Customer Acquisition Program

New On-Demand Presentation in our Learning Content Network

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 by Mark Rice

Webinar Resources recently supported the production of a technical on-demand presentation that was promoted to engineering groups on LinkedIn. The views of the Brainshark presentation are being monitored to determine if the presentation is an effective lead generation tool that can be adapted for future sale. Early measurements of views indicate a high level of interest and global appeal in the content as depicted in the location view map underneath this presentation. We added a QR Code with a short url http://mobex.me/DSP to promote our multi-channel mix of customer acquisition services. You can view the presentation below, visit the short url or scan the QR code on the title slide.

Go Hollywood With Your Webinar - create a trailer.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 by Mark Rice

Webinar Resources recently was highlighted in Brainshark's Idea Blog. As part of our webinar customer acquisition process, we produce a short trailer that consists of a Brainshark presentation. The webinar trailer is sent out to announce the webinar and capture registrations through a call-to-action slide.

We recently produced a webinar trailer to promote the "Blending Print and Mobile to Deliver Engaging Experiences" Webinar Wednesday event with guest speaker, Bryan Yeager of InfoTrends. The webinar trailer was viewed and tracked and effectively increased the number of registrations for our webinar.

Visit the Brainshark Idea Blog link below to:

- View our webinar trailer at the link below or visit http://mobex.me/webwed
- Download the replay of the Print and Mobile webinar (Register to save the date for future webinars and we will send you a link to the replay)

http://www.brainshark.com/ideas-blog/brainshark-articles/go%20hollywood%20with%20your%20webinar%20-%20create%20a%20webinar%20trailer.aspx

Contact us to add that Hollywood sizzle to your next event promotion.

Webinar Wednesday on Location at the Mystic Inn

Thursday, June 23, 2011 by Mark Rice

From: markrice@riceresources.com

Neither rain, snow or sleet will keep our recording engineer, Zach, from recording a Webinar Wednesday event.

It was a wet Webinar Wednesday as we had to use the pool terrace to get a good WiFi signal. Unfortunately,
it poured down rain. Luckily there was a retractable awning to cover us and the show went on.

We had over 50% of our registrants attending the "Blending Print and Mobile to Deliver Engaging Experiences". InfoTrends Senior Analyst, Bryan Yeager, walked a captivated audience through recent research, use cases for mobile and print and shared some of the exciting emerging technologies that will continue to grow opportunities for blending print and mobile.

Bryan, thank you for an engaging experience!

When you want to drive customer acquisition and create engaging webinar experiences, turn to the trusted experts and pioneers in the industry, Webinar Resources. We are your webinar resource.

"This blog post was created through Compendium's Email to Post feature."

Mark Rice
Managing Director
Webinar Resources
314.385.5211 o
314.662.6014 m
markrice@riceresources.com
@webinarresource

Visit or blog:
http://blog.webinarresource.com

QR Codes Application and Interview with Carolyn Hasenfratz at Route 66 Festival

Thursday, June 16, 2011 by Mark Rice

Sell66Stuff is supported by Webinar Resources.
Customer Acquisition, Demand Generation and Mobile Solutions - Blending the Best to Build Your Business.

A "Share Your Story" Brainshark Blogpost posted through Compendium's Email to Post feature.

Listen to InfoTrends and Learn How to Blend Print and Mobile - Webinar Wednesdays June 22nd, 1:00 -2:00 pm Central

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 by Mark Rice

Another Webinar Wednesday event produced by Webinar Resources. In our continuing effort to help you to reach out to new customers with effective lead generation tools. Consider print and mobile as a new multi-channel mix to create engaging cross media applications.

Congratulations Carolyn Hasenfratz, Creative Director - Webinar Resources

Thursday, March 17, 2011 by Mark Rice

We are proud to announce that Carolyn Hasenfratz, our Creative Director at Webinar Resources, is celebrating her 4th year as an employee with our company. Carolyn's excellent background in graphic/web design and HTML gave our company a jump start when we brought her on as a contractor almost 6 years ago.

