A major barrier to purchase with SaaS is complexity, so how exactly do you explain complex SaaS products clearly and compellingly? Clients often don’t “get” what your product can do for them, so it’s important to show them exactly how you can help solve their problems. That’s easy to say but hard to do so in this article we give some advice on how this can be accomplished with video.
Why Video?
Video has the power to provide clarity. With video, you can craft a compelling message by combining voice, visuals and music in a way that no other marketing medium allows you. It lets you:
- Make your best pitch, every time
- Explain complex ideas with the aid of visuals
- Show exactly how a product works
- Elicit emotion
Focus on the Problem you Solve
A good place to start your video is to clearly articulate the problem that your product solves. This tells the viewer that your product is relevant to them and worthy of their attention. How to say this in a way that resonates? Ask yourself how your customer’s world would look if they didn’t have your product. The answer should give you the source material to focus on.
Keep it Short
The ideal length for a product overview video is 60 seconds or 90 seconds at a stretch. Stay focused on the key message. It’s tempting to lengthen your video but that will dilute the power of your message. For more detailed videos, e.g. those aimed at an audience that’s more familiar with your product, it’s appropriate to make longer videos in the 2-3 mins range of duration.
Base it Around a Creative Concept
To bring complex ideas to life and keep your audience engaged, you should consider scripting your video according to an overarching idea or creative approach. This can be something big or something small, for example:
- an analogy to help highlight the problem or benefits of your product
- a story
- humor or drama
- an attention-grabbing moment (our writers call these “moments that matter”)
- an interesting visual approach, e.g. placing characters in captivating environments
A little bit of creativity goes a long way. An experienced video writer will normally tackle this for you.
Flaunt those Benefits
Try to focus more on benefits and less on features and specs. You should think about what the true benefit of your product is. A true benefit is the thing your client actually wants when they use your product, e.g. to save money. It is not the thing that your product is doing, e.g. managing your suppliers.
Here’s an example:
Don’t say: “Our system submits your ABC documents by using advanced technology that took years to develop”
Rather say: “Our system saves you hundreds of hours of work by submitting your ABC documents for you”.
One more example:
Don’t say: “ABC is an order management system that’s highly efficient and flexible”
Rather say: “Get control of your spending with ABC, the flexible order management system”
Your benefits will often be related to things like: time saved, money saved, risk reduced, convenience improved, opportunities unlocked and so on. In summary, when explaining your product and what it does, this should always be in the context of what benefits the client receives.
Break Complex Ideas Down
During the scripting of your video, break intricate SaaS concepts down into bite-sized chunks focusing on one key idea at a time. You should plan out simple visuals that support the voice or text. These usually echo or emphasize what the voice is saying. It can be tempting to show visuals that differ from what the voice is saying, e.g. to try to be creative or to try to squeeze more info in, but this can make for a confusing viewing experience when trying to explain a complex product in a short amount of time.
Design with Clarity in Mind
Following good design principles is very important with complex SaaS products. A good motion designer will take into account factors like:
- Hierarchy & consistency: having an ordered way to arrange elements to guide the viewer’s eyes to the right place. This includes factors like contrast, size and placement
- Simplicity: eliminating unnecessary detail, e.g. by simplifying software screens
- Motion principles: focusing attention on the right place through smart use of timing, secondary motion and exaggeration.
The above is not an exhaustive list as this is a huge topic. The point is that these factors are part of the reason why some videos just “work”.
Make your Software Look Awesome
You need to grab attention and keep it. There are many ways to show your software, from the more abstract representations to realistic-looking product screens. Using animation it’s possible to enhance the visual appeal of your software using tricks like cool transitions, kinetic typography, footage, 3D-esque floating screens and more. As an example, below we used the brand’s signature overlapping translucent shapes to create cool transitions between screens:
Conclusion
Explaining a complex SaaS product is all about clearly articulating the benefits to the viewer. Being laser-focused on the viewer’s perspective is the key to creating clarity. This can be done by thoughtful design of the factors mentioned above. You can view more of our SaaS explainer video examples here or visit our explainer video portfolio on our YouTube page for even more inspiration.
