Best Practices for Using Web Events to Increase Pipeline Velocity

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BEST PRACTICES FOR USING WEB EVENTS

TO INCREASE PIPELINE VELOCITY

Terry Flaherty, Research Director in the Demand Creation Strategies Service, SiriusDecisions

Cheryl Hanley, Director of Demand Generation, PGi

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#igniteyourwebinar

OUR SPEAKERS

Terry FlahertyResearch Director in the

Demand Creation Strategies

SiriusDecisions@TFLaherty

Cheryl HanleyDirector of Demand

GenerationPGi

@CHanleyAtl

Source: MarketingProfs

#igniteyourwebinar

Which types of content have you used during the past 12

months to research B2B purchasing decisions?

Source: B2B Content Preferences Study sponsored by Content4Demand

Webinars rank in the

Top 3

#igniteyourwebinar

Webinars are the #1 engagement content source, with

66% spending 20 minutes or more attending a webinar

When researching a B2B purchase, how much time do you typically

spend reviewing content?

Source: B2B Content Preferences Study sponsored by Content4Demand#igniteyourwebinar

6# igniteyourwebinar

Strategy #1: Target Webinar

Content to the Buyer’s Journey

TYPES OF WEB EVENTS

Webcasts Webinars

• Large audience• Low participant interaction• Early stages of buying cycle

• Smaller audience• High participant interaction• Later stages of buying cycle

#igniteyourwebinar

Driving Webinar Relevance

FOUNDATION ELEMENT: DEMAND TYPE

The type – or types – of demand an organization is trying to create play a

significant role in its approach

#igniteyourwebinar

Foundation Element: Buying Process

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing

to Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Committing

to a Solution

Justifying

the

Decision

Making the

Selection

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

SolutionEducation Vendor Selection

#igniteyourwebinar

FOUNDATION ELEMENT: BUYING PROCESS

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing

to Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Committing

to a Solution

Justifying

the

Decision

Making the

Selection

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.


1.

Buyer has a

problem, or is

conceiving a vision.

2.

Buyer understands

the problem and

how it connects to

the business.

3.

Buyer finds

solutions that

apply to the need.

4.

Buyer determines which

solution will have the

greatest impact on the

business.

5.

Buyer justifies the

business case

internally.

6.

Buyer makes

final selection.

#igniteyourwebinar

FOUNDATION ELEMENT: BUYING PROCESS

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing

to Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Committing

to a Solution

Justifying

the

Decision

Making the

Selection

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.


New Concept

New Paradigm

Established Market

1.

Buyer has a

problem, or is

conceiving a vision.

2.

Buyer understands

the problem and

how it connects to

the business.

3.

Buyer finds

solutions that

apply to the need.

4.

Buyer determines which

solution will have the

greatest impact on the

business.

5.

Buyer justifies the

business case

internally.

6.

Buyer makes

final selection.

TYPES OF WEBINARS BEST FOR BUYER PROCESS STAGES

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing

to Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Committing

to a Solution

Justifying

the

Decision

Making the

Selection

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.


Change Focused• Broader audience• Business issue-focused• Industry thought leadership• Analysts and clients• Low vendor profile

Solution Focused• Prospect needs• Solution framing• Customer stories• Customer and sales engineers

Vendor Focused• Small audience• Highly interactive• Demos and tutorials (for trials)• High value of archives

#igniteyourwebinar

EXAMPLE: EXPENSE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR SMB MARKETS

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing

to Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Committing

to a Solution

Justifying

the

Decision

Making the

Selection

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.


Best practices for expense management/policy in SMB

Why do I need a formal expense management policy and software in my business?

Positioning Automated Expense Management vs. Spreadsheets

What’s wrong with spreadsheets? Why software?

Positioning Automated Expense Management Solutions

Why your software?

#igniteyourwebinar

EXAMPLE: EXPENSE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR SMB MARKETS

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing

to Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Committing

to a Solution

Justifying

the

Decision

Making the

Selection

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.


