I’ll be honest.  I didn’t give much thought to Webinars until about two years ago when I developed a “teach-to-sell” seminar for Nextel targeting residential Realtors.

Our goal was to sell the BlackBerry to Realtors with the Nextel unlimited data plan bundled with a suite of software applications for the Blackberry that had particular relevance to this audience.  The approach (and the draw) was to teach Realtors how to leverage wireless technology to increase prospect conversions and boost client satisfaction.

The live version of the seminar worked extremely well.  Response rates to our direct mail invitations to the seminar were in the 10% range, and the audience conversion rate (attendees that bought the BlackBerry and service/software bundle) was consistently 20%+. In the throws of our jubilation over these metrics however, there was one problem that we simply couldn’t escape…

To produce a positive ROI, we had to assemble a sizable audience, host them, occasionally feed them, and of course travel to them to deliver the seminar.  As the author of the seminar and only speaker, I can officially say that it wouldn’t scale.

Keeping a fairly steady schedule of presentations, I probably spoke 10,000 Realtors over the course of our initial roll-out – a paltry sum when you consider the fact that at the time there were 1 million Realtors in the U.S.

Then one day, RIM (Research In Motion – the makers of the BlackBerry) invited me to present to an audience by way of a Webinar.  I’d had no previous experience with a Webinar, but after sending in my PowerPoint slides, I had only to dial in by phone and basically start presenting my slides. The audience was strewn from coast to coast in groups of one to 20 or more – all watching my slides and hearing my voice through this fabulous technology. 

There was functionality to allow live question and answer. Everyone seemed to like it. And I left the experience with my eyes opened to a whole new realm of possibility.

Suddenly our un-scalable live seminar program (Real-Time Real Estate) just might be scalable after all.

Fast forward to the present.  (This post is partly a chapter in my Real-Time Case Studies.) I am now one of the co-founders of a company (SmartWare as I have referred to it in previous posts – see Real-time Case Studies) the very existence of which is made possible by… you guessed it – Webinars.

I will tell you without hesitation that SmartWare would not be a viable product were it not for the Webinars that we use to present the software to prospective buyers and guide new institutional subscribers through the implementation of SmartWare. The market for this software simply wouldn’t bear the price that we would ultimately have to charge in order to fund a traditional traveling sales and implementation approach.

We started the business on May 1, 2006, and we now have 40 institutional subscribers to SmartWare. And we have never left the office to make a sale or implement a new client. Literally, our only travel is to conferences where we exhibit for the purpose of lead generation.

Here and now, I strongly urge you to consider the potential impact of the Webinar on your business. 

Can it streamline your sales process? 
Can you use the Webinar to host virtual educational events for clients and/or prospects?
Can you use the Webinar to train your customers on how to use, care for, install… your product?

Brainstorm! This is powerful, market-making technology, and it has been around long enough to be pretty darn reliable and user friendly.

Think about it.

Marketing Sherpa recently published an article to assist people in selecting a Webinar vendor.  It was loaded with great tips – as is typically the case with their fantastic material.  I have borrowed the beginnings of their key vendor list and provided it for you here. (We use WebEx for SmartWare and love it.)

Key Webinar Vendors

Here is an alphabetical list of webinar vendors and details on some of their service options:

Convoq ConferenceASAP
http://www.convoq.com
Maximum number of participants: 500.
Price: Four annual subscription levels for 25, 50, 100 and 200 attendees — $2,400, $4,800, $9,600, $19,200. Additional users can be added for 15 cents per minute/per user; 5 cents per minute for conference call line.
Special features: Chat, streaming video, VOIP, participant monitoring and application sharing.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes. Convoq’s system is integrated with Salesforce so hosts can set up a Web-to-lead form and host it on their own Web site.
Customizable email invitation: Yes.
Automatic email reminders: Yes. Convoq ConferenceASAP is integrated with Outlook or Salesforce to generate emails, track responses, attendance and details from post-event follow-up.
Event reporting: The basics, with the report created in Salesforce.
Recording: Yes. Files hosted by Brainshark.com, which provides reports of playback views.
Note: Flash-based application doesn’t require participants to download special software to attend a webinar.

