Webinar Wire

Managing Followups On A Webinar Series

Posted by Ken Molay June 4 2009 5:12 PM EST

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My standard recommendation for marketers using webinars to generate sales leads or communication permission lists is to follow up as quickly as possible with attendees and with non-attending registrants. Same day if possible, within 24 hours is good, within 48 hours should be your limit.

But a client recently asked me how to manage the process if you offer a series of webinars. They are holding webinars every couple of weeks and the same audience members might attend many webinars to further their education in the subject area. My client didn't want to keep contacting people over and over, as that would be seen as harassment.

The right way to deal with this situation is more complex than many marketers want to implement. It's not difficult, it just involves additional record-keeping and probably the use of a third-party CRM system.

You really want to keep a list showing the last contact date from you for each individual. If it's never or over two months, make an immediate contact after the webinar. If it is more recent, add them to a tickler list for "check-in contact" later.

I also recommend giving people a chance to self-identify as hot prospects by offering a post-event survey. This lets them make comments or request contact explicitly, which gives you some automatic triaging for high priority follow-up. I use this on my own public marketing seminars.

The goal is to work with your contacts in a way that seems beneficial and responsive to their needs rather than your own. Small businesses with small audiences can keep track of these items manually with a simple spreadsheet. Larger companies with larger contact lists are going to need assistance from software applications. But the results should be prospects who appreciate your contacts rather than loathing them.