December 31, 2008
It’s the holy grail of online lead generation – you generate sales leads that pursue you and your company (rather than the other way around). This holy grail scenario often plays out in B-to-B Virtual Tradeshows. Some attendees come to the virtual event with approved budget, purchasing authority and a specific need. As such, they’re shopping around with the various exhibitors to see who offers the solution that best fits their requirements.
These attendees will ask you (or your colleagues) very specific questions, covering technical specifications, product features and pricing. At the conclusion of their visit, they may ask to be connected to a sales representative from your company. How better can it get for you as an online marketer? For this opportunity that fell into your lap – be sure to close the loop (with sales) on this lead or else the happy ending may be told by your competitor.
Here’s a sample chat that’s representative of what I’ve seen in virtual events:
Attendee: Thanks for the information about your products.
Exhibitor: You’re welcome!
Attendee: I’d like to set up a meeting to price out a configuration and discuss a few requirements that the product needs to meet
Exhibitor: Where are you based?
Attendee: New York City
Exhibitor: (a few minutes later) OK, the area sales manager for NYC is Bob Johnson. His email address is bjohnson@acme.com and his phone number is 212-555-1212.
Attendee: Thanks, I’ll contact him.
Not good enough! The exhibitor missed out on a golden opportunity here. Additional steps that I’d recommend:
- Copy/paste the transcript of the chat and immediately email it to Bob Johnson
- Connect with Bob via email, IM, etc. – letting him know about the hot lead
- Update your CRM system (e.g. Salesforce.com, SalesLogix, etc.) with the transcript of the chat and a summary of the sales inquiry
- Urge Bob to follow up immediately with the attendee — let the attendee know (during the chat session) that “Bob is ready to take your call right now” – or, “Bob will call you first thing in the morning”
- Get Bob to login to the virtual event right now – you already know that there’s one hot lead from his territory – a sales opportunity waiting for Bob to close
- Provide your own contact info to the attendee, letting her know that you can be contacted if Bob cannot be reached
Remember, leads in a virtual tradeshow can be very hot. Handle with care and don’t treat them like hot potatoes. If you do, then your competitors may be eating your lunch.
3 Comments | 
Virtual Tradeshows (VTS) | Tagged: B-to-B, CRM, IM, lead generation, sales prospects, Virtual Events, virtual tradeshows | 
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Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 30, 2008
Source: IBM alphaWorks Services
According to Wikipedia, approximately 40 million people in the world are blind. IBM’s alphaWorks Services division has embarked on a noble project aimed to benefit these 40 million. Called “Virtual Worlds User Interface for the Blind”, an overview can be found here:
http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/virtualworlds/
And an FAQ document here:
http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/virtualworlds/virtualworldsFAQ.pdf
The service currently works with Second Life (only), but IBM may support additional virtual worlds in the future. If they do add such support, they’ll tie new virtual worlds into the existing client, so that users only need to learn a single application.
With the IBM application, a virtual world is rendered via text (no graphics) and sighted users have the ability to annotate objects of the virtual worlds via text descriptions or recorded audio.
The implementers chose to leverage some open source and off-the-shelf technology:
The user interface is a Web application, a thin client running locally in the Firefox browser that communicates with Second Life through an agent on our server. The application is implemented partly with the JavaScript programming language, and it uses Dojo Toolkit widgets to provide a virtual world user interface that is entirely keyboard-navigable and screen reader-friendly. Nothing is permanently installed on the user’s computer.
The system also uses Quicktime (to play event sound prompts and verbal annotations) and NVDA (an open source screen reader). IBM recommends the use of the open source software Audacity for recording the verbal narrations).
I commend IBM for this effort and admire the flexibility and openness they’ve chosen in the implementation.
Leave a Comment » | Virtual Worlds | Tagged: Audacity, IBM, Javascript, metaverse, NVDA, Second Life, Virtual Worlds | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 29, 2008
Sony’s virtual world for PlayStation 3 gamers (called “Home”) is currently in beta status. While I’m not “Home for the holidays” (I don’t own a PS3), I’ve been reading about the early returns with the service. Ryan Kim of the San Francisco Chronicle had a Sunday article titled “Sony struggles with creation of its virtual world“. While there have been numerous challenges during the beta period, one analyst encourages patience:
Ted Pollak, a market analyst at Jon Peddie Research and portfolio manager for the Electronic Entertainment Fund, said users need to be patient with Home, which is bound to have numerous kinks in the beginning. He said it took other virtual worlds and online games like Second Life and World of Warcraft a while to get a handle on problems and address them.
