Category Archives: Events

Using Webinars To Drum Up Business

Using Webinars To Drum Up BusinessHosting a webinar is a great way for Managed Service Providers (MSP) to generate interest in their business. Webinars are an effective marketing tool for bringing in new clients or selling and promoting additional products and services to clients. Webinars as a sales technique is simple and efficient. It offers free, helpful information to companies and provides business owners with the opportunity to ask valuable questions. How does a MSP successfully create a revenue-generating webinar?

Topics

Webinar topics a MSP can choose from are endless. Successful webinars focus on topics that are of interest to attendees. What do attendees what to hear? Focus on current technology and business issues. What is currently trending in the industry? Is there new technology or applications clients want to learn more about integrating into their business? Are business operations flowing smoothly? Discuss topics that provide valuable information for attendees.

Information

Information can include products and services offered by the MSP. Include a link to the website in the webinar. This gives attendees an opportunity visit the website to learn more about the company, products, or services highlighted in the webinar. Not only does this increase website traffic for the MSP, but it also increases potential for future sales.

Technology

A variety of webinar-hosting technology is available to meet the most diverse presentation needs. Features a MSP might consider are screen sharing, voice or IM chat capabilities, etc. The MSP hosting the webinar might need to change between speakers or record the webinar for posting online. Thorough research of software features under consideration is the best way for a MSP to determine if it will meet their presentation needs.

Practice

Practice is an important part of hosting a webinar. It will help a MSP detect any production issues such as sound or bad connections that might occur during the presentation. Clients are investing their time in attending the webinar, and so should the MSP in regards to producing quality content. A great webinar will be highly visual and engaging. Be sure to include visuals such as pictures and videos and always avoid heavy text.

Marketing

A webinar without an audience is a bit obsolete, so MSPs need to devise a solid plan to market their webinar. Send out e-mail invitations and make phone calls to potential attendees. When scheduling a webinar, choose a date far in advance. This gives attendees enough time to clear their schedule. Also take into consideration time zone differences and the time of day to avoid catching attendees at a bad time.

Follow Up

The follow-up after the webinar is a critical time for MSPs. The MSP should have a good follow-up strategy in place to reach out to attendees. Following the completion of the webinar is when attendees will request additional info or have more questions. MPS should use this time to forge closer relationships. Take the time after the presentation to send out you e-mails summarizing key points and links to products or services promoted in the webinar. Have attendees that couldn’t make it last minute? Don’t let them slip through the cracks! Send a link to the archived webinar. Also consider distributing surveys, which is extremely helpful in helping a MSP plan for their next webinar.

A successful webinar is informative, promotes products, generates leads, and strengthens existing relationships with clients. Webinars should be part of a MSPs marketing strategy. Take the time to experiment with different webinar software and invest time in the presentation. Make the effort to connect with attendees after the webinar to form stronger relationships with clients in order to build business and revenue.

Our guest blogger: Jessica May, is a resident of Vancouver who loves mountian biking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. She frequently guest blogs about SEO, social media, outsourcing and help desks.

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