A different way of looking at the situation
- Have you ever seen this before?
- Five things you can do with our solution you probably can’t do now
- How would you (or your staff) answer these questions?
