In the current economic climate, the need to validate ROI is essential. But how do you go about identifying the right amount to invest in video or digital asset management? When will your investment break even, and what’s the upside to productivity, expense reduction, revenue and reach?
Depending on your application of digital media in business, the equation can be simple or more complex. Before moving forward, however, it’s important to do the math for yourself. To help you formulate an approach to thinking about ROI, here are some recent examples of customer success:
Enabling 1.9 Million Distributors in 70 Countries
Herbalife is a leading global nutrition and direct selling company offering a range of science-based weight management products, nutritional supplements and personal care products to support healthy lifestyles. Based in Los Angeles, the $3 billion company has used on-demand Web video to communicate with their extensive distributor network for years. Prior to this, the company employed a costly satellite network to deliver news, information and training to distributors in 40 countries. As the network grew to more than 1.9 million distributors in 70 countries, the company needed a more cost-efficient way to communicate and collaborate with their channel partners.
Moving to The FeedRoom’s Enterprise Video Platform, the company established the Herbalife Broadband Network. HBN offers hundreds of award-winning video programs in 18 languages to help keep independent distributors well-informed and well-trained on the company’s products. Authorized distributors simply log onto the HBN site and have instant access to video delivered over the Internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Compared to satellite networks, the cost of video delivered over the Internet is approximately 90% less, saving the company millions each year. Online video communications are also more effective than satellite in the following ways:
Using The FeedRoom Enterprise Video Platform has enabled the Herbalife team to easily manage, track and report on the complete lifecycle of their extensive video content libraries from a central location with limited staff. The ability to significantly reduce costs, reach a larger audience, and drive sales through effective channel enablement, contributes to their ongoing growth and profitability.
Converting Page Views to Online Sales
In competition for online buyers, this large international retailer sought to differentiate its offerings by creating a compelling, branded user experience that would mirror the popular and unique shopping environments of its physical stores. At the same time, they applied the learnings of cable TV to a retail Internet environment with the introduction of topical video channels and podcasts designed to entice product enthusiasts. The goal: create an online destination where buyers would want to “hang out.”
Of all the factors in the video ROI equation, page views can have the most significant impact on revenue generation, creating up to a 90% conversion lift for a given product. The best success comes from not only having the video, but having a plan to drive traffic to that video. Looking to “super serve” online visitors with content, the retailer now adds nearly 300 new videos a month to its site, organized by product category. While 10% of this video is created in-house, the balance comes from third-party sources. Today, the company’s vast multimedia-enabled Web site, launched in early 2008, now sees approximately 7 million viewers per month, a 40% increase over the previous year.
Through buyer data and customer surveys, the company knows that people who view their videos spend more on average purchases. This has enabled them to find the right combination of rich, engaging and easy-to-access content to encourage visitors to return often. Average viewing time has grown to approximately 5 minutes, and product pages now account for two-thirds of all views.
Communicating with 10,000 Employees in 40 Countries
The global maker of eye-care products employs on-demand, executive Webcasts to keep employees informed about the company’s strategies and long-term business goals. Justifying the cost of creating and distributing online videos was as easy as not having to fly two or three executives around to make the same presentation. Production costs were further offset by adding the value of Web video’s broad reach, time-shifting capabilities, interactivity, searchability and measurability, including the ability to see how many streams were viewed for how long. Now translated into four languages, this video archive of executive presentations is a valuable resource for the company’s 10,000 employees.
Since its first foray into Web video in 2002, Bausch & Lomb has also significantly expanded the ways in which it capitalizes on the technology. Giving workers access to videos from around the world, such as regional TV commercials, the company aspires to foster a better understanding of how it positions itself to customers around the globe, while establishing a sense of pride in the company. Now a significant part of the company’s culture, online video is used more frequently and for a greater array of internal communications, including giving departments the ability to create and upload employee-generated videos for marketing and IT support. Moreover, with only two people on-staff responsible for all global communications, these tools have made over-burdened jobs significantly more efficient.
Following are some business metrics to consider when designing your unique ROI equation:
By employing online media over conventional business communication methods, consider this…
If you’re seeking ROI answers on your new online video or digital asset management initiative, let’s talk. With more than a decade of experience helping leading enterprises, media and government organizations around the globe to address their business needs, we have the in-market experience to help.
Call us today at +1.212.219.0343.