I can almost hear some event professionals saying, “So what?”
Conference organisers are busy running events for others; AV crew are busy setting up and managing equipment; venues are keeping everything spick and span; the catering team is looking at creative ways to deliver nutritious, delicious and dietary friendly meals. Why would we care about online events?
Here’s the thing, you are AWESOME at what you do. But who knows that?
Word of mouth is great, but you don’t have time to wait for it to happen, you must make it happen. Webinars are brilliant for that. Our associations already know it.
The Australian Business Events Association’s recent tour through Harry the hirer’s back rooms was a fantastic way to see how they operate, the services they offer and to stimulate ideas from people all over the country. And it was done for minimal cost.
The Professional Conference Organisers Association and Meetings and Events Australia’s regular online sessions with speakers and industry experts help members stay abreast of key issues as well as showcasing different content for events their members are creating.
Here’s the kicker for us as members of the events industry: We can do these events too. They are simple, cheap and effective. This new research proves it.
The cost to produce these kind of events is relatively low, the return is relatively high when combined with the right follow-up contact with customers and prospects and it leads to more word-of-mouth referrals.
So, what could you do to profile your offerings? Here are a couple of ideas for you to consider:
Market research
Invite your key customers to an online discussion and have a conversation about what they are looking for in their next events. What are the outcomes they want, their measures of success, the topics that interest them? What have they seen that they like but seems too expensive? Give your clients and prospects a chance to tell you exactly what they want then create a summary of market research for those prospects who couldn’t attend. It gives you a great reason to stay in touch.
Release new data
If your work is based on research and you have some new data, why not reach out to your network of clients and prospects and run a new data release session? It’s a bit like a book launch without having to write a whole book. You can release some of the data and then ask lots of questions like: what will this mean for your team, how will this impact your industry, what benefits or risks will this bring, what additional work will it create, what value will it deliver?
Industry update
A simple session is an industry update. Reach out to some key players in your industry and share some of the information that is currently making an impact. Have a round table discussion about what shifts this will mean for your industry and clients.
Connection session
One of my favourites is simply to get your clients together for a celebration. Celebrate their success, talk about issues they are facing, have people share how they may have solved issues others are having and even use breakout rooms for networking.
These sessions are not about you showing what you know but about engaging with customers and prospects. You will always be better to share some information and then ask lots of questions about them, their business and their circumstances. Allow the session to position you as the expert.
The value in this session is not in the event itself. The value is in the contact with your prospects and customers.
Let’s face it: cold calling sucks! Many of us will avoid it. Having a session like this will give you a valid reason for calling people multiple times. The initial invite, the reminder, the follow-up and other reasons.
People will buy from you if they know you, like you and trust you. These kinds of sessions will escalate that journey.
How will you use webinars to market your business?
Warwick Merry is a global award-winning event host and event evangelist. For 25 years he has been hosting online and in-person events. He is the host of the Making Events Awesome livestream and the monthly Conference Organisers Forum.