GoToWebinar
http://www.gotowebinar.com
Maximum number of participants: Up to 1,000.
Price: $99 a month for unlimited use or $948 annually, plus 4.75 cents a minute for toll-free teleconference line.
Special features: Chat, Q&A, polling, post-webinar surveys and attendee monitoring.
Custom registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes, including upload of customers’ corporate logo.
Customizable email invitation: Yes.
Automatic email reminders: Yes.
Event reporting: The basics, plus a list of attendees ranked by “interest rating.”
Recording: A DIY system. The event host must have a sound card installed on their computer and an adapter to record from the phone line to their PC. The file can then be edited and hosted by the customer.
Note: Subscription to GoToWebinar includes use of Citrix’s GoToMeeting so hosts can offer follow-up events with smaller groups (up to 10 people).

iLinc
http://www.iLinc.com
Maximum number of participants: Unlimited.
Price: 10 cents per minute for “light collaboration” mode (sharing PowerPoint slides only); 20 cents per minute for “standard collaboration” mode (PowerPoint plus additional communication tools described below); 30 cents per minute for “full collaboration” mode (streaming video, VoIP and other advanced features).
Special features: Chat, Q&A, polling, surveys, application sharing, attendee monitoring, interactive whiteboards and streaming audio/video.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitation: Yes.
Automatic email reminders: Yes.
Event reporting: The basics, plus any interaction with attendees (questions, poll responses) and post-event surveys.
Recording: Yes.
Note: iLinc’s Event Plus service offers a host of event planning and management services, from more in-depth registration form data gathering to presenter training, operator assistance. Prices depend on services used.

Infinite Conferencing
http://www.infiniteconferencing.com
Maximum number of participants: Default set at 100, can be set to “as many as you like” for no additional charge.
Price: 7.5 cents per minute, per user (not including telephone line) or $200 a month for up to 50 users. Additional charges for certain services (see below).
Special features: Chat, Q&A and application sharing.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes, for an additional $1,000.
Customizable email invitation: Yes.
Automatic email reminders: Yes.
Event reporting: The basics, plus optional post-conference survey for $250.
Recording: Optional. $300 for up to 1.5 hours and basic editing. Includes three months of hosting.

MeetingBridge
http://www.meetingbridge.com
Maximum number of participants: 1,000.
Price: 15 cents per minute per user (not including teleconference line).
Special features: Chat, text messaging, Q&A and polling.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitation: Yes, for $150 fee.
Automatic email reminders: Yes, including customizable templates. Sent from MeetingBridge’s servers or by event host.
Event reporting: The basics, including the ability to see who opened the email but did not register.
Recording: Optional. $300 for the first hour, $150 for each additional hour.
Note: MeetingBridge offers event specialists to help customers prepare and host a webinar.

MegaMeeting
http://www.megameeting.com
Maximum number of participants: Unlimited.
Price: $499 a month for up to 100 users or a “pay as you go” plan, which requires a $200 account set-up fee and then 25 cents per person/per minute.
Special features: Q&A, polling, surveys, interactive noteboard, streaming audio and video and audience feedback.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitation: Information not available
Automatic email reminders: No.
Event reporting: The basics.
Recording: Optional. Costs $299.
Note: Operates from attendee’s browser so no software download is required. New MegaMeeting customers receive training on how to use the system and conduct a Web event.

ON24 Inc.
http://www.on24.com
Maximum number of users: Unlimited.
Price: Average cost is $3,000, although customization options are available.
Special features: Lead scoring, customizable interface that’s scalable up to thousands of live attendees, Q&A, chat, polling, survey, streaming audio and video, attendee monitoring, no downloads required and reliable infrastructure.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes and brandable.
Customizable email invitations: Yes and brandable.
Automatic reminder emails: Yes.
Event reporting: Yes, real-time reporting and leadscoring.
Recording: Yes. Complimentary three-month archive.
Note: ON24 offers an event management service to help train presenters and run the event. They also offer a full suite of marketing solutions, including lead generation.

