Marketers know that webinars can be great lead-generation tools. Webcasts are also the top solution used by prospects when conducting research before making a buying decision. But virtual communications can also help companies build communities, communicate with customers, train sales teams and partners, measure the success of campaigns, and launch products.
The following nine case summaries illustrate just some of the possibilities.
1. Communicating With Communicators
A provider of public relations management software offers virtual learning opportunities to its customers via virtual conferences and a broad range of webinars where subject matter experts discuss a specific topic or issue. The company also hosts in-person summits; it reports that attendance at those traditional gatherings has not been adversely affected by the availability of virtual alternatives.
2. Enabling Partner Success
A world leader in design engineering software has developed a virtual Partner Training Center, a one-stop, 24/7 training resource seamlessly integrated with an existing learning management system. The virtual Partner Training Center acts as a catalyst for reaching and connecting with partners, arming them with the information they need to maximize sales. The end result: a more professional and engaging experience for thousands of partners worldwide.
3. Shopping for Retailers
This customer webinar series was developed to invite recruiters in the retail sector to get the HR insights they need without leaving their offices. Integrated with a leading marketing automation solution, Eloqua, the webcasts provided sophisticated registrant tracking—unique query strings were generated to track leads coming from the media, emails, marketing newsletters, and sales efforts. In addition, the integrated solution provided real-time registration and attendance metrics directly into the Eloqua system for a consolidated reporting dashboard.
4. A 'Hybrid' Product Launch
With the objective of creating a high-impact launch targeting customers and prospects, one global enterprise used webcasting to supplement a real-world product launch event. That successful hybrid event was designed to reach both in-person conference attendees and online attendees around the globe. Engaging virtual attendees with social media interaction and live Q&A, the simulcast reached more than 3,200 viewers worldwide.
5. The 3 Cs: Community, Conversations, and Communication
With 170,000 customers and 1,200 partners worldwide, a global software leader has a community network of some two million professionals, all seeking product information, thought leadership, and opportunities to exchange ideas. The best way to engage with those two million professionals? A series of webcasts. By leveraging the community, the webcasts expanded reach and generated leads and revenue. A major plus for webcasts is that they also satisfy a primary business challenge—the need for robust, comprehensive reporting.
6. Connecting With a Month of Content
One of the largest software enterprises in the world sponsors a unique, month-long virtual user conference annually. It complements a traditional user conference with simulcasts of 150 key sessions, including keynotes, to a global audience, meeting the needs of customers who cannot attend the conference in person. In addition, the virtual conference extends the reach of the user conference throughout the world. It features a job resource center and a virtual exhibition center with booths from 20 partners.
7. Investing in Client Relationships
A company providing information management systems to the financial services industry replaced an annual in-person meeting with a "Virtual Client Exchange" featuring three separate content tracks, high-level strategic briefings, and tips and hints for specific products from subject matter experts. The event attracted more registrants and attendees than any other event in the company's history and has now evolved into an "always on" virtual environment to facilitate ongoing communication.
8. Bringing Real and Virtual Together
A life sciences innovator captured content from its long-running real-world user conference and made it available, along with live content, in a global e-conference briefing center customized for four markets: Europe, Japan, Asia, and the Americas. The first of its kind in this industry, the four-day virtual briefing center efficiently reached researchers and other global customers who could not leave their labs to attend the in-person event.
9. Meeting the Challenges of a Global Marketplace
Another highly regarded worldwide enterprise, marketing more than 5,000 individual products to organizations of all sizes across the globe, addressed its unique marketing challenges in the Asia-Pacific region with a series of webcasts introducing its products to a diverse audience of IT and business executives in more than 40 countries. Thirty-seven of these custom webcasts were held last year, attracting 14,404 live attendees, which resulted in over 3,900 qualified leads.
(Image courtesy of Bigstock: Business person, technology background).
