Last
updated December 15, 2005
Online
Presentations
An
Effective Tool
There
are different types of online presentations to utilize
in the business world.
The
following are a few:
Training
Office
meetings
Sales
presentations
Seminars
for clients and prospective customers
Online
presentation moderators, coordinators and presenters need
to be comfortable, well–prepared and experienced
with online presenting to be effective.
Here’s
a quick checklist that will help you plan a successful
online presentation:
Break
down tasks and assign duties effectively. Stay in touch
with everyone working on the project.
Be
prepared. One good way to gain experience and be prepared
is to shadow the planning of a presentation prior to
planning and leading one on your own.
Attend
as many online presentations as possible to gain experience.
As an attendee of an online presentation, take note of
likes and dislikes in techniques and preparation. As
a participant or viewer, what would you change or improve?
Make
sign-up easy.
Provide "frequently
asked questions" with answers regarding the presentation
upon registration.
Stay
on schedule. Start at the time promised and end at the
correct time.
Address
the audience directly. Communicate clearly to attendees.
Make
a live call available to those who are unable to participate
online.
Follow
up with attendees after the presentation. Is there anything
they needed for follow up? Answer questions and thank
them for their participation.
Instant
Feedback
How
do you get into the minds of your customers?
There
are a multitude of marketing research methods available
to help us learn more about our customers’ needs
and wants.
One
popular method of gaining insight from customers has been
focus group research. However, as the marketplace stretches
around the world, new modes of communication are introduced
and new immediate research techniques are increasing in
popularity for companies.
Instant
communication, increased competition and swift product/service
roll-outs have resulted in a fast-paced business world.
To better keep up with customer needs, the Internet offers
businesses immediate and direct access to customers and
their impressions.
E-mail,
instant messaging and online research/communication can
result in more candid and immediate feedback. Companies
are finding that they can sometimes forgo the coordination
and analysis process of a focus group and utilize online
surveys and questionaires for important information.
Online
and Instant message feedback can provide:
- Genuine
feedback – online or instant
messaging survey respondents of
do not interact personally with a company representative.
- Clear
expression of opinion – respondents
are not influenced by other
participants since feedback is direct and personal.
- Instant & direct
customer feedback – instant
communication can be
only a click away with the Internet.
- Flexibility – online
surveys and questionnaires can be attractive to
customers since they can fit responding quickly and easily and within their
schedules.
Will
the need for focus groups totally disintegrate? Most likely
no, yet as fast paced communication and business evolves,
new opportunities to connect with customers will be revealed.
If
you want your marketing to make a difference...
make
it different!
The
most important thing to remember is - don’t look
like everyone else. This should be your approach not only
toward graphic design, but it also should guide your public
relations efforts, how you treat people and how you introduce
your product or service to the world.
Organizations
need to make sure they know how to introduce or reinvent
their brand experience for their customers. It all starts
with an idea that you seed, cultivate and grow over time.
This newly shaped mark for your business can then be fed
to the marketplace in bits and pieces. For example, the
makers of Red Bull, the “energy drink” that
makes you feel like you’ve sprouted wiiings and
can fly (or, if you’ve had enough of them, get married
at 4 a.m. in Las Vegas), regularly dispatch “street
teams” to college dormitory parking lots to hand
out samples. This grassroots approach and unique product
make them an instant market success among the college faction.
Southwest
Airlines provides everyday people the ability to go places
that previously only the very wealthy could afford. It’s
no-frills transportation built on, well, transportation—get
them from point A to point B. Period.
A more
recent example is eBay. This newer phenomenon, born of
the Internet age, was built on a simple social insight – people
like to trade with each other.
Great
brands hit their goals when they change consumers’ impressions
of a brand category. Success comes when consumers’ basic
habits change, based on those new impressions.
Clearly
defined purposes—a unique approach to the marketplace
and a clear vision of why your business is different—make
a brand strong and distinctive.
