Selling HD Video: Caution, Learning Curve Ahead

Marketing Strategies

The ability of DSLRs and even point-and-shoot cameras to capture high-quality, high-definition video clips is not news to you, but it is to some of your customers. And even if they know it’s a possibility, they’re probably not too sure about the details of how it all works. Educating them is the key to making the most of video’s profit potential. Some dealers have already unlocked that door; others are about to. What many dealers seem to have in common, though, is the fact that they’ve got some learning to do, too.

At Bel Air Camera in Los Angeles, operations manager Barry Dennis believes that educating the customer is the first step in keeping the customer satisfied. “A lot of people come into the store wanting a digital SLR that shoots video,” he said, “but you really need to educate them and show them that it’s not like a Flip video camera, or any video camera—that there’s a little more to it.” What he finds most effective is showing the interested customer that there are “different levels of video,” and there are decisions to be made.

“DSLRs are capable, but there are differences with certain cameras. When you show, say, a Nikon D3100 or a Canon Rebel T3i, and then you show them the Sony A55, for example, which is more like a traditional video camera, or an NEX-5 or the new Panasonic stuff, the GH series, or the Olympus E-PL Pen series, that gets them a little more excited.” Overall he finds that there’s a correlation between customers’ understanding of the levels of capability—that with some DSLRS they can get better video results—and their enthusiasm for video. And more information doesn’t scare them off. “Right now our DSLR sales are increasing, and I attribute that a lot to video,” Dennis said.

Bruce Pallman, owner of Roberts, in Indianapolis, feels that although video is currently a hot button for customers—“all of a sudden they have a video camera associated with their DSLR”—retailers have work to do to fully realize the potential.  

“Our salespeople are learning the [DSLR video] business; we’re learning about the add-on business—the stabilization devices, lights, microphones—trying to figure out what the right stuff is.” And Roberts’s customers are learning, too, and not only at the sales counter. “We’re starting to give beginner classes: learning to shoot video with your DSLR,” Pallman said. “Customers tend to come in armed with information as well as with everyone’s price. The trick is, how do we become a place for knowledge and sales rather than just knowledge, and then they go someplace else to buy it.”

The classes may be the answer to several questions. “The sure way to learn is to teach,” Pallman said, “and to do the classes we had to hook up with videographers who know how to use these cameras; we’re learning with the customers, and we’re learning how to make the classes work as a sales tool.”

The interest in video capability is, he suggested, pretty much confined to DSLRs. “Video is nice with point-and-shoot cameras, but I’m not sure that it’s nearly the attraction it is with a DSLR. The point-and-shoot customer likes the idea of also being able to do video, but quite frankly I don’t think most of them care if it’s 720p or 1080p or whatever. They just ask, ‘Can I shoot movies?’”

Video accessories have opened up a whole new world of possibilities. “We probably carry 15 different microphones today, and, of course, tripods, lights, tracking devices, rails; it’s a whole new category for us. But we’ve got to figure out what the right stuff is; everybody and his brother has accessories now. The primary line is probably Zacuto—they were in early and are one of the name brands for DSLR stabilization.”

“Right now our DSLR sales are increasing,

and I attribute that a lot to video.”

Among the name brands for the video-capable DSLRs and interchangeable-lens compacts are Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Pentax, Olympus and Samsung. “I also like the mirrorless cameras,” Pallman said. “They’re pretty cool. They autofocus pretty easily; they’re what I call video friendly. But Nikon and Canon are 90 percent of our sales.”

Steve Eberhard, at The Camera House in Joliet, Illinois, finds that although some of his customers appreciate the fact that the DSLR they’re thinking of buying can shoot video, “video capability hasn’t been a high demand feature for us. It’s an extra value added to the camera.” But he does see potential as more people become aware of video. “It’s definitely a plus, especially since the quality has gotten better. And it’s a strong suit to promote that it’s 1080p, with HDMI cable-connection capability to bring that level of quality to your big-screen TV set when you show your video.”

While his average customer isn’t motivated by a DSLR’s video capability, Eberhard has done some business with photographers from a few area newspapers. “All of a sudden the still photographers have become video photographers now that the newspapers need to economize and merge functions,” Eberhard said. “The newspapers want the still photographers to shoot video clips for the paper’s website and incorporate the video into stories. As the requirements of the photographers’ jobs have changed, we’ve gotten them as customers for our Canon DSLRs.”

The 800-pound gorilla in the room just might be editing. At Roberts it’s a subject for the classes, but at Bel Air Camera it’s near the top of the “to discuss” list. “We bring up editing more than the customers do,” Barry Dennis said, “because we don’t want anyone to think it’s point, click and you’re on your way. You’ve got to let people know it’s a little more complicated. It also comes down to basic sales tactics: qualifying the customers, making sure they’re capable of doing what they want to do, so you have to talk about editing.”

The downside of the DSLR video picture is, as you might expect, falling sales of “traditional” video cameras. “We never did huge numbers,” Dennis said, “but traditional video camera sales have gone down in the consumer end. We still do a pretty brisk business with the prosumer independent filmmaker market because we’re in Los Angeles. We still do stuff at $1,200 to $8,000, but the $300, $400, $500 market is eroding for us.”

Overall Canon and Nikon are “the big boys for us,” he added, “but people who are technology savvy will be more open to other brands. A lot more people are coming into the store asking about the Sony cameras specifically, and a lot of that certainly has to do with their name being practically synonymous with video. When people talk electronics or video, nobody hesitates with Sony.

“I’m a technology guy, so I’m open to it all, and I try to impart that to the people here. Our attitude is, yes, we’re a big camera store and we’ve been here for years and yes, we can sell you a Leica—but we also have a Sony Alpha 55.”