Why Are Your Webinar Leads Not Converting?

Although the format of a webinar is, by now, pretty old school, the advent and fallout of the COVID-19 crisis has seen the importance of online connectivity given a fresh impetus. According to a study conducted by InsideSales.com, 73% of marketing and sales leaders see webinars as one of the most effective ways to generate high-quality leads.

The current uncertainty around the safety of in-person events has seen a 330% increase in the number of webinars hosted on the on24 platform, indicating a huge shift that can’t be ignored. With no definitive end in sight to the caution around in-person events, it’s essential for sales and marketing directors to get their online engagement right.

The problem with webinars

Webinars are a great way to generate leads. However, you may be among the majority of business leaders falling into post-webinar purgatory, struggling to convert those leads into sales. Doing so can be time-consuming and budget-sapping, and there are a few reasons for this:

1. It’s been done before

The webinar format might be tried and tested, but that also means it’s grown stale. Webinars often take the form of a one-way presentation which includes a veiled sales pitch. That isn’t going to have credibility with senior audiences who’ve seen and heard it all before, because it doesn’t engage them.

2. Low attendance numbers

Demand generation marketers can spend vast amounts of time, money and resources in driving awareness of your webinar. They may end up generating a high number of registrations but find that few people actually attend the webinar, and fewer still stay for the content that you’ve carefully curated beforehand.

3. Unlikely conversions

This will leave your sales team dealing with the frustration of following up on a lot of loosely interested leads. They could be using this time instead to focus on a few more highly engaged leads with a better chance of conversion.

What all this amounts to is a low ROI on traditional webinar formats, a sales team wasting their time and an ineffectively applied marketing budget.

But as we’ve already established, online events are going to be a crucial part of demand generation, sales and marketing for a long time to come. So, what can you do about these pain points and start converting these leads?

The answer lies in Virtual Events

While the idea behind webinars and virtual events may seem the same, there are some crucial differences that will lead to high demand generation and ultimately boost the quality of your leads – and your chances of converting them.

Let’s lead with the figures: according to a Gartner 2020 study, hosted events are 2.3x more likely (than webinars) to have a conversion rate of more than 40%. Those are numbers you’ll want to take advantage of, but why are virtual events so effective at converting leads?

The short and simple answer – often the best one – is that they offer a deeper experience for their attendees.

You need to create a deeper experience

Virtual events, as opposed to webinars, are more interactive, with several components that help to increase engagement, whether that’s between the host and the audience, or between members of the audience. As a result, you can reap the benefits of virtual events as either a host or participant.

Webinars can form part of a virtual event, but a virtual event goes beyond one session and has a much broader scope for ‘attendees’ to become participants. They can include different sessions such as tutorials, networking opportunities, product launches and conferences.

Each of these events can have its own identity and purpose, which in turn can enable you to better establish your narrative, offering your potential leads a full brand experience with high quality speakers and interactive sessions. The choices offered by a multi-dimensional virtual event also give attendees more freedom than a webinar. Attendees can pick and choose which session they want to get involved in, and the type of content they want to experience.

This will lead to a naturally more engaged audience of prequalified attendees. If you’re hosting your own event, the opportunity for these attendees to actively participate and experience 1-to-1 support will increase your chances of converting high quality leads. A GDS and IFP survey of over 200 high-level executives and directors found that 60% saw sponsored virtual events as being highly effective in driving highly qualified leads.

While a webinar might have a high number of attendees, the format is often restrictive of that kind of engagement. The sit-back-and-listen nature of webinars is great for information sharing or product training, but it doesn’t generate a whole lot of interest, especially with senior business figures and decision makers.

The secret to converting webinar leads

The tried-and-trusted webinar can still create value, but if you’re really looking to convert leads, you should consider making them a part of a bigger virtual event. Virtual events might take a little more time to organize, but they lead to a more engaged target audience, develop your brand narrative and build a strong community network around your business proposition.

Crucially, they provide you with a much higher likelihood of conversions. And they’re also a lot more fun than a rigid presentation/Q&A format.

If you don’t have the time or resources to host your own virtual event (and let’s face it, a lot of us don’t), there’s no need to worry. Entering virtual events can be just as beneficial for your conversion targets because they also offer the chance to connect with highly-engaged audiences who know what they want, so you can save time in demand generation by targeting leads you know are interested in your product or service.