Converting reluctant customers with powerful testimonials
Woodpecker proves that customer testimonials do more than tug on heartstrings: they clinch sales.
How a software company took a chance on a creative video ad — and got 70% more views than ever before
“We, the customers” got the attention of B2B enterprise leaders.
“We heard customers say that that video was the best company piece we’d ever put out."
Jonathon Dreyer, Vice President, Solutions Marketing at Nuance
The project: making a more-creative-than-normal ad to boost brand awareness
When you work in a B2B enterprise, it’s easy to get stuck in the “typical” way of doing things, especially corporate marketing. But when Nuance needed an ad to boost brand awareness for their customer experience software, they didn’t want a typical testimonial video or product explainer. They wanted to try something different.
How do you make an ad that appeals to a corporate audience and speaks to everyday people?
Nuance hired Umault because they knew we specialize in B2B ads that are creative. They wanted their ad to stand out and to perform well. And Umault’s video ads tend to perform 102% better than the LinkedIn average.
Turns out, when you speak to the concerns of everyday people, you speak to corporate buyers, too.
Nuance had amazing mid-funnel and bottom-of-funnel video content. But nothing for cold audiences. We developed a simple brief: we need to show the pain of status quo customer service and introduce Nuance as the solution.
Everyone can relate to the pain of being on hold for too long, navigating a frustrating menu of options, and wanting to get through to an actual human being.
By speaking to these frustrations, we created an ad that spoke to Nuance’s target customers: B2B enterprise leaders whose companies (and customers) would benefit from a better customer service experience.
During the strategy phase of the project, we found that most of Nuance’s competitors had videos that were trying to be everything to everyone throughout the sales funnel. We call these mullet videos.
We recommended that Nuance make two spots:
- An ad to inspire potential customers early in the sales journey
- An ad to reassure late stage buyers to close the deal
In the first video ad we made, we spoke to general customer service pains most everyone has experienced — and introduced Nuance as the solution. In the second, we talked more about the details: Nuance is flexible, easy to deploy, and secure.
We also created short cutdowns for different use cases to target Nuance’s key industry sectors: telco, retail, and finance.
“We wanted to refresh the messaging and positioning of our enterprise solutions portfolio through a video. A typical corporate video seemed a bit dry, so we needed a creative approach to really tease out the pain points that resonate with our audiences and buyers.”
- Jonathon Dreyer, Vice President, Solutions Marketing at Nuance
70% more views than any other video ad
When Nuance released the video ads, “We, the customers” became their new #1 performing Enterprise video. It gets nearly 70% more views than their next best performing video.
The video also ranks in the top 5 based on how much of the ad viewers watched. That means that people want to keep watching — because the content actually resonates.
And the feedback they got from customers backed up these stats. Viewers shared that the ad felt true, and like it really represented their own customer experiences.
Some prospects — who then became customers — even called it the best video ad Nuance had ever launched.
Nuance was also acquired by Microsoft two months after the spot went live. Coincidence? We think not.*
But the other win — a win we see all the time when companies dare to produce something creative — was a boost in company culture and pride. Nuance team members were excited to share the spots with family and friends. One employee said, “Now people actually understand what I do!”
Got an idea in your head that seems a little “out there” for B2B? Don’t be so quick to throw it out. It might just lead to high engagement, lower than average cost per click, and better talent retention.
The moral of the story? Creative “risks” might be a lot less risky than the status quo. In video ads, creativity pays off.
“The final piece had such a mainstream appeal even for non-buyers. ‘We the customers’ is our #1 top performing Enterprise video with respect to view rates, it has nearly 70% greater performance than our next best performing video."
- Jonathon Dreyer, Vice President, Solutions Marketing at Nuance
*Our buzzkill lawyers tell us it is, in fact, a coincidence.
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Testimonials
What are folks saying about Umault?
Make waves and generate ROI without lifting a finger
“#1 top performing video”
The final piece had such a mainstream appeal even for non-buyers. ‘We the customers’ is our #1 top performing Enterprise video with respect to view rates, it has nearly 70% greater performance than our next best performing video.
Jonathon Dreyer
Nuance
“Wildly successful”
Our projects were wildly successful. They use great techniques to generate leads and build brand awareness and momentum.
Tom Osborne
PerkinElmer
“#1 most viewed video”
The ad we made with Umault is now the #1 most viewed video on the Deloitte YouTube channel by a long shot, with over 420K views. It’s a great use of highbrow humor.
Matt Lennert
Deloitte
“A masterpiece”
They created a masterpiece. More importantly, it’s had a dramatic impact on our audiences. There were hundreds of thousands of visitors on the site and inquiries.
Research director
Management consulting firm
“The ad is a hit”
The ad is a hit with investors and employees. People have commented saying it’s the nicest work we’ve ever created.
Joe Rokowski
MassMutual
“Best professional decision”
From the moment I hired them, I didn’t have to worry about anything – from creating ideas to fleshing out the script. Working with Umault was one of the best professional decisions I’ve made.
Angela Johansson
NIU
“More than we've ever made”
The video became part of a 24-hour campaign, and we made more than we’ve ever made in six months, let alone 24 hours.
Karen Kazmierczak
American Planning Association