Planner's Workshop: Voice Mail Can Boost Meeting Attendance

Mika Kaitila, MiMegasite.com, 5/8/2007 (excerpted)

Fortunately for today's event planners and marketers, business events are going strong. Seminars, conferences, user groups, Web events, product launches, channel forums, sales meetings, and exhibits—regardless of the type or format—have become an integral part of today's business-to-business marketing formula.

But getting the right audiences to participate has become ever more challenging. Increasingly, event marketers must reach prospects in record-breaking timeframes, with less money and people resources, and in an even more competitive environment. What's more, the significant rise in the number of marketing messages has deflated response rates to both traditional direct mail and e-mail to all-time lows.

Many companies in the B-to-B space are finding that e-mailed invitations just aren't working like they used to and are creating less hype and, as a result, generating fewer event registrations. Part of the problem can be attributed to screening by e-mail filters and mail room personnel. The other reason is that it's simply too easy for busy executives to delete the e-mail that's cluttering their inboxes or to toss the mail that's cluttering their desks.

Given the current environment—one that is not likely to change—and the fact that choosing the right communication vehicle can mean the difference between success and failure, how can an event planner make an impact?

In the past, an invitation phone call was a great way to create energy around an event and draw attention to a forthcoming e-mail or direct mail promotion. After all, nothing can beat the power of a real human voice to spread an infectious sense of urgency and generate the emotions that create action. But who has time to make the calls? Where is the budget? Who wants to manage the headaches that come with outbound calling? For many, invitation phone calling seems an unlikely option.

Many forward-thinking event marketers, however, have turned to guided voice mail to make the voice contact they need and to generate interest and draw attention to e-mail and direct mail invitations.

Using the Power of the Human Voice
Event promotion is about getting people excited. Using a medium that conveys captivating enthusiasm, that spreads an infectious sense of urgency, and that energizes people should be central to a marketer's communication plan. It's no wonder, then, that when it comes to event marketing so many turn to the power of a real human voice. The emotions, feelings, and overtones that an actual human voice can create are proven to generate action and results. After all, a human voice has always been at the heart of one-to-one interactions, long before the printed word even existed.

One of the ways that voice contact can be made is with outbound phone calling. Marketers often use inside sales reps, in-house calling teams, or outsourced agencies to make the phone calls. While the power of the human voice is the strength here, there are weaknesses. Some common problems: Setup takes too long; no one wants to make the calls; repetition kills the enthusiasm; it's tough to get a person on the phone; there's no control over what is being communicated; it's expensive; it's not an effective use of a rep's time—to name a few.

Through guided voice mail, calls are initiated to phone numbers on a customer's list. Each call is attended by a live human agent in a call center—a person who is dedicated to ensuring that each voice mail goes to the specified person. Live agents navigate through receptionists and assistants or use extensions and "dial-by-name" to get to the right person's voice mailbox. Once there, agents patch out and the system takes over and delivers the voice recording, which sounds exactly as if a live person has left the message, but for a fraction of the cost and in hours instead of weeks.

Guided voice mail fits in with all phases of the event life cycle—from invitations to sales follow-up and "after party" invitations, to updates, schedule changes, and special last-minute offers. Guided voice mail works with follow-up efforts as well, including up-sells to subsequent events, sales closing calls, introductions to sales reps, and hand-offs to the sales team.

Inviting with Guided Voice Messaging
Guided voice mail messaging can be an effective way to clean a list before rolling out the formal invitation. It can be used as a vehicle for delivering early-bird registration reminders. Other effective applications for guided voice mail messaging include:

Obtaining Referrals : Often invitees will think of others within or outside their organization that would benefit from event attendance. Guided voice mail can help gather these new prospects.

List Warming: Voice mail can be used to soften a list before a rep calls. When prospects expect a call there is less need for explanation later.

Follow-up Inquiries: Reps can forget to make a second contact with those who've shown interest in an event. Guided voice mail is a simple, cost-effective way to make the follow-up contact and generate results.

Last-minute Push: When an event is short on registrants, a quick round of last-minute phone calls can be hard to manage. Voice mail can ensure a fast, last-minute drive for attendance with the needed enthusiasm of a real human voice.

Communicate Time-sensitive Changes: Changes in speaker, venue, date, and times can easily be communicated through guided voice mail.

Mistake Correction: A typo in a collateral piece can present a big problem. Voice-mail messaging can quickly and cost-effectively draw attention to the correct information.

Guided voice mail can also be effectively applied to remind registrants of login times for virtual seminars; to deliver a timely "thank you" to attendees; to qualify a large influx of leads in a timely manner; to communicate with those who missed an event; to gather critical feedback about an event; and to pre-promote the next event.

Mika Kaitila is founder and CEO of Toronto, Canada-based Boxpilot, Inc., a system that delivers companies' personal messages directly into the voice mailboxes of their prospects and clients. Kaitila can be reached at mika.kaitila@boxpilot.com, www.boxpilot.com, or (877) 669-4729.