Personalization is a great tool for marketing, helping create outstanding customer journeys. But personalization alone doesn’t always hit the mark.
That’s where the power of video to connect with an audience comes in. Personalized video, combining customer and industry data and video marketing, is one of the best ways to truly recreate the feeling of a conversation in the digital channel.
We’ve all been there – you visited a page, you used a tool, or got something from your advisor, and the first reaction is “What does this mean?” Personalized videos do the heavy lifting of interpreting or figuring out the information for customers because they explain it as if someone is there talking them through it.
BlueRush’s IndiVideo builds a personalized video much in the same way as one would create a regular video but adds layers of personalization on top of it. The three common personalization levels that can be added to marketing videos are the following:
Dynamic Injection
The first level of personalization that can be added to video is essentially creating placeholders — for numbers, names, photos, audio or other elements — that is swapped out based on data specific to the recipient. This increases the video’s relevance to the client or customer and is ideal for large groups or campaigns.
For example, Bob receives an IndiVideo from his bank reminding him how much he’s invested thus far into his tax-differed savings plan and, drawing on first-party data about Bob, letting him know how far along he is towards his savings goal, and explaining how with the right investments he can reach it more quickly. Bob’s neighbor, Jane, also a customer of the bank, receives the same IndiVideo but with specifics relative to her finances. With such a powerful, personalized motivator to act, there’s a good chance the local branch might see them both this week.
Dynamic Context
Adding another layer of personalization, using dynamic context changes the flow and components of the video based on the customer data so that customers see one type of video vs another. Elements — for example, presenting offers, processes, or actions specific to the recipient — are presented, while those not relevant are not. This is a great way to onboard new clients or to provide customers with specific benefits or promotions tailored to them.
Thrilled with the personalized approach he receives from his bank; Bob signs up for a new higher-yield savings account. He receives an onboarding email with an IndiVideo link attached. It uses dynamic context to — again based on Bob’s data — personally greet him, remind him of the specifics of his new Convenience checking account, and present the steps specific to setting up that (and only that) account. Rather than muddling through set up on his own, he has a friendly voice, illustrations, and the high tech experience he’s come to expect, to help guide him. Jane, on the other hand, also gets a personal greeting but has a run-through of her Premier checking account.
Dynamic Interactivity
This level of personalization brings everything home, injecting personalization or providing personalized context based on behavior while watching the video. It might ask, “Do you want to hear more about this option?” or “How much more do you think you could invest?” — the sky is really the limit — and then, on the fly, it creates new video elements based on or incorporating the response. Ultimately IndiVideo and the customer are building the video together, as the customer is answering the very questions driving the content they are about to see and hear.
It’s easy to see why Interactive Personalized Video (IPV) using dynamic interactivity is such a powerful tool for building customer engagement and loyalty. Consider Bob, who has decided to use his bank’s IndiVideo-powered retirement calculator. Sure, there are other retirement calculators, but this one knows Bob — thanks to his banking data — and can have a conversation-like interaction with him about his plans and financial situation to deliver not just the numbers he wants but a relevant and exceptional customer experience. If Bob is put on the spot to think about whether he feels he has enough for retirement, and he chooses “I’m not sure”, the video can, in real-time, then display some options. If Bob said “No – I’m not ready”, then it would give a more aggressive recommendation.
Relevance in Real-Time
All this is possible because the personalized videos created using IndiVideo are initially a skeleton frame, or template, with all the elements created and existing in the backend. The moment a customer clicks to view the video, clicks next, or answers a question, it is rendered by the system using the data given to add relevant meat to its bones.
Each use case requires a different level of personalization, but even at its simplest personalized video starts turning communications with the customer into a conversation they crave and not a dry sales tactic they may quickly ignore. Finding the right mix of levels of personalization, which BlueRush can help with, only makes that conversation more powerful.