Tuffin' It Out: Marketing
Yourself
With Webinars
In its nearly 30 years in
business New Spaces, a design/build remodeling company
in the Twin Cities, has developed a reputation for
providing informational resources to homeowners. Shawn
Nelson, president of New Spaces, has been at the
forefront of the success of his company by guiding
clients to the many resources his firm provides online.
Ten years ago, Nelson and
his team began organizing consumer workshops on various
remodeling topics. The workshops helped connect the
company with homeowners, display their expertise and
inspire homeowners to remodel.
Last spring, Nelson
decided that hosting a Webinar may be a different
approach to garner similar results for the tech-savvy
clients who have trouble penciling these workshops into
their calendars.
"The Webinars are a
lower-cost platform for us to reach consumers," Nelson
says. "Logistically, it makes sense on both our end and
the consumer end."
The Webinars are 1-hour
live Web seminars that cover a variety of consumer
topics such as the stimulus package, questions to ask
contractors and green remodeling. Some seminars feature
expert guests, and others feature Nelson.
Nelson promotes the
Webinars through e-mail blasts to his database, on his
Web site, e-mail blasts through a local paper-as part of
a larger partnership-and newspaper advertisements.
"The idea behind these is
to provide people with content-rich presentations to
help guide their decision-making in home remodeling,"
Nelson says.
Episodes do not include
sales pitches or hidden marketing messages that dilute
the topics.
In order to host these
Webinars, Nelson gathers a team of designers, marketing
and sales employees to come up with a content plan each
spring and fall. He uses an online Web conference
service known as GoToWebinar that costs $99 per month,
for unlimited Webinars. The only restriction is he can
host only one Webinar at a time.
The other overhead cost
is labor. It takes 4 to 8 hours to customize the
PowerPoint template to go with the featured Webinar
topic. Each episode includes a question and answer
session where attendees can type in a question to be
answered.
Since the spring, Nelson
averages five to 10 participants per Webinar. He has
noticed some fluctuation with attendance according to
topic and time.
"The Webinars are live,
and we are playing around with different times of the
day or day of the week to see what works best," Nelson
says.
For example, a recent
Saturday afternoon Webinar was poorly attended because
of the nice weather and a child's day-time activity
schedule. "We started the Webinars because we thought it
would be more convenient. Now that they are available,
we need to figure out what time is most convenient for
people to watch," he says.
Lately, the Webinars have
taken place in the evening after dinner, but for those
who can't make the live episode, Nelson is working on
recording the Webinar and posting it to his Web site.
The biggest challenge for
Nelson is making the Webinars as interactive as his
workshops. "I've noticed our Webinars limit the
interactivity and relationship building, which is a
major component in our workshops," he says. "I'm trying
to figure out how I can sustain a higher level of
interactivity among myself and the participants."
Regardless of the
challenges, the response from those who have attended
has been good. Participants are required to register to
sign up for the Webinar and fill out a survey after with
their feedback. Overall, Nelson has received positive
feedback on the content and increased interest in his
company.
"One to two people
usually contact us after the Webinar with interest in
remodeling their homes. We have also seen our Web site
traffic increase in the pages where the Webinars are
listed," he says.
The Webinars provide a
way for Nelson to gather e-mail addresses from potential
clients, although he is careful about what he sends them
and how often. "I don't want to overload participants
with marketing e-mails that feel like spam, but I will
send them links to other educational opportunities we
are sponsoring," Nelson says.
Over the last decade, the
integrity of New Spaces was built by Nelson, who put a
lot of effort into the workshops and presentations he
gives.
These days, Nelson sees
the Webinars as an extension of the reputation he has
built. His use of technology and his professionalism in
providing these resources gives homeowners the idea that
New Spaces is an advocate of a consultative process
where Nelson helps clients make wise decisions in their
homes and their futures.
