You’ve invested millions into your facility in hopes of a high return. Perhaps you just finished a major remodel. You’ve taken steps to improve the experience not just for your customers, but your staff as well. But what if you’re leaving money on the table?

If an organization like yours cares about its people, enough to invest in improving the quality of their experience, this can actually turn into a major asset for you. 

So how are you showing off the end result to pay for your investment?

Many people turn to 15- and 30-second TV commercials from their manufacturers. But if you’ve done much research, you know these videos don’t cut it. They’re enough for the product maybe, but not enough for you. In other words, their content is focused on the product, not the people.

Nothing is wrong with these videos, of course: they still need to be a part of your marketing mix. But like many approaches, they’re only a fraction of the whole picture.

The question to ask is why should your customers come to you, rather than your competitors? The answer? Because you care. You’ve shown this with your investments, and with your commitment to quality and service. But the thing is, simple product videos won’t show it. 

These days, it’s not enough just to make the investment: you need to spread the word, too. Otherwise, how are new customers supposed to know what you have to offer? To know what sets you apart?

Using Videos That Work

Consider how you use video to showcase your staff or facility, and how well these serve the customer.

When creating a video, it’s certainly less expensive to use green screens, animated still images and other tricks to show what you’ve done. But how will this set you apart, or show your commitment to your customers?

Your videos need to show your store and your staff. So show what you’ve done with the place. Reward your top performers by featuring them. No need to use a spokesperson who can only try to represent you. Your people can do it, and you’d be surprised to see how many would jump at the opportunity, if you properly present it. Not to mention it demonstrates the authenticity that customers want to see. It helps them trust you. 

But this means you can’t settle for canned topics. Sure, vendors have their recommended lists, so it’s easier and less expensive for them to steer your towards their menu. But your product isn’t just a deli club sandwich. It’s a customized and delicious meal, prepared by a chef to create a memorable, mouth watering experience.

Your marketing, like your work, demands special focus and attention.

Your video can and should be customized for you and your organization. The more customized it is, the more your staff will feel valued, and the more you’ll stand out against your competition. Be professional, though: it’s okay to have some candid social media videos, but that’s not going to give your investment the polish and presentation you deserve and should demand. It’s only part of the equation, as it doesn’t convey the skill and professionalism of a genuine marketing video.

Get Custom Marketing Videos: Sponsored by your Suppliers

Many suppliers are starting to partner with their dealerships to subsidize video content (in full and in part) to showcase the dealerships’ unique value. Working with WinWin Videos, they will actually send a video crew to your location to showcase your facility and staff, and how their product helps you realize your vision. 

Your suppliers benefit from your stories of success with them, and you benefit from the staff-centric marketing videos they sponsor for you.

Call it shared video production — a win-win arrangement. Your suppliers are willing to create content both of you can use. They’re willing to sponsor a video production crew for you if it helps you and them. Typically, these shoots yield several videos: videos specific to the dealership, and another one or two the supplier can use to solicit other dealerships. With this setup, everybody wins.

And remember: this is a collaborative effort with your staff and suppliers. Consider your suppliers as partners in this video production. They’re under your umbrella, and dependent upon your success. They are also aware of video’s value, and anxious to use every opportunity they can to leverage its value. They know it can be crafted to speak to the unique characteristics of a wide variety of customer. This means your unique dealership and yourunique customers. 

We’re helping dealerships and suppliers leverage this concept. Dealerships can register with us and list their suppliers. We play the matchmakers and production team. We connect suppliers looking for new content with the dealerships who use the supplier’s products or services. Many suppliers don’t even know who their end customers are. They sell through distributors and never see the final sale. So it’s important the link is made between dealership and supplier without having to depend on a distributor.

Of course, many distributors have become aware of this opportunity and are helping to facilitate these projects. However, why wait and hope for a match? The distributor benefits either way, so if your company is suited for it, it’s time to get started.

So consider how you would showcase your shop with video. What do your customers need to know? Which hardworking staff members would you like to highlight? When the time comes to show your customers who they should turn to and you’re looking for a video production service to help, look no further than WinWin Videos. 

By Drew Estes, August 2019

Read more of the most popular Media272 posts by Drew Estes:

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• - How to Turn Your Best Customers into Your Best Marketers
• - 5 Data-Backed Strategies to Use Videos In Your Marketing Mix
• - A Lesson in Successful Marketing from Rytec High Performance Doors
• - The B2B Marketing Channel Your Competitors Aren’t Using

Sales and marketing change quickly these days. The strategies and tactics that seemed cutting-edge only yesterday seem to have become obsolete overnight. At the core of every successful and resilient strategy though lies a timeless concept: the importance of building trust. Why is trust so important to grow a successful business? How do you build trust with customers? Why are there so often gaps between how you view your trustworthiness, and how you customers do? Read on to find out.

Any salesperson or marketer worth their salt can tell you that earning loyal customers (and more importantly, retaining them) has little to do with the tactic of the day, and everything to do with your ability to create a genuine connection with them as a person. So why is it that North American consumers say they trust only about a fifth of brands? Part of the reason is our tendency to overestimate how trustworthy we appear.

