Dan, I'm thinking this is the wrong place to be posting this message...try the main forum. You'll get better responses...

Hmm...my company sends out a free DVD too...but it's all content so I'm not sure if it's relevant..

I'm thinking DVD's will definitely help if you give them a lot of valuable information though but it does cost some money....if you've got the budget...personally I'd say go for it...just make sure you put it together well so you don't waste your money ; )

Aaryn

Assuming the production quality is
up to snuff, Dan - this can be gold.

What if you put a code inside the video
and offered an additional 2% discount
to everyone who correctly follows the
"hidden" instructions on the DVD...

Hmmm.

Brian

Hi Dan,

My thought is that I would probably try a web version first. Take the video you are going to produce and personalize it for their company and then make a presentation page for them on your website and have the letter you send direct them to the webpage for full info. The welcome will be customized for there company, for example, if you are sending the proposal out to Jack from ABC Company. Once they come to the webpage the video would start out, Welcome Jack, and thanks for taking the time to review our presentation for your company, etc...

If you were going to send out a generic DVD then you could just produce the custom intro for each video and edit it onto your generic presentation but a personalized welcome is far more effective then a generic one in my opinion , as I have had dvd's sit on my desk for months...just my 2 cents.

Good luck with the dvd..

Barry

Dan,

I've gotta agree with Aaryn. As long as you have good content in there, then the thing should work well for you.

As far as personalising every one of them, maybe you could make a generic DVD and personalise a letter to go with it. If you're going to go through the trouble of personalising every single DVD, you may as well get your face to the phone and call the prospect.

It's a lot harder to hang up on you than it is to throw your DVD away!

If you want them to get the personality of the employee or the trust factor, just talk to them, without hard-selling them on the phone.

If it's local, get your ass in from of them!

Just a quickie before I go.

There's a marketer here in the UK. I take it he's doing quite well for himself, but he's trying to sell a seminar that's coming up pretty soon.

Now, he's got a good group on the stage, all Brits and all have been in the press. One is an International name in more than business.

The guy who's selling the seminar has tried this same sort of tactic twice. Last year it was a personalised online video. Pretty easy to do because I was on his list. The video was generic, but the email leading up to it was the personalised bit.

This year he sent a DVD. Again, the DVD was generic, and the letter was personalised. The DVD sucked because it was the same old crap, "why 99% of businesses will fail in the recession... and how you can be a part of that 1%" blah blah blah.

But, I did watch the DVD all the way through. Simply because I haven't been pitched like that before. Online is too easy to get distracted from. A DVD is In My Hands. It's a Gift. It's just the content really let it down. It's the same pitch I hear over and over again.

And some of the stuff he was coming out with, I seriously can't believe it still works!!

It's 30 minutes long, 16 minutes are testimonials and a pitch for the seminar. (14 minutes crappy content.)

I'm sure most of the testimonials are paid for.

Hasta leugo,
Ry

The real question, or a big one imho, is how are you going to get them to watch it?

If I got a DVD from my insurance company along the lines of "8 Reasons Why You Should Choose Us For Your Policy" I'd roll my eyes and throw it away... Maybe watch out of curiosity because I'm into marketing, but most people aren't.

So what's the hook? What's the, "Hey Honey, we just got this DVD in the mail from some insurance company about (insert reason to watch), let's check it out...

I have DVD's I've paid for that I haven't watched yet.

People are busy, so you really need to make sure you've got a compelling reason to get them to watch before diving head first into it...

That and dozens of other variables.

Could it work? Definitely, if you do it right.

Good luck!

-Scott

My personal reaction is: probably not. Rationale: As an insurance prospect, I'm not all that curious about how you look, etc. I'm more interested in getting the best quote for my insurance.

That said, ya never know if the balloon will float until you let go of the string. Why not put up the same video info on your web site and track the clicks. If you get people clicking on the video profile, followed by a RFQ, you may be on to something.

I was hoping you would do the DVD simply because I think it could be ideal for potential clients who might know how to use the web, but don't really want to do it. If the packaging had a total tease of a title like Got 4 Minutes? We Will Make It Worth Your Time that got me interested, I think it could really sell your services.

I've noticed a lot of people that know how to get around on the web still feel really uncomfortable using it and appear to subconsciously avoid doing anything online if they have an alternative. Especially, people past their 40's who did not grow up in such a digitized time.

You know your business best, but if you ever did decide to give it a shot I'd sure love hearing how it fared!

Hey Dan,

Barry's right. Try it right on the site. I had a client do this on his page and it was like gangbusters, straight up.

If people are already on the page, they're open and receptive to you. This could seal the deal for you. go for it.

Dan,
that is a great idea. though in a very general sense this does make quite an impression. letting the client know about individual members can lead to a lot of individual based custom talk and thus work. i would go for it. congratulations.

How about instead making a valuable DVD with great content...

...for your already best ideal clients.

Then call to see if they got the DVD and then ask them if they know anyone who would appreciate getting this DVD as a gift free gift becaue you are looking for more clients who are just as wonderful as them.

Referral program....

Reciprocity and compliment.

I'm amazed how often people go looking to market to a cold market instead of the hot market they already have.

One of the fastest ways to increase response who you decide to market to.

If not, then a DVD could be a great way to warm up a cold market...



Maybe figure out your ideal client and then get into their head and think up the best and most valuable gift you can give them to warm them up.


The content needs to be amazing and match the image you want to share with clients.

Again, instead of just a DVD, what else can you give as a gift that your best and ideal clients would want to share with someone else and want them to refer you?

As copywriters, some of us are not just versed in copy...

The very best are great marketers because we can get into the minds of clients and figure out the most effective tool to get a message across that gets results...that gets the highest calculated response.

As you probably have already discovered, a sales letter isn't always the best tool for every market.

This is the perfect form IMO to be looking for ideas.

The two key issues would be the quality and the cost.

Unless you create something of great quality at a low cost, the benefits will be limited.

Three great ideas were already given in this thread:
1) Do a Web Version first. It's cheap to load a video onto YouTube or your own hosting server and test it out on 20-30 people. That will save you unneeded production cost if ...if it needs work.
2) Make the DVD about them and how it will benefit them. Title with something about how it will solve their fears and concerns.
3) If you want personal relationships, be a person. Have your team be people. Our current marketplace is all about the social aspect of employees. Have them share personal hobbies and interests as an intro. Once your clients feel related, they may listen to the 'pitch' part of the dvd.

Good luck