A case study of video effectiveness in the age of social
Not all retail innovation comes through e-tailers. But wow … they continue to raise the bar in so many areas. Case in point is Zappos who used employees instead of professional models as the primary spokespeople for product videos. When you shoot almost 60,000 videos a year, using employees certainly cost less. But results count … do low budget employee videos sell product as effectively?
Video – Often overlooked as sales tool in age of social
One only needs to scan the headlines to find countless articles debating the sales value of tweets, or “likes”. A quick review of leading topics at recent SXSW conference would indicate that location based marketing via Foursquare, Sidekick and SCVNGR is the wave of the future.
The forgotten tool in the age of social seems to be the “old” technology of product videos with a spokesperson. Videos are a rich medium to showcase products. But professional videos with professional spokespeople are expensive to produce. Can videos without the glitz and glamour be as effective in engaging consumers to purchase?
Zappos = Case study in using employee videos
Zappos is an interesting case study in using employee product videos. Product videos only started appearing on their web site in 2009. According to a recent WSJ article Zappos in 2010:
- Churned out about 58,000 short product videos
- Uses 11 employees to shoot videos of employees
- Set up 5 padded booths to shoot video right in a warehouse
Zappos doesn’t even call these employee shoots product videos or “demos”. They are simply listed as “video descriptions” links within the typical product features and descriptions under a product.
“Real People” with passion engender trust
When viewing Zappos “video descriptions” you won’t typically see supermodels with long lashes, makeup or elaborate lighting. Instead, you will likely see an employee with little makeup, sporting a ponytail and wearing everyday clothes. There is no “set” … just an employee in front of a white background chatting passionately about a shoe or handbag.
Zappos is simply using employees to represent “regular people” to showcase products. Having an employee spokesperson that resembles the consumer segment that purchases the product is designed to build trust and credibility. Said another way … are you more likely to trust a supermodel hawking “mules and slides”, or someone that looks like your best friend who can tell you why this shoe might fit and work best for you. (For the males in this audience, mules and slides are types of shoes!)
Why Video? … “The Stimulation Process”
Even when using employees as spokespeople video production is a lot of work. Why not just use product photos? Almost all e-tailers use product photos and the good ones like Zappos include many product photos from different angles.
While product photos can show you style and color, photos do not “engage”. Effective videos have a stimulation effect. They engage the consumer in what the product is going to “feel like” … what it will look like on me. When the spokesperson is “real” and can speak about the product from a personal experience that video experience becomes a very powerful experience where the brain starts imaging using the product. Consumer visions of using the products result in consumer purchases.
Results Count & Employee videos sell & reduce returns!
Zapppos found that including the employee video descriptions increased purchases about 10%. On the web where conversion rates are low single digits, a 10% increase in purchases is very significant, especially when the videos can be produced by employees at low cost.
One of the best things about e-tailing is the ability to both rapidly test page concepts and variables. Zappos is continuing to test employee video components to figure out what combinations of variables have the greatest impact on sales.
The most significant benefit of employee videos may not be increased sales. A major benefit realized from employee videos has been the reduced returns by having potential purchasers “experience” products through the eyes of a “real customer”.
Employee Videos – Powerful retail trend with caveats
Zappos is not the only one using employee videos. Retailers like J. Crew have also used some employees as models. But in order to reflect “style trends”, J. Crew used employees that tend to be more “well styled” and functioned as spokespeople on how they created their style in an office environment. Even Zappos uses some professional models to dramatize styling for certain kinds of apparel where style is important.
A key caveat in using employees in videos is the issue of context. Employees simply dressed in simple videos can probably sell more than as supermodel when there is a context of establishing trust and credibility around functional practical value, from everyday point of view.
If the product is expensive and “aspirational” in nature, then professional models are probably required to showcase the “sizzle” and why a consumer would aspire to purchase. In the context of selling an automobile convertible, the supermodel wins ... but an employee looking like “mom” can probably sell mini-vans more effectively.
Why aren’t CE Retailers using employee videos to sell?
Does a mom as a consumer really care which movie star or sports celebrity endorses a particular camera? I think that most moms would prefer a video from someone that looks like a “mom” explaining in “mom speak” why a particular camera works well for capturing family memories.
Employees are “real” people that resemble family and neighbors. They can speak in everyday language about using products. Maybe it’s time for CE retailers to copy a growing trend from apparel retailing and start using employee video descriptions on their web sites.
Sorry … In the time it took to write this blog, I couldn’t find a Zappos like employee video description on a CE retailer web site.
Do you know of any great example of employee videos being used on CE retail web sites?
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Posted by: Kirk | September 15, 2013 at 03:22 PM
At Nintendo, we developed a set of videos for Amazon.com about Pokemon White and Black using real-life employee (and Poke-maniac) Seth McMahill. I think it works. Check him out at:
http://www.amazon.com/Pokemon-White-Version-Nintendo-DS/dp/B004EVWYYG
Posted by: Al Demaranville | April 11, 2011 at 02:28 PM
So refreshing. Imagine selling stuff with real people!
Posted by: Jacqueline | April 01, 2011 at 07:46 PM