Carolyn has been the creative driver for many of our multi-channel campaigns and always comes up with unique, personalized designs that drive customer acquisition. Her extensive experience in search engine optimization (SEO) led her to Philadelphia at the On Demand trade show two years ago where she was asked to discuss the concepts with Ben Franklin at the National Constitution Center. Maybe he just wanted to tell her "A penny saved is a penny earned".

Haven't Taken the Social Media Plunge Yet?

Thursday, February 17, 2011 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

Your customer acquisition efforts may not be performing to their full potential if social media is not part of your multi channel mix! A great many companies and organizations both small and large have a social media presence now, but there are still some of you out there who are not on board yet. Here are some reasons why I think you should consider getting involved now.

Social media is definitely a good broadcasting tool. It's also a good listening tool. If you want to know what people are really interested in, you have to pay attention to what they're talking about and sharing in social media as well as other channels. If I'm stuck for ideas on what to write about in this blog for example, sometimes I'll check what the hot topics are for Webinar Resources Twitter followers. It's also good to know what people are saying about your company specifically. If negative information is being spread, you want to know as soon as possible so you can begin damage control before the bad publicity gets too entrenched. Also, as individual potential customers prefer different channels of communication, it never hurts to give them as many options to interact with you as possible.

Sharing and retweeting are key activities enjoyed by social media users. Create something cool and you could mobilize a willing army of people helping to get your message out. For example we recently increased our Facebook fans with a Valentine QR Gram. Participants were invited to become a fan of Webinar Resources by requesting a QR code linked to a QR Gram (four selections of music genres) that they could share on their Facebook page. Once posted on the requestor's Facebook site, friends could scan the QR code and play a musical, mobile QR Gram.

You can participate in social media for no cost other than your time. Take the opportunity to use your creativity and not your big budget (which you might not have) to create a campaign that could go viral and get you lots of exposure.

Why Small Businesses Should Engage in Content Marketing

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

I've been a passionate advocate of and participant in content marketing for many years, but I know why it can seem like a daunting strategy to a small businesses. You the small business owner already have a lot of hats to wear - now you have to be a publisher too? Here are some reasons why you might consider doing just that.

Large companies have an advantage in many areas of advertising, such as television, print, and big trade shows because those channels require significant investments of money. However in many ways, small businesses can compete with big ones when it comes to content marketing. How is this possible?

I watched the Compendium webinar replay "Content & Social Search Strategies" and learned some very interesting things. For one thing, to get the most out of content marketing, you have to get your SEO, Social, Content, Email Marketing and PR people to communicate with each other. In many large companies this does not happen. But in a small business, these people may be on the same team or may even be the same person, so it's much easier to come up with a strategy that makes sense and can be implemented quickly.

Many companies spend more on distributing their content than they do on creating content. This is not necessary because of all the free or low-cost online options available. Distribute your content via blog and social media in your multi channel mix and cut distribution costs drastically. Put your resources into creating good content instead - if you publish it in the right places, people will find it.

That is where search comes in. A lot of money is spent on pay-per-click advertising. Well, if you don't have a lot of money to spend on PPC, take heart - according to the webinar replay, 88% of clicks are on organic search results, and organic search results are very dependent on content. And when potential customers search, it's usually for a product, not for a retailer. Why not let the big companies create demand for a product with expensive ads and then win the sale yourself by winning the search? Yes it's very difficult to rank high on short search terms but guess what? Long search terms that are very much in your reach have the best results anyway - the more specific the search, the better the conversion rate. It's nice to be the one with the advantage in the customer acquisition process now and then, isn't it?

Santa's Call to Action

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 by Mark Rice

As the holiday season approaches, more marketers are getting prepared to capture orders through effective customer acquisition processes.   Santa is no exception.

As more savvy business people use multi-channel marketing to communicate their message, more unique ways to touch the customer are generated. By creating community through subscribers (email), fans (Facebook) and Followers (Twitter), businesses can reach out to prospects they had never thought of and encourage them to interact through a "Call to Action", CTA.   A CTA is an effective lead generation tool. It may be in the form of a coupon offer, a subscription to a newsletter or a download of a white paper.

