If you think webinars are a waste of time and effort for your business, think again. When done correctly, they’re a cost-effective way to generate new monthly recurring revenue (MRR) for managed service providers (MSPs). However, you should consider a few things before sending out the invites.
Before hosting a webinar, you should determine what you’re looking to achieve. There are many reasons why an MSP may want to organize a webinar, including building brand awareness and loyalty, generating leads and sales, and elevating your brand’s reputation and credibility. The good news is that you can achieve your objectives if you focus on what matters.
Stop worrying about the numbers
You may be surprised to hear me say: The number of people attending your webinar doesn’t matter. One of the best webinars I ever did as an MSP had a total attendance of one. That’s right — one person showed up. And guess what? That one person became a $6,000-a-month customer.
Think about it. I gave an hour to run the webinar and walked away with a new customer. (That’s a great return on investment!) Hosting that webinar was worth it. Focus less on the attendance numbers and more on attracting the right people.
Who are you targeting?
As with anything else in marketing, you must ask yourself, “Who is my ideal customer?” It’s not easy to generate results from a webinar without knowing your buyer persona. Gather as much information on your ideal customer as you can. What are your customers’ preferences? Where is the customer located? What problems are your customers looking to solve? What motivates the customer? Knowing who you’re targeting with your webinar is vital to its success.
Your content matters
It’s best to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to content creation. One of the biggest mistakes MSPs make when developing webinars is producing the wrong content for their target audiences. Again, it all goes back to understanding your ideal audience. If you’re targeting CISOs, keep in mind that they’re interested in different topics than CFOs, CEOs, technicians and account managers. Understanding what your target audience is interested in learning more about is critical. What’s the best way to go about doing this? Review publications your target audience reads. Search for any reports or studies highlighting trends about your target audience or their challenges.
Once you choose a topic, narrow it down even more. Try to be as specific as possible with your content. The more actionable takeaways you provide, the better your webinar will do, and the more likely webinar attendees will reach out to you with questions.
Anyone can run a webinar, but not everyone can run one successfully. Being focused and intentional with everything you do while developing and running a webinar makes all the difference.
