Stop carpet bombing. Start connecting. Generic videos with token personalisation won't win serious buyers
We've all been there. You open your inbox to find a "personalised video" from a vendor you've never heard of. The thumbnail displays your company logo, the sender enthusiastically greets you by name, and they've clearly done their homework — or have they?
Last week, I received exactly this kind of outreach. A slick video introducing a service, complete with my name in the opening line and my firm's branding strategically placed on the thumbnail. The intent was admirable, but the execution? It felt hollow.
The Personalisation Paradox
Here's the uncomfortable truth about the current state of "personalised" video prospecting: it's synthetic customisation masquerading as genuine connection. Sure, using someone's name and company details checks the personalisation box, but it's the equivalent of a form letter with mail merge fields filled in.
When you're clearly running this same playbook with hundreds of prospects, the personalisation becomes paradoxically impersonal. Your prospect knows they're one of many receiving virtually identical messages. The only difference? Their name instead of someone else's.
This approach doesn't just fail to impress — it can actively backfire. In psychology, we call this reactance: when people sense they're being manipulated, they often devalue the message entirely. Your carefully crafted video becomes noise in an already crowded inbox.
What Real Personalisation Looks Like
Genuine personalisation isn't about identity — it's about insights. It's the difference between knowing someone's name and understanding their needs, likes and challenges. Think about how Netflix or Hotstar curates content for you. They don't just slap your name on a generic homepage — they analyze your viewing patterns, time preferences, and behavioural signals to surface exactly what you're likely to want next.
Real personalisation emerges from context.
In the context of running a sales motion, it comes from unique insights that you have into a prospect’s persona, it comes from real conversations, meeting notes and industry-specific pain points you've identified.
Any AI Video Editor that’s not tapping into this is just generating generic slop. It's definitely not creating a message that makes your prospect think, "This person actually gets what I'm dealing with."
The Bottom Line
Instead of carpet bombing prospects with surface-level personalisation, consider this approach: Start with research, not automation. Spend time understanding your prospect's business, recent developments, and potential challenges before picking up the camera.
Focus on value, not vanity metrics. One video that resonates deeply is worth more than ten that get deleted.
The goal of personalised video outreach isn't to impress prospects with your technology or efficiency — it's to create moments of genuine connection that advance meaningful business conversations.
Your prospects can tell the difference between a mail merge with their name and a message crafted specifically for them. The question is: which one are you sending?