In the webstory of "Santa Claus and the Lost Dog", Santa uses a post card as his CTA.   This is no ordinary post card as it includes a magic ticket with a personalized URL (PURL) and a QR (quick response) code to get immediate action from a child with the help of a grown up that may have a grown up toy like a smartphone equipped with a camera.

Yes, Santa has gone hi-touch and hi-tech and has joined the social media world. The days of traditional Santa calls over the phone are going to be replaced by tweets, likes, comments and good little girls and boys will get badges.  Will Santa's updates on FourSquare take the place of NORAD's tracking of jolly old St. Nick on Christmas Eve?

You can visit http://www.mychristmasbook.com to order the webstory book.   It makes a great stocking stuffer and can play on mobile devices on your way to Grandma's house.

Mobile Content Creates New Avenues for Social Media

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 by Mark Rice

Webinar Resources has been producing the monthly webinar replays for Compendium. This repurposed marketing content has created new value to Compendium as we now produce mobile replays of Compendium's webinar.

Megan Glover, Marketing Manager at Compendium, recently made a blog post about our services at: http://blogging.compendiumblog.com/blog/blogging-with-purpose/0/0/repurposing-marketing-content. As Megan points out, "Understanding how your audience wants to receive and digest information is critical to your customer acquisition strategy. Mobile is just one avenue to communicate to these prospects."

As our mobile replay content can be viewed on many popular mobile devices, links to our mobile replay can be inserted into many social media sites. Mobile content adds another exciting and engaging element to your Multi-Channel Mix. You can learn more about our Mobile Replay solution at: http://mobex.me/now.

Phase 4: Post-Event Efforts and Outcomes

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 by Peter Muir

A quick review of the 4 Planning Phases of Successful Events includes:

Phase 1: Planning
Phase 2: Pre-Event Efforts
Phase 3: Event Delivery
Phase 4: Post-Event Efforts and Outcomes

From the beginning of our webinar series on hosting more successful events I've been driving home that a successful event isn't just about "butts in seats." There can be larger, more targeted objectives you and your organization can reach with the right planning and execution.

I'm a firm believer that Planning and Pre-Event Efforts at the start of your event can make your event more successful and run more smoothly...but it's the Post-Event Efforts that not only can bring closure to the event but also can be your way of connecting in an ongoing way and measuring your ongoing success.

Your Post-Event Efforts can help you keep the ball rolling between you and your targeted audience. It gives you the chance to thank the attendees (event those who didn't' attend), share important points from the event you wanted to make sure they got out of it and provide an ongoing relationship builder that keeps you and them in contact in the future.

Whether it's audio only, video web conferencing or face to face meetings, your Post-Event Efforts are very similar. Depending on the goal of your events your post event efforts should be part of your customer acquisition process or a customer service effort to keep key customers. It could be about seeking more donations or educating donors on how to take better care of themselves. The event itself was a chance for you to connect and share valuable content.

After the event is over you can use multi channel marketing techniques to stay in touch with those who attended. Email, phone calls, direct mail, social networking applications, face to face follow ups and more are all tools you can use in your multi channel mix. Find out which channel(s) your attendees prefer and use that channel to follow up.

Thank those who attended, share resources used in the event, give them a chance to evaluate the event and provide future event ideas and stay connected with them going forward. Continue the connection you started before your event, furthered by your event and fuel the conversations with relevant follow up tools that will maintain and strengthen the conversations as you go forward.

Remember to keep in mind three audiences: those who came, those who wanted to come (registered) but couldn't make it and those who weren't interested. Each is an opportunity to follow up and each has their own set of priorities you can assign to them.

We've been using on demand presentation recordings of our webinars as a great follow up technique to our events. These condensed replays gives us something to share and talk about with our prospects and customers. We've even created more effective landing pages that display relevant and personalized content for each of the attendees! We also have enabled "mobile replays" of the webinars that can be viewed on many smartphones. What will be some of the more memorable post-event efforts you'll use? We will soon give you the opportunity to contribute to this blog to "share your story". In the meantime, feel free to post your comments to this blog.

