2016-20 Hot Vendors in Webinars, 2016 -2 - ReadyTalk · generation capabilities should evaluate...
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Copyright © 2016 Aragon Research Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Aragon Research and the Aragon Research Globe are trademarks of Aragon Research Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This publication may not be distributed in any form without Aragon Research’s prior written permission. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, Aragon Research provides this publication and the information contained in it "AS IS," without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent allowed by law, Aragon Research expressly disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in such information. This publication consists of the opinions of Aragon Research and Advisory Services organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Aragon Research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Aragon Research does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Aragon Research is a private company and its clients may include firms or financial institutions that have financial interests in entities covered by Aragon Research. Further information about the objectivity of Aragon Research can be found at aragonresearch.com Digital Workplace Service RESEARCH NOTE Number: 2016-20 June 30, 2016 Author: Jim Lundy Hot Vendors in Webinars, 2016 Summary: Webinars can be one of the most strategic part s of the marketing mix. Our 2016 Hot Vendors in Webinars are poised to challenge existing webinar providers. Introduction For marketing teams, there is no greater lead generator than webinars, and yet, webinars are not easy to produce. Ease of use is increasingly becoming a key buying criteria when it comes to selecting a webinar platform. The great news for marketers and enterprises in general is that there are new providers emerging that are poised to challenge incumbents. In this research note, we discuss three of the emerging Hot Vendors in this space. Delivering a Sophisticated Webinar is Challenging The webinar remains a vital part of any marketing team’s lead generation strategy. Webinars are also one of the trickiest events to execute well because technology, people, and content need to work seamlessly together. Sophisticated and picky attendees are also putting pressure on the marketing team to seek better ways of delivering webinars, in part because existing tools are not providing the ease of use for attendees, or even for the presenters and moderators. Additionally, registration features and the ease of registering for a webinar are becoming key evaluation criteria. This is due to the bounce rate of a registration form when it is too complex. Offering easier ways to join and deliver webinars are two demands from marketing teams that our Hot Vendors are making a priority. Webinars Go Cloud Cloud-based offerings are now the norm and subscriptions are the main way that people buy. One-time event pricing is still offered by some, but it can quickly become expensive. There Topic: Collaboration Issue: Who are the Webinar providers and how will they evolve?
Transcript of 2016-20 Hot Vendors in Webinars, 2016 -2 - ReadyTalk · generation capabilities should evaluate...
Copyright © 2016 Aragon Research Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Aragon Research and the Aragon Research Globe are trademarks of Aragon Research Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This publication may not be distributed in any form without Aragon Research’s prior written permission. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, Aragon Research provides this publication and the information contained in it "AS IS," without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent allowed by law, Aragon Research expressly disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in such information. This publication consists of the opinions of Aragon Research and Advisory Services organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Aragon Research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Aragon Research does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Aragon Research is a private company and its clients may include firms or financial institutions that have financial interests in entities covered by Aragon Research. Further information about the objectivity of Aragon Research can be found at aragonresearch.com
Digital Workplace Service
RESEARCH NOTE Number: 2016-20 June 30, 2016
Author: Jim Lundy
Hot Vendors in Webinars, 2016
Summary: Webinars can be one of the most strategic parts of the marketing mix. Our 2016 Hot Vendors in Webinars are poised to challenge existing webinar providers.
Introduction
For marketing teams, there is no greater lead generator than webinars, and yet, webinars are not easy to produce. Ease of use is increasingly becoming a key buying criteria when it comes to selecting a webinar platform. The great news for marketers and enterprises in general is that there are new providers emerging that are poised to challenge incumbents. In this research note, we discuss three of the emerging Hot Vendors in this space.
Delivering a Sophisticated Webinar is Challenging
The webinar remains a vital part of any marketing team’s lead generation strategy. Webinars are also one of the trickiest events to execute well because technology, people, and content need to work seamlessly together. Sophisticated and picky attendees are also putting pressure on the marketing team to seek better ways of delivering webinars, in part because existing tools are not providing the ease of use for attendees, or even for the presenters and moderators.
Additionally, registration features and the ease of registering for a webinar are becoming key evaluation criteria. This is due to the bounce rate of a registration form when it is too complex. Offering easier ways to join and deliver webinars are two demands from marketing teams that our Hot Vendors are making a priority.
Webinars Go Cloud
Cloud-based offerings are now the norm and subscriptions are the main way that people buy. One-time event pricing is still offered by some, but it can quickly become expensive. There
Topic: Collaboration
Issue: Who are the Webinar providers and how will they evolve?
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Digital Workplace Service RESEARCH NOTE Number: 2015-20 June 30, 2016
continues to be price pressure, but the biggest thing that buyers want is a quality experience.
The Rise of the Automated Webinar
The new trend that is emerging is the ability to hold a webinar in an unattended mode. This leverages a pre-recorded event and the audience thinks it is happening live. Aragon believes automated webinars will become a must-have capability, in part because people want information all of the time.
Many providers allow presenters to show up during the event and answer questions live, giving the appearance that the entire event is live. We particularly like the idea that some providers offer multiple webinars to be run at the same time. This can accelerate lead and prospect conversion because more events can be delivered in a shorter amount of time.
New Wave of Vendors Prepare to Disrupt The more existing providers stay the same, the more opportunity there is for modern offerings from new providers. Video and the ability to offer live and recorded webinars are just some of the features new providers lead with.