I suspect that Sony’s foray into virtual worlds is based on the following objectives:
- Increase sales of PS3 consoles (e.g. if Home proves to be successful and popular, users may buy PS3 consoles to interact with friends – connect with them socially and participate in multi-user games)
- Differentiation from the competition – make the PS3 stand out from the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii
- Spur commerce – generate revenue (eventually) via transactions and advertising within Home
To me, a key factor in the success of Home will be the manner in which Sony integrates it into the gaming experience. It needs to be designed and presented in a way to encourage gamers to participate and be valuable enough that they want to return. I wonder if gamers will have the motivation (or interest) to put their favorite game aside to enter a virtual world.
On the other hand, if Sony were to unveil exclusive features (only available in Home) that could change things. Maybe it’s new release games that are initially exclusive witin Home. Or, it’s virtual goods or real-world prizes to encourage users to enter. Suffice it to say, it will be interesting to watch user adoption and growth.
Finally, here’s a nice overview/review on Home by Dean Takahasi of Venture Beat:
http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/10/sony-to-launch-home-virtual-world-for-playstation-3-on-dec-11/
2 Comments | Virtual Worlds | Tagged: Gaming, Sony Home, Sony PS3, Virtual Worlds, Wii, Xbox 360 | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 28, 2008
Source: Flickr ("TheTruthAbout")
For online marketers responsible for lead generation, the name of the game is Cost Per Lead (CPL). While it’s not the be-all, end-all, CPL is certainly top-of-mind for marketers – and in this economic environment, CPL is receiving heightened attention from the online marketer, her CMO and her CFO (and possibly even the CEO).
So let’s get the numbers out of the way first. For B-to-B virtual tradeshows (VTS), I’ve seen CPL’s in a range of $15-$50 for worldwide leads. The low end reflects events where the organizer has over-delivered on leads or priced the sponsorships reasonably (or both). The high end reflects a more focused event or an event that has slightly underdelivered. I’ve seen a few events fall outside this range, with CPL’s as low as $10 (or even lower) and as high as $70.
So you’d want your sponsorship to be within this range. But, I think that for VTS, “What is my CPL” is not the right question! The following questions are more applicable:
- What’s the quality of the audience and does it match my target profile (e.g. geography, purchasing authority, has budget, etc.)
- What level of interactions did I have with the attendees
- What was my cost per sales engagement and how does that compare to my other marketing activities
- What was my cost per customer acquisition and how does that compare to my other marketing activities
So as an example, I’d be fine with paying a CPL of $60, if the resulting cost per sales engagement was lower than my other marketing programs. Remember a key point about these leads, though – they are shared with the other exhibitors at the event. As such, it’s important to:
- Distinguish your company at the event – attract visitors to your booth and generate interactions with sales prospects. If you put in the hard work here, you can short-circuit the lead nurturing and lead follow-up stages – as you can find prospects who are in the later stages of their purchasing decisions and very receptive to hearing more from you.
- Distinguish your company after the event – follow up with prospects intelligently and promptly. Don’t forget that if you do your job at the event, then the after-event steps become much easier.
Like with most purchasing decisions, shop wisely – and rememer that there’s much more to the equation than just the CPL price tag.
3 Comments | Virtual Tradeshows (VTS) | Tagged: B-to-B, CEO, CFO, CMO, Cost Per Lead, CPL, sales prospects, shared leads, virtual tradeshows | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 27, 2008
Video calling has gotten to be very easy and convenient. Chris O’Brien, in a Mercury News article, tells us about his mother’s adoption of Skype for video calls. I have a similar arrangement, whereby we ring up my East Coast based parents for weekly Skype video calls (we’re on the West Coast). It’s great to not only hear from family on a regular basis, but to see them as well – smiles, body language, their latest purchase, the kid’s latest art project, etc. When our parents’ generation can configure and activate a service (like Skype), then it becomes prime time for widescale adoption.
And, technology is going to make it easier and easier. I see desktop and laptop manufacturers bundling webcams and associated software, so that video calling is ready to go upon initial power-on of a new computer. When I purchased an Acer Aspire One netbook this month, I noticed (only when opening the box) that it includes a built-in webcam.