Do you have another process you use to plan and execute more effective events? I'd really like to hear about them.

Events are just one of the many ways we can do business. Be sure to explore the multi-channel mix for more ways for you and your customers to be successful.

Peter Muir
President, Bizucate Inc.
www.bizucate.com
pmuir@bizucate.com

Webinar Trailers - Don't leave registrants behind

Monday, June 21, 2010 by Mark Rice

At Webinar Resources, we produce and deliver short 3-5 minute, rich-media Brainshark presentations that we call "Webinar Trailers", to promote customer webinars.   Webinar Trailers are very effective as a conversion tool as you can determine a viewer's interest by the amount of slide content consumed and the duration of time content is viewed.

During our recent campaign to drive audience participation for our upcoming Webinar Wednesdays event, we noticed that many recipients selected the link to the webinar trailer but did not register.   We decided to target this list of viewers and remind them that they can still register for the webinar.

Reaching out to the viewers of the webinar trailer paid off as we picked up 10% of the viewers as registrants.   Webinar trailers are a great tool to drive the customer acquisition process.

Speaking of webinars, don't miss our third in a series of Webinar Wednesdays events on June 23rd from 1:00 - 2:00 pm.   Register at: http://tinyurl.com/webwed623.   We look forward to seeing you there.

Merging Mobile Replays with Paper

Monday, June 14, 2010 by Mark Rice

Years ago I worked for a company that produced a very exciting solution that used a technology call dataglyphs (which amounted to placement of tiny lines that made up basic "1"s and "0"s) embedded in a paper cover sheet. They called it "paper that knows where its going". The solution bridged the worlds between paper and digital as when the paper was scanned as a cover sheet with a set of documents, the document was transferred to a document repository or an email.

Fast forward several years to smartphones with cameras and bar code readers. At Webinar Resources, we continue to create solutions that merge what Nicholas Negroponte at MIT refers to as the relationship between "Atoms (paper) and Bits (digital)". Can you really launch an application or presentation from a piece of paper with a smartphone or web camera?

Yes you can.   The image you see before you is called a Quick Response (QR) code.    This image contains an embedded URL of a mobile replay of our Webinar Wednesday trailer encoded in it.    By scanning this image with your iPhone, Droid or Blackberry Curve 8900, you can actually launch and view our new mobile replay Brainshark presentations on your mobile phone. What would this mean for your customer acquisition process?

QR codes are not new.   They have been in use in Europe for a number of years.   You can download different QR code reader apps for your mobile phone. In the future, most mobile phones will come equipped with QR code readers.

Watch our webinar trailer and you will see how easy it is to view a pre-event trailer and provide a registration link.   Point your iPhone, Droid or Blackberry Curve 8900 to this image and our webinar trailer will launch on your mobile phone (you will need to download a QR code reader to scan the image).

The paper and digital world have come closer again and this time it is a more compact solution that you can carry in the palm of your hand. Now the combination of QR codes and our new condensed mobile replay service offers customers an exciting solution to extend the reach of their content and message to mobile viewers anytime and anywhere.   Yes, it is a big world for the little atom.

Go Mobile This Summer!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 by Mark Rice

So here we are in Summer already.   Beautiful weather, bike rides, baseball games, vacations--Who wants to work in a stuffy office?   "But I have to watch that new product intro and be prepared to speak to my customer next week." "I have to review that latest webinar replay to see what my competitors are up to".

We've got the answer to your Summertime Blues.   Webinar Resources is excited to announce "mobile replay".   Now you can view that relevant content on many mobile devices (supported devices -- iPhone, Droid, Blackberry 8900 and even the iPad).   Yes, it is time to "lounge and learn" while soaking up sun, fun and knowledge at the same time.

We have begun producing content in the new Brainshark enhanced mobile format and will be adding more relevant content to our mobile catalog.    To view a sample on a supported mobile device, text the word webinar to 88769 and we will add you to our mobile subscriber list to receive our latest mobile replay.

