Hit 'Em Where They Work

In today's budget-conscious environment, it's not surprising that Webinars are becoming increasingly popular as a sales lead-generation and corporate meetings tool. Conducting live seminars online not only costs less than on-site meetings, but logistically, gathering everyone electronically is a lot easier than getting them in one room.

For example, about a year ago, Anaheim, CA-based computer storage systems maker MTI Technology Corp. was able to cut bimonthly direct marketing expenses from $100,000 to only $7,500 when it scuttled regional seminars in favor of an Internet symposium.

When Webinars began about five years ago, they were primarily the province of high-tech business-to-business marketers. And while techies still tend to be the predominant users, more and more other types of users are coming into the fold.

“Webinars are like a Power-Point presentation on steroids,” says Bob Wallach, CEO of Marketingpower.com, a Chicago-based subsidiary of the American Marketing Association, which has been running Webinars for a few years now.

Cellular phone systems marketer SpectraLink Corp. has been using Webinars for about a year and reports some modest success with them, both for lead generation and sales training.

So far, the Boulder, CO firm has run about 50 Webinars, both to promote its products to distributors and to generate leads among prospects. Most drew between 80 and 100 people, says spokeswoman Michelle Greene.

SpectraLink offers such equipment as wireless telephone and text-messaging systems and the like to such corporations as Verizon and SBC, mostly through resellers and distributors. Greene is convinced of the value of Webinars for marketing.

“If we get somebody to sit and listen to a Webinar for an hour we consider that a very good lead because we know a lot about him or her already,” she says.

This year, SpectraLink is also running about a 5% response rate to e-mail invitations to its sales Webinars and has amassed a house file of a little over 10,000 names, says Greene. But, she cautions, response to Webinars will only be as good as the lists used to put them together.

Another benefit of online meetings is that they have freed up some of SpectraLink employees' travel time.

“Webinars have enabled us to save our channel managers from having to travel to distributor sites to do new product demonstrations, so they can do other things,” Greene says.

SpectraLink did have a bit of a learning curve to surmount with Webinars.

In September, SpectraLink ran its first Webinar in Western Europe for distributors in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. “We may have even had people there from France,” says Greene, who notes the telephone charges were some of their biggest expenses. The event drew about 30 people.

At press time, Greene had no conversion figures to report from SpectraLink's Webinar-based efforts and was unsure of the company's 2004 plans‥

Julie Roth, vice president of business development for the AMA, believes it generally takes at least seven subsequent contacts with Webinar participants to solidify sales.

“You don't want to close too early,” she says.

Her organization has been running educational Webinars for about two years. During that time, the AMA has amassed a database of about 150,000 marketing execs of all levels — organization members and non-members.

SpectraLink's Webinar was produced by Raindance Communications, Louisville, CO, which charges companies $131 per seat per month for a 12-month subscription, subject to negotiation, says Raindance spokeswoman Laura Hurley. Audio is 24 cents per minute per user.

Overall, Wallach estimates that live Webinars to crowds of between 50 and 100 cost about $20 per person. “But costs can vary a lot,” he notes.

Earlier this year, computer data networking systems marketer 3Com, of Marlborough, MA, attracted 1,300 information technology security executives from more than 80 countries in a Webinar it put together with its agency B/O/W/G Advertising, Salt Lake City and Webinar producer AccelaCommunications, Southboro, MA. 3Com was reportedly able to attain 60% of its five-month lead-generation goals.

For the most part, Webinars have been used by companies with complex products or services to sell, says Wallach.

“Webinars are good for things that need a lot of explanation like computer and investment products and services,” he notes.

Another option is prerecorded Webinars, which cost much less.

Ann Roskey, vice president of marketing and audience development at Accela, says prerecorded Webinars have advantages over live events since participants have the choice of attending when they want.