Amanda Slavin, CEO & Founder of CatalystCreativ, defines sales as “a meaningful transaction between two human beings, so before asking for anything, a customer’s trust must be earned. Brands need to build narratives that align with their organization’s values and then communicate those values to their customers.” Values must not only be clearly expressed by your company, but consistently acted upon. 

This leads not only to loyal customers, but people who advocate for your brand. “Look at the passion of Beyoncé fans or Harley Davidson riders — those brands have created an identity that makes people feel like they’ve added value.”

So building trust with your customers not only helps you increase your customer base and retain current customers, but it motivates those customers to send their friends and family your way as well. And don’t just brush this aside: 74% of consumers identify word-of-mouth as a key influencer in their purchasing decision, and 91% of B2B buyers say the same.

Clearly, trust is a powerful aspect of building mutually beneficial relationships with your customers and thus running a successful business. But how do you build it?

Tips for Building Trust

Trust grows in a variety of places, so there’s no one simple formula to build it. However, we can examine the key parts that make up a trusting relationship and work from there.

1. Show Capability and Dependability

The most obvious component of trust in the business world: do clients see you as reliable? Can they depend on you? This comes down to honoring your commitments to the best of your ability, and setting clear expectations for how you operate and what you will deliver. Overpromising may help get the sale now, but it earns you a bad reputation, and people will talk about it.

We can look at this from two angles: existing customers and potential customers.

2. Demonstrate Integrity

• For your current customers, increase trust by doing what you do best: consistently deliver excellent results, while remaining honest and transparent about your business practices.
• For your potential customers, honesty and transparency are still paramount, but you also need to prove the value you offer. This might mean demonstrations of how you do your work, but it could also mean how-to videos for your products, or even how-to videos for anything related to your industry, which will establish you as a trustworthy expert. Finally, testimonials from previous clients go a long way in showing your dependability to future customers. 

A big mistake many salespeople and marketers make is to think “I’m a trustworthy person, so buyers will be able to tell.” This is simply not the case. Remember, most buyers have been ripped off, lied to, or otherwise burned by any number of shady businesses. It’s up to you to demonstrate you have integrity, because buyers won’t assume so.

To do this, you must demonstrate moral principles. This means you should always do the right thing, even in morally ambiguous situations, and even if it means losing the sale. It could mean suggesting alternative solutions that are less profitable for you, or even referring a customer to a different business better suited to their needs. Buyers trust sellers who have their best interests in mind, and they won’t forget your integrity.

A great recent example of this is Patagonia, a company whose brand is strongly aligned with the environment. Due to recent corporate tax cuts (which they publicly opposed), the clothing company was about to save $10 million, but CEO Rose Marcario said the company won’t be keeping the money. Instead, they pledged the entire sum to an assortment of nonprofit environmental groups “committed to protecting air, land, and water, and finding solutions to the climate crisis.” This move demonstrates a commitment to their values even in the face of lost profits, and it has already earned the company a great deal of good will across the nation.

3. Be Human

What Patagonia did may have ruffled some feathers for those who disagree with what many consider to be a political move, but their decision also won them much deeper trust from the many people who agree with it. If you’ve been indoctrinated into the worlds of sales or marketing, you can easily forget that people don’t like to be sold to – they prefer to feel understood and connected with. Business people are often pressured to fit into the most non-threatening, agreeable mold possible, in order to avoid getting into trouble. We’re told not to talk about politics, or anything personal, and to keep things small and surface level. 

Now we’re not saying this doesn’t carry a certain level of risk, but if you want to connect to people on a personal level and build trust, this is often what it takes. Building trust means establishing an emotional connection both in person and in the content you publish. Once your client feels comfortable enough to express what drives them, you can help them figure out the best solution for their needs. Be willing to help, even when that help doesn’t immediately benefit you. This way people will be much more willing to listen to your advice in other areas.

Conclusion

Trust is the key component to building and maintaining a customer base, as well as maintaining a positive reputation in your industry. To build trust, you need to show your clients, current and future, that you are dependable and capable. Demonstrate integrity by placing the customer’s needs above getting the sale. And finally, show your human side: don’t be afraid to let down your professional shell so you can connect with customers on a personal level. Ultimately, if you seek to build and maintain trust first and foremost, 

As many of our readers know, Media272 specializes in producing high quality videos for marketing nationwide. From testimonials to business overviews, our experience shows us these videos work to build trust with buyers, whether on the consumer side or B2B. If you’d like to learn more, please follow this link, or call 800.272.7222 and mention this blog post.

– Drew Estes, December 2018 – 

Other popular posts by Media272 content strategist Drew Estes:

• - The B2B Marketing Channel Your Competitors Aren’t Using 
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• - Expert Tips to Improve SEO with Video 
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• - How to Use Targeted Advertising for your Video on Facebook 
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• - 5 Video Marketing Tips to Attract More Customers Than Ever

Brian Pasch and Jon Nigbor talk about some discoveries Jon's company Media272 has seen during the past 10 years of their shooting videos on-location nationwide. http://cbtnews.com/shows/auto-marketing-now/

What have you and your store tried and seen change over time?