With our new condensed webinar replay service, you can accelerate your customer acquisition process with mobile on demand presentation content.   Imagine serving up relevant, targeted content to a customer or prospect's mobile device with a simple text message.

Join our mobile subscriber list and see how easy it is to go mobile and get out of the office!

Blazing the Acquisition Trail with Webinar Trailers

Sunday, May 23, 2010 by Mark Rice

At Webinar Resources we have been producing short 2-3 minute Brainshark presentations as ticklers or "webinar trailers" to promote our series of Webinar Wednesdays events.   Webinar Trailers are a very effective customer acquisition process for engaging and acquiring registrants as they appeal to more modalities than traditional email invitations.

With Webinar Trailers, we can strengthen our marketing message with an on demand presentation that consists of audio, slides and capture a registration at the moment of the viewing of the presentation.   We also can post Webinar Trailers in many different locations - social network applications, webinar newsletters, landing pages and of course link directly to a personalized email.   Using our proven process of selecting the appropriate multi channel mix, we gain the attention needed to capture registrants for our webinars.

We are now extending the reach of our multi channel marketing to SMS text messages and mobile video.   Registrants and/or past participants can subscribe to our Webinar Wednesdays SMS reminders and alerts by texting to the word "webinar" to short code 88769.   Once the subscriber is added to our list, we can then reach out to them in their preferred communication method with a text reminder.

Soon we will be delivering mobile content to our Webinar Wednesdays SMS subscribers. Stay tuned for more information in our blog or text "webinar" to 88769 and join our Webinar Wednesdays subscriber list.

Building customer acquisition is all about extending your reach through an effective multi channel mix using cross media applications to drive attendance and list growth for your events.   We have partnered with Peter Muir, and his Bizucate team to communicate these strategies and enable our participants to learn how to develop a marketing plan to drive effective events.   Join us at our next Webinar Wednesdays event on June 23rd, from 1-2pm CDT.   Listen to our webinar trailer and register at:   http://www.brainshark.com/webinarresources/WebWed. We hope to see you there.

Phase 3: Event Delivery

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 by Peter Muir

The day of the event (DOE) represents a major influx of responsibility for both the organizer and the attendees. Organizers have to manage a myriad of variables to ensure a successful event from catering coordination to registration to setting up tech requirements, wrangling presenters and more. Attendees have fewer responsibilities but ideally they’re coming into the DOE with the desire to learn, network and/or do business. The multi channel marketing strategy focuses on distributing the traditional pressure of event days through the entire pre & post event campaign. Using the multi-channel approach can help make the DOE far less stressful and chaotic for all involved. Of course, planning & organization are both central to executing a successful event; here are some suggestions for managing the day of the event.

Begin at the very beginning. Before you plan or schedule the pre-event efforts consider what items you anticipate having on your “to do” list on the DOE. Then look at how you can distribute management of them in the pre-event stages so when you get to the day of the event there is less to worry about.

Examples

Make sure you’ve set up a series of informational emails or a website for support staff and presenters. They should know what is expected of them; where to be at what time on the day of event, deadline for submitting, tech requirements for laptops and presentations, etc.
If it is a large event like a conference, let attendees set their schedules early to establish presentation expectations and to cut down on people asking questions.
Delegate the compartmentalized or smaller tasks, like catering and registration, to someone with fewer things to worry about on the DOE.
Delegate the updates of social network applications during the event such as Twitter, blogging and Facebook updates.

Identify three main goals you have for the DOE. They should be tied to the larger goals of the full multi-channel campaign but focused particularly on the day’s events. Then make these three things your mantra. It will keep you focused and make decision making a little easier when you have already identified your priorities.

Examples

To ensure attendees walk away with the information/material they came looking for.
Make sure messages, observations and news from the event are captured for post-event newsletter/follow-up or to share with those who could not attend.
Facilitate smooth running presentations to ensure everyone gets to present and/or learn.
Help make networking as easy as possible for attendees and vendors alike. Assign a QR code to every attendee so they can simply scan to exchange information. Or, offer team with a local print shop to offer discounts on business cards so they have something exchange.