With SightSpeed now part of Logitech, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Logitech-powered bundle of video calling capabilities included in some makes of PCs or laptops. I expect to see increased use of video calling in 2009, primarily at a consumer level. It will be interesting to see if video calling emerges in the corporate space and whether it becomes useful (or popular) in venues like B-to-B virtual tradeshows.
Gotta go now – the parents are ringing me on Skype.
1 Comment | Virtual Meetings | Tagged: acer, B-to-B, logitech, mercury news, sightspeed, skype, webcam | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 26, 2008
With a recession stifling business activity across the globe, what economy is expected to generate growth in 2009? The virtual world economy, of course! I believe that with consumers affording less these days, they’ll naturally spend an increasing amount of time online (in social networks and virtual worlds) and in video games. Consider the following chart from Linden Lab:
Monthly User Hours from Second Life residents is at an all-time high. Linden Labs’ data also shows that User to User Transactions had strong growth in 2H 2008 totalling over $100MM in Q3 2008 alone. Strong growth should continue through 2009 for Second Life and other virtual worlds. The virtual world platforms will benefit both from new member sign-ups, as well as increased activity from existing members. We should see a network effect take place, where new users sign up via encouragement from their in-world friends.
Sale of virtual goods will also see strong growth. Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners estimates that Facebook is generating virtual goods sales at a clip of $35MM per year. That’s pretty good – and I expect that virtual worlds platforms can benefit from similar volume/revenue. After all, virtual worlds are a natural venue to exchange virtual goods. Linden Labs tracks user to user transactions and I think a trend in 2009 will be user to merchant transactions, in Second Life and elsewhere.
Another area of interest is in video games, where in-game advertising and commerce seem to be a natural fit. I believe that gamers are more engaged in their activity compared to virtual worlds users or social networkers. And while that may result in sensitivity to advertising, I think that relevant and useful ads can receive significant response rates and that in-game commerce can be huge. We’ll want to watch this area in 2009 and beyond.
8 Comments | Virtual Worlds | Tagged: Facebook, Gaming, in-game advertising, Linden Lab, Second Life, social networks, Virtual Worlds | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 24, 2008
An article in ClickZ titled “TriNet Uses Digital Body Language to Arm Sales Reps” describes how TriNet (an HR services company) leveraged Eloqua’s Program Builder to augment their process of online lead qualification. When I attended an Eloqua sales presentation on Digital Body Language, I immediately agreed with their approach – and found their digital body language analogy to be quite apt. Prospects who are interacting with you (e.g. via a visit to your web site) leave tremendously valuable fingerprints. Web site publishers ought to leverage this valuable data to smarten their lead qualification and follow-up.
I think that a perfect complement to this digital body language concept can be found in virtual events. Here, prospects are providing rather explicit cues regarding their interest in your products and services – they’re downloading your White Papers, returning to visit your booth, chatting with your booth reps, etc. Your nurturing and qualification cycle become condensed down into a single event (e.g. the virtual event!).
If you’re an online marketer who’s using Eloqua’s system, a great complementary program for 2009 might be a virtual event sponsorship. I think you’ll find valuable body language (from prospects). Some might even ask you out on a date (to meet with one of your sales reps, that is!).
Leave a Comment » | Virtual Tradeshows (VTS) | Tagged: Eloqua, follow-up, lead qualificationDiigital Body Language, sales prospects, Virtual Events, virtual tradeshows | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 23, 2008
It’s a growing trend. In 2009, you’ll be attending more and more meetings. From your desk and desktop, that is. In a Travel Procurement article titled “The Next Best Thing To Being There: Virtual Meetings Earn Their Rightful Place In Strategic Meetings Management”, surveyed travel buyers confirm that the trend is real:
Faced with an economic downturn and increased airfares, three-quarters of 230 U.S. travel buyers responding to a recent National Business Travel Association poll reported increased use of teleconferencing and Web-based meetings. Nearly 57 percent cited increased use of videoconferencing. More than 80 percent said the technology replaced actual trips.
Consider the travel policy at P&G:
“Our policy is set up so that virtual media must be considered if business objectives can be achieved,” said Diana Johantgen, service manager for Procter & Gamble’s new meeting, event and convention management team, who helped incorporate a virtual meetings program into that company’s strategic meetings management program.
