Hosting Articles

Choosing Between Hosting Live Or Remote Marketing Events

Remember the old days? Back then, relationship-building meant hopping into a car or plane, or picking up the telephone to chat one on one.

Technology has changed all that. So called 'remote' events allow new forms of events for locating and influencing buyers. These high-tech formats have many advantages, and can be more convenient, cheaper, and less time consuming for both the host and the attendee.

However, in some instances in-person events can be better; for example, an important group discussion at a 'lunch & learn' seminar. The choice to go live or remote should depend on a series of factors including running time, your prospects' needs, and your geographic location. When deciding how to best reach your intended audience, keep these important pros and cons in mind:

Live events include breakfast meetings, executive briefings, seminars, and lunch-and-learns. Let's look at some of the 'pros.'

* Your audience can meet you and your team, and vice-versa. The great thing about live events is that they provide the chance to meet people and make personal connections. Invite satisfied customers to your event and let them mingle with your hot leads; these happy customers often work as ambassadors by helping to vouch for you and your product.

* You can show your attendees more, and the venue itself can be a draw. Live events allow you to show what goes into making your product or service, and you can even offer a tour of your plant or site so customers can see your team in action.

* Hold audience attention longer, and gauge their reactions. Unlike most 'remote' events, which should run an hour long or less, a live event lets you get into topics at greater depth. This is especially true for decision makers or technical users who need to dive deeper into the details of your solution before they are convinced. Buyers who are further along in the decision-making cycle tend to be more willing to commit to longer attendance times. Meanwhile, are your attendees falling asleep? Do they seem confused? By addressing individual lapses in understanding, a presenter has the opportunity to communicate practically and effectively with prospects.

Now, some of the 'cons.'

* Live events are usually more expensive. You will need staff people for registration, hospitality, and to administrate event logistics. Additionally, expenses for audiovisual equipment, food, parking and meeting rooms add up quickly.

* Live events take more time. Both you and your prospects will need to invest a little time in order to attend, including time spent traveling to and from the location.

Remote events include teleconferences, webinars, and video conferences. Let's have a look at some of the 'pros.'

* Less time, lower cost. It can be easier to make it on to people's calendars if you're asking for a smaller time investment. Usually these events are not as expensive, often just around fifteen dollars per hour, per participant. Compare that to the costs of space, equipment, travel and refreshments for live events. For prospects who are geographically distant, remote access is an important plus.

* Speakers, live demos and archives. If an invited speaker can participate from their own home office, they often charge less for their services and may be more likely available. Web conferencing software allows you to broadcast right from a participant's own computer. Additionally, the archive of the event gives you another chance to reach no-shows or those who are unavailable for the initial webcast. After the event, send the archive on CD or refer a website where the event can be reviewed at the prospect's convenience.

* Prospects can invite others at no additional cost. A small group can huddle around a PC to view a remote event or webinar. Because of the reduced time commitment, participants are more likely to invite others, or refer others to the archive when the live event is done.

However, let's have a look at some of the 'cons' of the remote event.

* May I have your attention? The anonymous format of the teleconference makes it easier for attendees to become interrupted or distracted by other inputs. Often, a teleconference attendee is multi-tasking. Additionally, webinars should not last longer than an hour. If the material requires more time, consider a live event.

* The right stuff. Most but not all people have the fast 'net connection and technical tools needed to view a webinar. For those who don't they could be excluded or turned off by the format. Also, sending a proper video conference signal requires compatible equipment in proper order.

So, should you choose a live event, or remote? The ultimate decision should depend on several factors, including available time and resources. The primary criterion should be the preference of your attendees. Busy senior execs may prefer the convenience of a quick hour-long webinar. A technical user group may prefer the live interaction of an in-person event or seminar. Always remember to present your information in the way your audience wants to receive it. In doing so, you will increase the likelihood that your message will be understood, retained, referred, and acted upon.

M. H. ?Mac? McIntosh is a leading B2B sales and marketing consultant and speaker. Mac helps companies generate qualified leads that drive sales: http://www.sales-lead-experts.com.

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Using Mini Websites - Powerful Way to Direct Marketing
Mini Websites are the most powerful and cost effective solution to promote and market your brand. Normally people go for a large site which have 100's of pages of selling nos.

