Why Do a Webinar If You Don’t Pursue the Leads?
Don’t ask me how I learned this, but a major B2B outfit recently tried its hand at a Webinar.
People showed up—several hundred, including non-clients. And they liked what they heard, for the content was relevant and there was no hint of a sales pitch.
But there was one problem: Except to get an e-mail that a recorded version of the Webinar was available, the registrants never heard from the firm again.
The people who asked questions, including some that played right to the company’s strength? Nada.
Those who stayed for the full hour, and who were exactly the kind of clients the firm would want? Zilch.
And the ones who indicated in polling that they were considering an upgrade of a type that the company could provide? Bubkes.
The speakers were too busy congratulating themselves on the launch of their audio careers, and being annoyed that some competitors dialed in. Not a single party got a phone call asking for a meeting.
Guys, I may be an amateur at this, but B2B Webinars are hardly a form of popular entertainment. There’s only one reason to run them.
Leads.
That’s right. Depending on your product, you can pay for the Webinar several times over with only a couple of good ones. But you have to follow up. Send ‘em a white paper. Take them to lunch. Find out what they need.
Otherwise, why bother doing a Webinar? There are cheaper ways to gratify your ego.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:15 am
You’re right, Ray! It constantly amazes me how many companies do not understand that the initial lead is simply the tip of a much larger iceberg, and a lead generation campaign needs to be planned end-to-end, including lead qualification, nurturing and hand-off to the sales function. Jim Obermayer often talks about the famous “Rule of 45,” which says that 45% of B-to-B inquirers eventually buy in the category, so the company that doesn’t keep in touch with them is likely to lose the business to a competitor. Well, I guess we should be glad that the webinar you were talking about wasn’t just a sales pitch–another common problem in B-to-B marketing today.