Maximize the multi-channel opportunity. Using new channels for communicating is just as relevant on the DOE as it is to support the pre & post-event variables. Keep in mind ways you can use them to create a more accessible and effective event

Examples

Use SMS to send attendees a link to their event schedule on the morning of the event.
Consider a live webcast or recorded podcast to share the event with those who weren’t able to attend. Webinar replays can be used as a review for those who attended as well as a customer acquisition process in your grand lead generation conference strategy.
Place QR codes or Microsoft tags on presentations, collateral or exhibition displays to enhance attendee’s interaction with content.

To find out more about how to better use the multi-channel approach to events on the actual day of the event, tune into the June edition of Webinar Wednesdays, June 9th from 1:00-2:00 p.m. CDT. Visit events.webinarresources.com/WebinarWednesdays to save the date and receive a reminder for the June 9th event.

And don't forget the May edition of Webinar Wednesdays on May 12th from 1:00-2:00 p.m. CDT. We will cover Phase 2: Pre-Event Efforts of Successful Event Planning. Visit events.webinarresources.com/WebinarWednesdays to register for our May 12th Webinar Wednesday session. You can view replays of past webinars at our Webinar Resources replay portal.

Peter Muir, president Bizucate Inc.
www.bizucate.com

Join us for Webinar Wednesdays

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 by Mark Rice

In the first edition of Webinar Wednesdays host Peter Muir of Bizucate Inc. will introduce a progressive multi-channel mix approach to successful customer acquisition and event execution. Responding to the shift in the economy, as well as, methods of communication, Muir proposes a revolution in the way business events are planned and structured. Moving away from the singularly focused traditional format to a phased and more engaged event strategy.

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT

Register Now

If you miss the live broadcast, Webinars will be archived at our webinar replay portal. Also, be sure to add The Multi-Channel Mix blog to your reader to receive weekly updates regarding more successful event planning.

To join our webinar email list, just text "webinar" (a space) and your email address to 88769.

(Produced by Webinar Resources)

Webinar Resources Recognized at Brainshark Sharkie Awards

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 by Mark Rice

Webinar Resources was recently recognized for our unique, personalized, Christmas Story Photo Book application at the second annual Brainshark Sharkie awards.     Our application was selected and recognized at the online Sharkie awards last week among a hundred entries of interactive Brainshark presentations.

You can view a sample Christmas Story Photo Book at the Brainshark Sharkie Gallery.   This presentation is a great example of the use of effective landing pages, cross media applications and on demand presentation content.   We personalized the reading experience for children with personalized text, images and audio in a unique Christmas story about Santa Claus and the Lost Dog.

Readers of our blog have seen some examples of how we have implemented cross media applications to drive the customer acquisition process.   Stay tuned for more creative uses of a multi channel mix of content and solutions that will bring business opportunity to your company.

Looking for Retention and Lead Generation Ideas, Have an Event! Part 1

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 by Peter Muir

A basic marketing premise looks at how to retain good customers and how to acquire new ones. Acquisition and retention are a cornerstone in any business venture.

In an effort to show your existing customers how they can be more successful and show new customers new places they can go enabled by your ideas, products and services consider hosting an educational event.

I'd like you to consider 4 Planning Phases of Successful Events.
1. Planning
2. Pre-Event Efforts
3. Event Delivery
4. Post-Event Efforts and Outcomes

Below is the beginning of an Educational Event Planning Guide to Increased Sales. Whether your goal is to create an effective lead generation program, re-develop your customer acquisition process, salvage lost customers with a retention campaign or you just want to say no more to cold calls. Developing your objectives is part of the process. It may seem like the guide is a series of questions, but it's in the process of answering the questions that will help you create an event that fits your organization, your needs and the needs of your current and future customers.

We're just scratching the surface here with Phase 1 Planning. Three future posts will discuss Phase 2, 3 and 4.

Phase 1 Planning
The planning phase has two major parts. The planning process of how the event fits into the larger needs of the organization and the actual planning steps to the event itself.

