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Much like visits with primary care providers, meetings with colleagues, and social interactions, the norm now is virtual conferences.
A significant portion of the marketing effort and budget for many healthcare IT companies is dedicated to generating leads at industry conferences. These events present rare opportunities for healthcare executives, administrators, physicians, and other clinicians to come together in one location.
Attendees often have an open mindset towards learning what’s new in the industry. They’re evaluating vendor solutions with an eye towards future procurement projects.
Virtual conferences are an uncertain and unwelcome change. Many vendors rely on annual conferences to populate their sales funnels for the year ahead. This leaves them wondering:
- Can we achieve the same results in a virtual world?
- How can we best adapt our conference strategy to this “new normal”?
- Should we even bother, or are our precious marketing dollars best invested elsewhere?
Where’s the value?
Investment in conference attendance previously generated value for health IT organizations via:
- Scheduling in-person meetings and product demonstrations with existing clients and new prospects
- Attracting new audiences through walk-by traffic on the show floor
- Creating networking opportunities through social events and gatherings
- Increasing brand reach and awareness by piggy-backing on conference marketing
Virtual conferences do not create the same “captive” audience as their in-person predecessors. For example, events designed around scientific meetings attract physicians and specialists. Between educational sessions, they often spent their spare time exploring the vendor exhibits.
Now, this difficult-to-reach audience no longer needs to dedicate time to only attending the conference. They can divide their time between sessions, patients, colleagues, and other responsibilities. This makes attracting and connecting with prospects outside your network more challenging.
What is the difference between a virtual conference and your website?
Think about the virtual conferences you’re considering. Are they only offering the ability to post sales collateral? Or communicate with virtual booth visitors? That’s likely not going to bring a return on your registration investment. You’ve already invested in designing a captivating web presence. And, you have access to the latest video conferencing tools.
A better fit? Conferences that offer tools and support that augment your own active outreach and lead generation efforts. They should attempt to mimic the networking aspect of their in-person counterparts. Examples include:
- Conference-hosted communication platforms that enable targeted outreach to attendees
- Match-making tools that proactively connect healthcare procurement stakeholders with relevant vendors’ sales teams
- Ability to pre-schedule video conferences with pre-registered attendees within the virtual meeting platform
- Diverse marketing channels to expand reach, generate greater awareness, and garner leads
Success factors for getting the most out of virtual conferences:
Identifying virtual conferences that provide appropriate tools and support is only the first step. After that, it’s time to get creative and rethink your marketing approach. Use these tips to rise above the virtual noise and get notice from conference attendees:
- Be creative! Use a variety of media and channels before and during the show. It will attract attention and ensure attendees hear your messages.
- Create new video content that provides valuable information to your constituents. This includes video customer case studies and pre-recorded product demonstrations.
- Launch a new product during the conference. It will generate curiosity and drive attendance at your virtual booth.
- Sponsor an educational session on a relevant and top-of-mind industry topic. Preferably one that offers CE credits for added appeal.
- Emulate in-person experiences as much as possible when meeting with clients and prospects. Turn your camera on, and steer clear of using too many scripted (dry) PowerPoints.
- Consider incentives such as draws, games, or giveaways. This will encourage attendees to book a meeting with your team.
Making the most out of a virtual conference requires a shift in strategy–for both conference organizers and marketers. We can help. Contact us to learn more.
