Over the past year, lead generation has become mainstream online, and
webinars
have become one of the important channels. Webinars that can be held anywhere have the advantage of making it easier to acquire leads, but there is a risk that the subsequent conversion rate will be lower.
This time, we will introduce practical methods for conducting webinars that will lead to lead acquisition and business negotiations.
Webinars that were most effective during the coronavirus pandemic
According to the “Survey on marketing activities of BtoB companies before and after the spread of the new coronavirus infection” announced by Neo Marketing Co., Ltd., webinars were the most effective marketing measure compared to before the coronavirus.
In an environment where offline events such as exhibitions and seminars cannot be held sufficiently, online events such as webinars are a valuable opportunity for the hosting company to make contact with potential customers.
Regardless of the location, webinars lower the barrier to participation for attendees, making it easier to generate leads. Because the barrier to participation is low, there is a tendency for many companies to be gathering information, not just considering services.
Taking these characteristics into account, an urgent issue for those in charge is how to convert leads acquired through webinars into business negotiations.
KPIs and indicators for implementing webinars that lead to business negotiations
In order to conduct a webinar that leads to business negotiations, there are two points as KPIs and indicators that should be measured. One is the target customer, and the other is the customer who has a high level of interest or is considering introducing it.
If you look at each of the four processes of conducting a webinar, you can improve both your target audience and their sense of warmth during the planning stage. You can improve the customer’s sense of warmth during the post-process stages of customer attraction, operation, and follow-up.
The KPIs and indicators measured in each process are as follows.
[Planning] Number of applications/target customer rate [Customer acquisition] Number of applications/attendance rate [Management] Survey response rate, target response rate for specific questions in the survey [Follow] Appointment acquisition rate
We will work to improve the KPIs and indicators of each process while increasing the rate of business negotiations.
Practical points for planning and attracting customers
[Planning] Improvement indicators are number of applications and target customer rate
First, when planning a webinar, decide on the purpose of the event, whether it’s to get business deals or leads. Of course, this column is about winning business deals.
However, because you haven’t decided on your objectives properly, when considering the theme and content of your webinar, you may find that your objective is to acquire leads without realizing it, even though it was supposed to be to acquire business deals. It is important to have a common understanding among the people in charge before deciding on the theme and content.
If it’s a webinar to win business deals, the purpose is to get people to consider the service after the seminar, so the main content will be information about the service and useful information on how to use the service.
In addition, in the case of lead acquisition, the purpose of the webinar is to raise awareness of the service, so the main content will be useful information in a wide range of areas related to the service.
After determining the purpose of the event, we will decide on the theme and content, and then consider the title.
When considering the title, make a list of the target customer’s problems that can be solved based on the theme and content of the webinar you have decided on. Prioritize the issues listed and consider titles for the highest-ranked issues.
The title is also an important element in attracting customers. It is a good idea to repeatedly conduct webinars and verify and improve them each time.
[Attracting customers] Improvement indicators are number of applications and attendance rate
Once you have decided on a webinar plan, consider how you will attract customers. There are four main types: sending house listings by email, external media, SNS, and our own website.
We recommend that you maintain a house list so that it can also be used as a list for attracting seminar customers. We aim to centrally manage leads that were acquired from downloading materials but did not turn into business negotiations due to lack of enthusiasm, leads that were converted into business negotiations but lost, and lists of customers with whom we have done business in the past, rather than in separate locations. Sho.
In addition, there are various external media such as business media and industry specialized media. These media have advertising menus for announcing seminars, so it would be a good idea to start with a small menu on a trial basis.
When choosing media, check not only the number of PVs and attribute information of each media, but also the content of the seminar information posted, and check what kind of information you will receive by registering for the e-mail newsletter. That is important.
One company posted webinar information on the announcement page of industry-specific media for one week and was able to attract customers for a CPA of 2,000 yen. We recommend starting with a small amount and then increasing the amount.
In addition, we will actively post on seminar announcement sites where you can post for free, as well as channels that do not require any costs, such as SNS and our own website.
After attracting customers, we will send a reminder email to applicants to increase attendance on the day of the event. We recommend sending at least three times: one week before, the day before, and one hour before the day of the event. The above-mentioned company was able to maintain an attendance rate of over 80% when they started registering for a webinar two weeks in advance and held it three times: one week before, the day before, and one hour before the day of the webinar.
Additionally, if you can check whether an email has been sent or not and whether it has been opened using the functions of MA and SFA tools, you will be able to determine the most effective sending timing.
Practical points for management and follow-up
[Operation] Improvement indicator is survey response rate
Depending on how the webinar is managed on the day, the subsequent business negotiations will change. To that end, we always conduct surveys and use them to qualify leads when passing them on to sales.
First of all, in order to increase the response rate of the survey, it is important to make announcements during the seminar and respond immediately after the seminar.
We will announce the survey at the beginning of the seminar. The important thing here is to make it clear that there are benefits for answering the survey. Specifically, seminar materials and useful materials related to the seminar content will be presented as benefits to survey respondents.
A survey will also be sent out after the seminar ends. Also, display the survey URL within the webinar so that participants can respond from there. If you set it so that bonus materials can be downloaded automatically when responses are completed, it will save time and make things easier for the administrator.
Also, for qualification purposes, standard questions and options will be set up in the survey. An example is shown below.
1. Questions regarding consideration status Example: Please tell us about the current status of consideration of chat tools (single/required)
① I am specifically considering introducing it ② I am not considering introducing it, but I am interested ③ I have already introduced it ④ I am not particularly interested
2. Actions required of the sponsoring company Example: Please tell us about the information you would like to receive from our company (multiple/required)
① I want to hear detailed information about the service ② I want to see a demo of the service ③ I want information about the service ④ I have no particular interest ⑤ I am already using it
3. Others Example: Please let us know if you have any other requests or concerns regarding the service (optional/required)
[Follow] Improvement indicator is appointment acquisition rate
After the webinar ends, we will qualify the attendees and survey respondents and pass the lead on to sales.
First, check the attendee list to see if your target customers are there. Next, check the survey responses. For the above questionnaire, 1. ①-③ or 2. Give the list of answers to ① to ③ to sales.
1. ④ and 2. We will not pass on the list of responses to ④ “I am not particularly interested”, but will use them as marketing nurturing targets. If a sales representative contacts you even though you have replied that you are not interested, it will have a negative customer experience, so at this point, I will limit it to a thank you email.
You can ask sales to take at least one action with leads who have become target customers from the attendee list but have not completed the survey. If there is a correlation between survey responses and appointment acquisition rate, it is important to respond flexibly, such as changing the target to nurturing.
summary
- There are two points to keep in mind when conducting a webinar to increase business negotiations: (1) Are you a target customer? (2) Are you a warm-hearted customer who is highly interested or considering introducing it?
- There are four ways to attract customers to a webinar: sending house list emails, external media, SNS, and your own website.
- In order to increase the response rate of the survey, it is important to make announcements during the seminar and respond immediately after the seminar ends.
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Qualify from attendee list and survey response list and pass leads to sales