Planning within the Big Picture

Why have an event, what are your goals? What do you want to get for your efforts? Develop objectives that are SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Based) and align with the current or future needs of the organization.
Having an educational event provides a reason to talk to customers and prospects. It gives you something to buzz about beyond your capabilities and need for business. It could give your customers reasons to invest in new ideas and new products and services to help them grow.

Planning the Event

Content: strategic, operational, sales, business processes? The content is what will be advertised and why people will attend. Theming your event and tying it to actionable outcomes changes an informative event to a results event. Types of businesses and the role of the attendee will be influenced by the content you choose.
Type of Event: Face to Face or Webinar. Each presents its own benefits and shortcomings. Consider your content and audience along with your budget and resources as part of your thought process.
Timing: Early in the quarter? At the beginning, middle or late in the week? Morning, afternoon or all day? What time works best for those you are looking to reach?
Location: If face to face do you host it at your company, at a local hotel, a customers business? To feed or not to feed? Is the location part of your message? If you choose to have a web conference what are the needs of the solution? Browser, OS, phone, voice over IP, Presentation technology, presentation style, ability to interact with attendees.

Use the event itself to help you retain existing customers and acquire new ones. Use a multi channel approach to solicit input to your educational event. Post it on your blog, have sales reps call on the phone, visit face to face, Tweet about it, email it, provide a web page where people can influence the outcome. Use the multi channel mix to help you connect with people!

Let existing customers know you are hosting an educational event and you would like to invite them to "participate" early on and be part of the planning committee. Ask them what they would like to learn more about and why? What challenges are they facing, their industry, their customers facing? What opportunities would they like to go after but can't seem to get started. Why? All of these questions can apply to new customers you'd like to acquire too.

It's not really about the event itself. The event is an indirect approach to help you grow your relationship with existing customers and knock on new doors and acquire new ones. Deliver on what they ask for and you're on a new road to showing your customer why they could be doing business with you and your organization.

Stay tuned for information on Phase 2: Pre-event Efforts, Phase 3: Event Delivery and Phase 4: Post-Event Efforts and Outcomes.

If you have additional planning ideas you'd like to share or have a question about anything we've posted, just let me know!

Building Customer Acquisition through Effective Webinar Registration

Friday, February 19, 2010 by Mark Rice

I recently read a blog from my colleague, Ken Molay, of Webinar Success, that was focused on webinar registration.   He titled the blog post "Why Does Webinar Registration Stink?".   Ken makes some very good points about webinar vendors providing limited registration tools.

We take webinar registration tools seriously at Webinar Resources.   To drive customer acquisition, you need to have the right tools to capture the right audience and provide effective reporting tools you can use for post and future webinar communications. List growth for your webinars cannot be managed without effective registration tools.

This is why there are third party vendors providing registration tools for virtual and live events. We have worked with a few of them.   Some are small and some are major corporations providing services to Fortune 500 companies. As Ken Molay points out in his blog, many of the major players in web conferencing lack the registrations tools that are necessary to support customer acquisition.

I was recently cleaning out an old entertainment center in the basement to take to my son's new apartment and realized I had filed some of my old presentations about the formation of Webinar Resources in the cabinet.    As I went through the papers, I found the July 24th, 2003 Live Meeting announcement from Microsoft.   Here it is 2010 and Microsoft still does not offer a flexible and comprehensive registration tool.   In fact, for years they have been using ViewCentral, under the the re-branded name of "RegEdit.   Webinar Resources has supported major clients using ViewCentral since we started our business.

The fact remains, that marketers planning webinars need to focus on the pre-activities related to webinars which include promotion and acquisition activities like registration.   Webinars are not just about the event, content and speakers.   Webinars are a strategic marketing activity that should drive your customer/prospect list growth, blogging content, PR, social media, branding, thought leadership and overall marketing strategy to build and retain a loyal customer base.

Webinar Resources will be inviting guest bloggers who work in the industry, know the industry and can talk about the industry. You will hear more in coming blog posts about webinar strategies so stay tuned.