GroomStand.com Ranks #42 in Modern Bride's Top 100 Wedding Websites List
Modern Bride's deluxe cheat sheet "100 Best Websites for your Wedding" offers busy couples a crème de la crème guide to wedding vendors in every sector, no comparison shopping or Google coma necessary. Clocking in at forty-two is GroomStand.com, a luxury groomsmen gifts site created by internet marketing firm Portent Interactive.

CGI Web Hosting – 3 Essential Scripts for Your Business
If there's one thing that people love it is a web site that has plenty of automated features. Sites that are highly interactive tend to get the most traffic and generate the most business for the companies that run them.

StackSafe and Enterprise Management Associates Host Webinar on Improving Change Management Through Pre-Deployment Testing
February 27 session to discuss how pre-deployment testing practices enable ITIL adoption.

MyEventGuru.com Launches New Operations And Websites In Six Locations
MyEventGuru.com, the premier business event listing and management resource, announces the re-launch of its Boston website and new website locations in: New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Dallas, Omaha, and Hawaii.

Naples, Florida-Based Web Development Firm Opens and Offers Free Web Hosting Free for One Year to New Clients
Naples, Florida-based web development firm opens and offers free web hosting free for one year to new clients. The hosting is available free for 1 year with purchase of any html design starting at $250. RTDesignGroup.com is open to all charitable affairs and offers 50 percent off.

WordPress Hosting Resource Launched by 34SP.com
The leader in Content Management web hosting, 34SP.com, has developed a brand new WordPress resource for small businesses. The WordPress resource includes: WordPress news, themes, a plugin of the month, and popular WordPress articles.

Latino Speakers Bureau to Host Annual Latino Speakers Award
The Latino Speakers Bureau announces its first Annual Latino Speakers Award event to be held in August 2007 in Miami, celebrating a distinguished Latino motivational speaker who has brought his powerful message around the world.

I Short Sale, Inc. to Host Educational 'How-To' Short Sale Seminar for Realtors at Beverly Hilton
I Short Sale, Inc., (ishortsale.com) the nation's largest short sale processing firm, will continue its series on broker and realtor education by hosting "Successful Short Sales" on March 12th, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.

ABCTE to Host Orlando Teacher Recruitment Fair
The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) is hosting a teacher recruitment fair for professionals who want to change careers and teach in Florida. Attendees can meet ABCTE and local school representatives to discuss how they can earn their teacher certification using the Passport to Teaching program.

Free Web Hosting: Is It Worth It?
If you are just looking into getting your feet wet in the area of web hosting, it may be tempting to take up one of the various offers from sites who are offering free web hosting services. They offer a certain type of site with a certain list of amenities and you have to go through a series of changes to make your free web host offer work to your advantage.

Why Offline Advertising is So Important for Websites
It is important that anybody with a significant online presence understands why offline ads are so important and more so why they are usually much more effective than online advertisements. This is very useful knowledge that will no doubt impact dramatically on the success and profitability of any online enterprise.

National Bonds to Host World-Class Football Teams at the Inaugural 'Mohammed Bin Rashid International Football Championship'
National Bonds Corporation will host Bayern Munich, Benfica, Lazio and Santos at the inaugural 'Mohammed Bin Rashid International Football Championship' held from January 8 to 10, 2007 at the Al Ahli Football Stadium, Dubai.

TV Show Host Teaches Karate Classes at Auburn Karate School
TV show host Roland Osborne will be teaching classes at an Auburn Karate School, Saturday July 24th, 2004. Roland is not only a TV personality on world wide TV, and an accomplished martial artist, but one of the most exciting and energetic instructors I have ever known, says Paul McCoy, the owner of McCoys Action Karate.

Pro Athlete Media, LLC Announces the Addition of Cathy Rankin as New Host of PAO TV on www.ProAthletesOnly.com
This recently launched website satisfies the daily information needs of professional and retired athletes, their spouses, sports agents, sports marketing professionals, and others in their "circle". This website was developed by former sports agent Scott Helfand. Before launching ProAthletesOnly.com he was the Founder, Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of Moves Magazine.