Corporate videos are an important sales tool that can often be overlooked in marketing budgets.

We look at the top nine tell-tale signs that indicate whether your company is in need of an innovative and effective way to promote itself.

1. No strong corporate "look and feel"

You're in a highly competitive industry. Yet, what makes you really stand apart from your competitors is your people and the look and feel of your company.

So how do you show your state-of-the-art factory in action or your professional staff working in your appealing office?

And what about your idyllic location? What's the best way to show picturesque vision of rolling hills, clean and green countryside or waterside views?

The solution is to create a marketing video that paints an appealing picture of those indefinable qualities that make your company unique.

2. Unique Presentations

You need to do a sales presentation and your company is up against some tough competitors.

How do you present your company in a way that is different to your opponents?

A proven method is to play your corporate video within your PowerPoint presentation.

Playing your marketing video at the start of a sales presentation is a great way to relax your audience. Interesting vision and upbeat music can make your audience feel more positive, even before you've spoken a word.

It's an ideal way to show the look and feel of your company in a convincing and enjoyable manner.

3. Trade Shows/Exhibitions

Your organisation is always exhibiting at trade shows and needs a way to stand out from the crowd.

Setting up a television screen and a DVD/VHS player in your stand with your continually repeating corporate video is an easy way to get people to stop and stare. Moving vision and music easily stops people in their tracks.

Parents quickly learn that it is easy to distract a child by leaving them in front of a television. Adults are usually no different. It is easy to grab the attention of participants who may feel uncomfortable (or bored) walking around a trade show.

Continually playing your corporate video is an easy way for passers-by to learn about you without having to go to the effort of reading through brochures.

4. Increasing Export Sales

Travelling overseas to market your products or services to international buyers is risky business. Not just for your company, but also for your prospects.

Can they really trust you when you tell them how large and reputable you business is and that you have the right quality procedures in place? How can they get a real feel for your company that is located thousands of miles away?

Presenting your location, factory or office, production process and your dedicated staff at work is highly regarded by international buyers. It provides an extra a look and feel about your company that is often lacking from brochures and photos.

A concise marketing video that gives an interesting overview of your company is a proven method to increasing international sales.

5. Showing your Product or Service in Action

Sometimes you cannot actually demonstrate your product or service to a client because it is too large to lug around, it is located on the other side of the world or there is only one prototype that cannot be used.

New products or services that are suitable for use in a range of different scenarios are also difficult to demonstrate.

Using a marketing video that can exhibit how your product works and under what circumstances is a great way for prospects to understand what you are trying to sell.

This is a much better alternative than taking the prospect through lengthy operational manuals or worse still, having them rely on their imagination.

6. Extensive Product Range

Your product list is extensive. Not only do your clients not know all of the products that you sell, but even your staff have trouble remembering!

Studies have found that we are more likely to remember information if it is shown with pictures. The best way to inform people about your product range (and for them to remember) is to show scenarios in which the product can be used.

7. Your Production Process

Your product is made in a time-honoured tradition that takes hours of dedication. Or your product is made from the finest quality materials that are only obtainable from a scenic, rural location. Alternatively, your service was developed from years of research by experienced technicians.

Showing your product being made in a manner that is different to your competitors gives you a distinct competitive advantage.

This is one area that you do not want to leave to nice words and pretty pictures in a brochure. To do your company justice, showcasing your production process is an extremely important message to convey.

8. Believable Testimonials

There is nothing more potent than having your happy customers raving on about how wonderful you are to camera.

Written testimonials are often read suspiciously. We're all guilty of reading through testimonials and laughing about their dubious authenticity.

Having a real client talking about you on camera is like having that person tell your prospects face-to-face about how highly they think of you. Of course, the testimonial has to look real. Uncomfortable clients poorly reading from an autocue fools nobody!

When done correctly, this is an extremely effective way to promote your business and one that has been used since televisions first appeared in our lounge rooms.

9. Winning Awards

Many savvy businesses know that entering awards can be a great way to cost effectively promote their company.

Submitting your corporate video in an award submission is also a clever technique to distinguish your company from the pack.

An added bonus is that your video material may also be included during any awards ceremony stretching your promotional opportunities even further.

Marie-Claire Ross is from Digicast Television Production. Digicast Television Production has helped many businesses win big contracts and projects by increasing more awareness and knowledge of their products and services. To get the FREE Digicast Ezine with marketing tips and the latest information on technology to help busy business professionals visit (http://www.digicast.com.au) to subscribe.