Premiere Global Services
http://www.premiereglobal.com
Maximum number of users: 1,800.
Price: Various pricing options for automated and fully managed event calls for audio and Web conferencing, plus webcasting.
Special features: Choice and consultation as to which service suits the client’s particular needs, live and on-demand support.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes, using either their Web conferencing partners or their own in-house application for better branding.
Customizable email invitations: Yes, the blast e-mail service is highly customizable.
Automatic reminder emails: Yes.
Event reporting: Yes, detailed reporting.
Recording: Yes, they can host the recording or provide clients with their own copy.
Note: Audio and Web conferencing provider from small to large high-profile events. Full range of services from pre-registration, participants screening, event management team, post-conference reporting, ability to edit files/record calls for a more professional approach. Complimentary training available tailored to each client’s needs, 24/7 on-demand support and on-site/online live support during events.

ReadyTalk
http://www.readytalk.com
Maximum number of participants: 2,000 (350 for application sharing/demo mode).
Price: $49 a month for up to 15 attendees; unlimited monthly usage rates available; prices depend on volume.
Special features: Chat, Q&A and application sharing.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitation: Yes, integrated with Outlook.
Automatic email reminders: Expected in an upcoming release.
Event reporting: The basics, plus a post-event feedback survey.
Recording: Yes, including listener registration form and reports on playback views.

Vcall
http://www.vcall.com
Maximum number of participants: Unlimited, but the company recommends using webcasts for audiences in the thousands.
Price: Self-service system available for 29 cents per minute or $69 per user (volume discounts available). Full-service system (including event production services, operator assistance, etc.) starts at $675 per event.
Special features: Q&A, polling, surveys, application sharing, online collaboration tools, such as whiteboards and flip charts, streaming audio and video.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitations: Yes.
Automatic reminder emails: Yes.
Event reporting: The basics, plus attendees’ use of interactive features (Q&A, polls) and post-event feedback surveys
Recording: Yes.

Webcast Group
http://www.webcastgroup.com
Maximum number of participants: 20,000.
Price: Webcast Group charges a per-event fee. A one-hour event for 250 attendees typically costs $995.
Special features: Chat, polling and Q&A; HTML and Flash in the slide window; attendee monitoring.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitation: Yes, integrated with Outlook.
Automatic reminder emails: Optional. Sent from Webcast Group’s servers. The company recommends customers send their own reminder emails as well.
Event reporting: The basics.
Recording: Free, but with hosting/streaming fee that starts at $114 a year.
Note: Webcast Group offers an event management service to help train presenters and run the event.

WebEx
http://www.webex.com
Maximum number of participants: 3,000.
Price: $55 a month for up to 200 participants. 12 cents per minute/per user for toll-free call-in line.
Special features: Q&A, polling, Flash, 3-D objects, streaming audio and video and attendee monitoring.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes.
Customizable email invitation: Yes, integrated with Outlook and Lotus Notes for scheduling.
Automatic email reminders: Yes, sent from WebEx servers.
Event reporting: The basics, plus user feedback form.
Recording: Yes, either to host’s desktop or hosted on WebEx’s servers.

WebDialogs Event Central
http://www.webdialogs.com
Max number of participants: 1,000+.
Price: 15 cents per minute/per person or monthly plans starting at $225 per month for Web conferencing and toll phone line.
Special features: Chat, Q&A, polling and document sharing. Streaming audio and video planned to be added in April 2007.
Customizable registration and landing/thank-you pages: Yes, with up to 14 fields that can be required or optional.
Automatic email invitations and reminders: Yes, up to three, sent from WebDialogs’ servers.
Recording: $300 for the first hour, $5 per minute after that.
Reporting: The basics.
Note: If you’re a webinar vendor and would like to be considered for inclusion in the Marketing Sherpa listing, email the following information to Senior Reporter, Sean Donahue at seand@marketingsherpa.com.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 2:33 am and is filed under Powerful Presentations, Real-Time Case Studies, Sales & Business Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.