Unlocking the lockdown is all people want to talk about.
When will it happen?
What will it look like?
How the heck are we going to do it?
One thing for sure is that large scale events are unlikely to be happening any time soon. Big hitters like Facebook have gone on record that they will be holding off on live events larger than 50 people until June/July 2021. The long list of cancelled or hastily ‘re-platformed’ events listed on ZDNet makes it clear that many seem to be following suit.
So, is it time to write-off live events for the rest of 2020? Not so fast…
A recent survey compiled by Event Manager highlights that all is not lost in the world of events:
The reason for this unlikely confidence? Simple – events continue to play a vital role in driving revenue and business success. They are too valuable to write off as an inconvenience.
The lead flow, renewed contracts and customer loyalty that are derived from events are simply too valuable to ignore. At a time where most businesses are feeling the (considerable) squeeze of a pandemic fuelled recession, tried and trusted sales tools like events are more valued than ever.
So, once again, sales and marketing professionals find themselves stuck in the middle:
Run events that may not be well attended (SAP’s Qualtrics report states that a whopping 79% would feel uneasy about attending a live sporting event – so what would the difference be in a live business event setting?)
vs.
Doing nothing and hoping that the revenue can be secured via other channels
The answer to this conundrum may well be running a Virtual Event. However, we implore you to tread carefully before diving into this new world! Moving your physical event online entails more than sourcing a technology platform and raiding the IT cupboard for any spare webcams. Virtual Events and Webinars demand even greater levels of planning and management than their physical cousins, from the moment you Connect with your audience (way before you welcome them to your event) through to Sustaining your message and driving a measurable ROI.
Get it right and you can reduce costs and increase results. Get it wrong and you run the risk of irrevocably damaging your pipeline and brand.
To learn more about the Connect, Communicate & Sustain phases of Webinars and Virtual Events, visit our Masterclass Resources Page. It may prove to be the difference between revenue success and failure over the coming months…