Best practices for expense management/policy in SMB

Web Events• The Value of Expense Management for

SMB• Employee Expenses: The Most Out of

Control Area in Your Financial Processes• Key Changes in Expense Management

and Corporate Taxation in 2015• The State of Employee Expenses in

2015 – Key Benchmarks

Positioning Automated Expense Management vs. Spreadsheets

Web Events• 5 Reasons Why Spreadsheets are a

Bad Way to Manage Expenses• Top 5 Reasons to Automate Expense

Reports• Discover the ROI of Automating

Travel and Expense• Solution stories – Migrating from

Spreadsheets to Automated Expense Management

Positioning Automated Expense Management Solutions

Web Events• Test Drive/Trial (with a supporting

nurture and challenges to guide trial)

• Interactive SE Session aligned to Trial Challenges

• 5 Most Important Capabilities Required in your Automated Expense Solution

• Implementation Guidelines

#igniteyourwebinar

EXAMPLE FLOW: WEB EVENTS IN SUPPORT OF TRIAL

#igniteyourwebinar

Prospect

Registers/

Downloads Trial

Trial Experience

Includes

Specific

Challenges

Nurture

Monitors/

Engages Trial

Experience

Archive: Solving

the Trail

Challenges

Live Weekly

Event: Trial

Challenges and

Beyond

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#igniteyourwebinar

LATE STAGE WEBINAR


Strategy #2: Promote Through Multiple Mediums

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#igniteyourwebinar

PROMOTE AND SHARE THROUGH MULTIPLE MEDIUMS

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#igniteyourwebinar

GETTING THE WORD OUT THROUGH YOUR

FIELD SALES REPS

# of Sales Reps on LinkedIn x # of connections = #

of Exposed Prospects

200 Sales Reps x 400 Linkedin Connections =

80,000 Prospective Impressions

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#igniteyourwebinar

UTILIZE PAID SOCIAL EFFORTS AND LEVERAGE

CONTENT SYNDICATION PARTNERS


Strategy #3: Engage Your Prospects

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#igniteyourwebinar

ENGAGE YOUR PROSPECTS WITH VIDEO

62% say video

is the most

important part of

a webcast

Source: Wainhouse Research, 2014.#igniteyourwebinar

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#igniteyourwebinar

ENGAGE YOUR PROSPECTS THROUGH EVENT

SURVEYS, POLLS AND Q&A

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#igniteyourwebinar

EXTEND CONTENT SHELF LIFE WITH ON DEMAND

MAXIMIZE THE RETURN FROM ON DEMAND WEBINARS

Provide full transcript (slides and text)

Create streamlined playback of highlights

Executive Overviews and White Papers

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#igniteyourwebinar

USE EXIT SURVEYS TO GATHER FEEDBACK

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#igniteyourwebinar

LEVERAGE THE REPORTING ANALYTICS TO TRACK

REGISTRATION AND MONITOR ENGAGEMENT

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#igniteyourwebinar

SUMMARY

1.Webinars are key to driving demand generation and engagement

with your prospects. Integrate webinars into your overall event

marketing, content marketing, or lead nurturing programs.

2.Consider the stage of the Buyer’s Journey when building out your

webinar program and selecting the right talent.

3.Don’t try to cover too much content in one webinar, and try to

avoid turning the event into a sales pitch.

4.Promote your webinars through multiple mediums – test Paid

Social & Search and Content Syndication.

5.Engage Your Prospects during the webinar with Polls, Surveys,

Q&A, but also extend the shelf life of your On-Demand webinar

via your website and lead nurturing.

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#igniteyourwebinar

Q&A

Terry FlahertyResearch Director in the

Demand Creation Strategies

Sirius Decisions@TFLaherty

Cheryl HanleyDirector of Demand

GenerationPGi

@CHanleyAtl

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#igniteyourwebinar

UPCOMING EVENTS

PGi will be sponsoring the SiriusDecisions Summit in Nashville May 12 – 15.

Jeff Perkins, VP of Marketing and inbound Sales at PGi will be presenting on

Marketing isn’t Successful Unless the Salesforce is

Successful!

3 Key Questions/Takeaways:

• What are 3 ways to more effectively align our marketing and sales efforts?

• How can we move leads quicker through the buyer’s journey?

• What tactics can we implement to ensure stronger communication and

collaboration between sales and marketing?

THANK

YOU

Best Practices for Using Web Events to Increase Pipeline Velocity

Marketing

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