Consumers Prefer Video for Marketing Communications

Do customers listen when you talk to them? That rather depends on which media you’re using to send out your messages.

A new study conducted by Arlington Research in January 2022 found that consumers – particularly younger consumers – prefer video. The survey, which interviewed 2,000 adults in the U.S. and U.K., found that video is the media consumers like the best, with 62 percent of respondents saying they want more video from brands. Gen Z and high earners wanted video even more (79 and 78 percent, respectively) and were more likely to want those videos to be personalized, interactive and customizable.

The findings underscore that brands aren’t using enough video in their marketing communications.

“Companies think they’re using video to its full potential, but most aren’t using it to communicate with current customers, despite consumer demand for it,” said Yotam Benami, CMO of Idomoo, in a statement. “That untapped demand — especially for advanced video functionality among high-value demographics — is an opportunity for brands to capture attention and improve their CX.”

Video is a particularly excellent choice for brands attempting to communicate complicated information. Respondents were three and a half times more likely to prefer video when a brand needs to explain something complex, such as details of a new program or service they signed up for. The study also found that compared to generic videos, personalized videos make customers four times more likely to remain customers. This preference remained true even for respondents who preferred text over generic video. This group ranked personalized video as the best content to make them feel valued and likely to recommend the brand.

Knowing also that customers prefer self-service care options, there's a opportunity here for businesses and contact centers to increase their use of video in their support options to truly give customers the experiences they desire.

Email also remains a popular choice for consumers, but those consumers who choose it tend to be older, and email is trending downwards as younger consumers make up a bigger chunk of the buyer base. Fifty-two percent of respondents name email as their preferred communications channel, but twice as many Gen Xers identified email was their favorite channel compared to consumers from Gen Z.

Edited by Erik Linask