Stretching Employee Training, Marketing and
Sales Budgets with Webinars
As companies look for ways to stretch their budgets and staff time, Webinars
are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional training sessions
and meetings.
A Webinar, short for Web-based seminar, is simply a presentation,
lecture, workshop or training that's transmitted over the Web. Attendees
view the presentation on the Internet and listen in via telephone from anywhere
in the world. They can see the speaker online and ask questions by phone
or email for a hands-on, interactive experience.
Web seminars integrate data, voice and video within a standard Web browser.
They typically involve multimedia presentation formats such as PowerPoint
with animations and Macromedia Flash to deliver engaging events. They are
ideal for large:
- conference call expansions
- online meetings
- virtual sales presentations
- employee trainings
- distance learning
Benefits of Webinars
A Webinar is one of the most powerful, cost-effective ways to communicate
with your employees, customers and prospects. They allow participants to
give, receive and discuss information over the Internet—unlike a Webcast,
in which data is transmitted only one way. Employees can simultaneously attend
a Webinar using virtually any desktop, laptop or wireless handheld device.
They can receive close-up access to experts speaking on a variety of topics—without
the expense, time and hassle of traveling to another location.
Companies that use Webinars can reap significant savings in a variety of
ways. For example, global technology leader Emerson estimates saving more
than $6 million using Webinar services from WebEx for sales, training, customer
support and corporate meetings. WebEx—which has 67 percent of the Web
seminar market share—helped MWFBI staff train 154 agents across two
states without ever leaving the office. Webinars also enabled Serversys Limited
to reduce site visits by 93 percent, and helped Emory University students
cut their travel time by 20 percent.
How It Works
To attend a Webinar, participants simply register for the desired scheduled
event. Afterward, they'll receive an email providing the direct Webinar
link and telephone number to call the day of the presentation. Then
when it's time for the presentation, they just click the link to follow
along in the online session.
Most Web seminars can run on Windows, Solaris and Macintosh systems. To
participate, guests need a broadband or dial-up Internet connection and a
separate phone line to access the audio portion of the presentation. Each
presentation typically lasts an hour.
Webinars are normally free for guests. Hosting costs for sponsoring companies
vary. For example, WebEx charges from $375 for 200 minutes to $995 for 500
minutes per month for five seats. It also offers a pay-per-use plan for 33
cents a minute per participant. However, monthly fees at Glance Network run
$49 to $119, depending on the usage level. Some companies charge even less.
Here's a list of Webinar providers and a brief description of their
services:
- WebEx (www.webex.com) - WebEx
specializes in Web meetings, Web conferencing and video conferencing services
that allow users to instantly share ideas, presentations and documents.
- Infinite Conferencing (www.infiniteconferencing.com)
- Features operator-assisted and reservationless phone conferencing,
as well as Web conferencing with sideshow/desktop sharing and audio/video
streaming.
- Webinar Direct (www.webinardirect.com)
- Offers full-service Webinar management services with an emphasis
on helping clients generate sales leads
- Conference Call (www.conferencecall.com)
- Services include reservationless and pre-scheduled conference calls,
international teleconferencing, Web conferencing and operated-assisted
services.
For more information about how your company can benefit from Webinars, email Proven
Systems Corp. or call 970-223-6565. |
