A seriously slumping economy, soaring gas prices and a time-crunched workforce. With circumstances like these, it’s not hard to understand what’s driving the growth of virtual events. Increasingly, virtual events are becoming an integral part of B2B marketing and event planning, as more companies are expanding the platform as part of their marketing mix and lead generation campaigns.
Marketing Matters had an opportunity to chat with Brent Arslaner, Vice President of Marketing with Unisfair, a Menlo Park, CA-based virtual events provider about the growth of virtual events and the benefits they offer today’s marketers.
Marketing Matters: Virtual events seem to now be a part of an increasingly number of marketing campaigns. What is driving the growth of virtual events?
Brent Arslaner: The market for eventual events is growing very rapidly. We’ve produced over 500 virtual events and 300 of them have taken place in the last 18 months. There are a number of reasons for this growth. First, companies are increasingly complex and globally decentralized. They’re selling to the world and have offices and employees all over the globe. It poses a real challenge to marketers. How can you continually educate, generate demand and nurture companies when you need to generate prospects all over the world.
The second major reason is the economy. Every company is looking at itself right now saying `I still have the same goals. I still need to generate all these leads and bring them through the funnel, but I can’t go to the Bellagio this year.’ Given the current state of the economy, companies are evaluating their marketing mix to determine where they can get the most bang for their buck in 2009.
A third reason has to do with time and productivity. One of the values of virtual events from the user’s perspective is the convenience they offer. Users can enter a virtual event, check out a conference session that’s relevant to them on any given day, view the event live or download it as a podcast to listen to at the gym. Or, they can enter the exhibit hall, start a dialog with a relevant company, download their collateral and set up a meeting. It’s much more productive.
MM: In what ways do virtual events help marketers generate leads?
Arslaner: From a marketing perspective, virtual events provide Web-based reporting and mechanisms that help drive lead ranking and prioritization. In exchange for event entry, attendees agree to share information about their activities at the event. One of the drawbacks of offline events is the lack of speed in distributing and qualifying leads and how much intelligence is available with each lead. Too often, after an offline event, you’re left with three scribbles on a sheet of paper. It eventually gets passed on to someone in marketing but the process is very cumbersome.
MM: How do leads generated from virtual events compare to their offline counterparts?
Arslaner: Last year, a research study of 200 events found that virtual events attracted 3,100 registrants and 1,587 attendees. During the live time period, 52% of registrants showed up. With virtual events, leads don’t stop with the conclusion of the event. On average, we’re seeing 25-30% of leaders after the close of the live time period.
MM: What are some ways companies are using the virtual event format?
Arslaner: Virtual events are all about the reach. You can do things that just aren’t possible in the physical world. For example, KPMG recently conducted a virtual job fair and recruiting event that attracted 20,000 people. Companies and conducting inventories of what they’re doing currently and focusing on virtual events that fit into some key scenarios.
First, some companies are hosting “follow the sun” events in which they hold a virtual event with the same content and move from one part of the world to another. They may start in Asia, then move to Europe and North America so that in a single calendar day, they can stay on message and reach the entire world.
Second, companies are using virtual events to augment their offline events. They may reduce the length of their underperforming offline events and augment them with a virtual event. Sponsors can book both offline and virtual booths. For example, Autodesk used virtual events to augment its road show. The virtual event attracted 3,500 live attendees who spent two hours on average within the event, downloaded 36,000 files and 3,300 product reviews and saved 895 tons of CO2 by not getting in their car and driving to the offline event.
MM: Is it possible to replicate the networking and customer relationships that take place in offline events in the virtual environment?
Arslaner: Not every interaction has to take place in person. Consumers have become very comfortable with webcams and online interactions. In virtual events, people tend to be much more direct which is a good thing. In offline events, you may spend a half hour with a prospect and think it’s a great lead because some personal bonding occurs. But that personal interaction sometimes creates additional noise which makes you believe it’s a much better lead than it really is. When someone visits a booth at a virtual event, they are very specific. They may want more information or may just want to kick the tires, but they tend to more easily qualify themselves. In the very near future, we’ll stop referring to physical and virtual events. Physical events will all have virtual components.