This shift towards virtual meetings means good things for Cisco (Telepresence and WebEx), Nortel and HP (Telepresence), Citrix (GoToMeeting), Microsoft (Live Meeting) and many others. While virtual meetings and telepresence may never reproduce 100% of in-person meetings, you can’t beat the cost efficiency and convenience.
Additionally, online meetings provide unique benefits, such as the meeting archive. Ever need to schedule a series of information sessions or training presentations? Why not do a virtual meeting (live) and record it – take the archive, edit it down (if needed) and then allow all reamining groups to view the session on-demand, on their schedule. If the presentation is mandatory, the online meeting can be tracked to ensure that all required users end up viewing it.
OK, gotta go now. A virtual meeting awaits!
Leave a Comment » | Telepresence, Virtual Meetings | Tagged: Cisco, desktop, GoToMeeting, HP, Live Meeting, Microsoft, Nortel, on-demand, Telepresence, Virtual Meetings | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 23, 2008
Source: Flickr ("Crazy Cake Lady")
You’ve planned a great virtual event. You sold a number of high profile sponsorships. You promoted the event to your members and generated strong registrant counts. You’re looking forward to the big day, when the exhibitors (and your boss) pat you on the back. But wait! You’re work is not done. Even if you have a large audience – and, the right audience, exhibitors will deem the event underwhelming if that audience doesn’t adequately engage with them.
In a prior blog post, I wrote about the effectiveness of prize giveaways at virtual events. In that post, I wrote about the notion of smaller prizes to generate interest. Here, I endorse a slightly different approach: use a grand prize (e.g. flat screen HDTV, if budget allows) and up the ante for prize qualification. Instead of “presence” in some event location, require that attendees complete all steps of a treasure hunt in order to qualify for the prize.
With a multi-sponsor virtual event, you’re going to want to keep all of your exhibitors happy (without favoring any particular exhibitor). So set up the treasure hunt so that each exhibitor benefits. Here is a sample treasure hunt template. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine what actions each step encourages.
Sample Treasure Hunt
- Find the White Paper titled Best Practices for Data Deduplication. Name the author of the White Paper
- Find the White Paper titled Data Backup and Recovery. Name the sponsor booth in which it’s located
- There is a booth representative in this event named Joe Kennedy. Name the sponsor booth in which he’s stationed
- In the second Webcast presentation today, the speaker is from what company?
If you go with a treasure hunt, be sure to promote it heavily, both within the event and in email promotions and web site listings prior to the event. To select the grand prize winner, ask your virtual event platform provider if the platform’s survey function can do the trick. You may be able to “host” the treasure hunt quiz via the survey – using either multiple choice selections or, using a free-form text field to solicit answers from treasure hunt participants.
Happy Hunting!
2 Comments | Virtual Tradeshows (VTS) | Tagged: engagement, HDTV, platform providers, prizes, treasure hunt, Virtual Events, virtual tradeshows, Webcast | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
December 22, 2008
In 2008, we began to see the migration of instant messaging features away from standalone client/server systems and onto the web, residing in-line with web page content. Thanks to folks like Meebo, Facebook and others, I see this trend taking off in 2009, as more and more social networking sites allow users to interact in real-time, right there on site pages.
In an BusinessWeek article titled “The End of Instant Messaging (As We Know It)“, Douglas MacMillan highlights this instant messaging shift. Meebo CEO Seth Sternberg had an interesting quote in this article:
“The interesting thing about live chat is that it forces the user to focus persistently. If a site’s [average engagement time] is three minutes, we can move it to six.”
I think an analogy can be made to engagement time in virtual events – the existence of chat (both private and public chat) extends the average engagement time of attendees. Smart social networks will be quick to incorporate a chat/IM feature in-page on their sites, like Flixster has done with Meebo (see BusinessWeek article for more info).
I’d argue that AOL’s Instant Messenger was the true genesis of the “social web” and the emergence of Web 2.0 has been in parallel to the disparate IM systems. Now that the two worlds are coming together, the social web becomes that much more social. This makes social networking sites stickier — and all the more better for it.
Leave a Comment » | Virtual Worlds | Tagged: AIM, IM, Instant Messaging, Meebo, social networks, Web 2.0 | Permalink
Posted by Dennis Shiao
It's All Virtual 