Multiple departments within enterprises, in addition to the marketing department, are using real-time capabilities. These include web conferencing and webinars for sales and marketing communications, training, corporate communications, and collaboration.
Hot Vendors in Webinars, 2016 This research note is not intended to be a complete list of vendors in the market being discussed. Rather, it highlights vendors with interesting, cutting-edge products, services, or technologies. For 2016, we highlight these Hot Vendors in webinars:
• BrightTALK
• JetWebinar
• ReadyTalk
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Digital Workplace Service RESEARCH NOTE Number: 2015-20 June 30, 2016
BrightTALK
Figure 1: BrightTALK provides an intuitive user interface for both presenters and participants.
BrightTALK, based in San Francisco, provides a modern and intuitive webinar and video experience with all of the features a marketing team needs. BrightTALK also provides a lead generation component, connecting marketers with 4+ million professionals across rapidly growing communities on its platform.
What makes BrightTALK hot is its intuitive and unlimited webinar and video platform combined with a solid set of engagement and lead generation features that increase attendance.
Who Should Evaluate BrightTALK? Marketers looking for a webinar platform that enables easy, unlimited access to live and on-demand webinars as well as lead generation capabilities should evaluate BrightTALK. BrightTALK is one of the emerging webinar platforms to challenge incumbents.
Note 1: BrightTALK at a Glance
BrightTALK offers a modern webinar experience that provides one click registration, advanced audience engagement, no attendee limits and access to an audience of 4+million B2B professionals.
Location: San Francisco, CA
CEO: Paul Heald
Key Offering: BrightTALK Pro Webinar, BrightTALK Studios, BrightTALK Demand
Availability: Available online
Website: marketing.brighttalk.com
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JetWebinar
Figure 2: JetWebinar specializes in the creation of on-demand webinars that are easy to setup and record.
JetWebinar, based in Chicago, is all about creating automated, on-demand webinars (see Note 2). Its unique approach allows a client to offer multiple webinars online at the same time and to set them up in minutes. This new approach to webinars is exactly what modern marketing teams are seeking. What makes JetWebinar hot is its ability to easily setup a sophisticated, on-demand webinar with strong analytics (see Figure 2). The ability to customize the webinar, including the setup and the funnel, will attract buyers who need to focus on leads. Who Should Evaluate JetWebinar? Enterprises looking for the ability to deliver on-demand webinars with live interactivity that can be replayed regularly should evaluate JetWebinar. Its unique approach means that an enterprise could have webinars playing at all times. When combined with its advanced analytics, JetWebinar provides the right combination of features for enterprises looking to increase both leads and lead conversion.
Note 2: JetWebinar at a Glance
JetWebinar is an automated webinar provider that focuses on ease of setup and the ability to run multiple webinars at the same time.
Location: Chicago, IL
CEO: Brandon Burr
Key Offering: JetWebinar
Availability: Available Online
Website: www.jetwebinar.com
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ReadyTalk
Figure 1: ReadyTalk makes it easy to set up, deliver, and track webinars.
ReadyTalk, based in Denver, offers an enterprise-grade set of capabilities for both web conferencing and webinars. Notable webinar platform capabilities include no downloads or plug-ins, customizable branding, and the ability to support a large number of users without having to pay a higher fee. ReadyTalk also provides top of the line support including customer care, event managed services, and integrations support. Its Webcasting service, a high quality broadcast video platform, is ideal for company-wide presentations, high-touch marketing events, and product launches.
What makes ReadyTalk hot is its full feature set, ease of use (for either managed service or self-service customers), and ability to leverage past recordings as part of a new live webinar through an offering called Simulive. By the end of 2016, ReadyTalk plans to support a full event, do-it-yourself, recorded webinar solution that enables marketers to run and rerun any webinar. When this is combined with actionable insights that flow through integrations with leading Marketing Automation platforms, ReadyTalk becomes ideal for marketing teams that need to leverage webinars as part of the marketing mix and sales follow-up process. New analytics will also be added to the platform to help marketers measure engagement and discover top rated content.
Who Should Evaluate ReadyTalk? Enterprises and mid-market companies looking for a more engaging way to hold webinars and meetings should evaluate ReadyTalk. Attracting users to online events is becoming more challenging, and ReadyTalk is making this easier by tailoring promotion, customizing webinar branding, and enabling data-driven participant follow-up.
Note 3: ReadyTalk at a Glance
ReadyTalk provides both web conferencing and webinar services with a focus on service and support, ease of use, and value pricing.
Location: Denver, CO
CEO: Dan King
Key Offering: ReadyTalk
Availability: Available online.
Website: https://www.readytalk.com/products-services/webinars-and-webcasts
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Aragon Advisory
• Carefully evaluate features from Webinar providers, focusing on the registration, live event, and post event capabilities.
• Ease of use is a critical evaluation factor. We advise enterprises to do pilot tests before making a selection.
• Evaluate these Webinar providers against existing providers. In some cases, the feature set and price performance may be compelling enough to switch providers.
Bottom Line Webinars are vital for both marketers and business leaders for external communications with customers and prospects, and also for internal training and corporate communications. New entrants are driving prices down and offering new, automated ways to deliver more webinars in a shorter amount of time.
