Got the Health Systems Buyers to Attend My Webinar... and Now They Won’t Respond to My Email

Immediate steps

While you want to go back and review your webinar, the first thing you want to do is make sure you send a follow-up email within 24 hours. If you have more than one contact for the buyer or company, reach out to them and see if there is someone more appropriate to get feedback from. Make your email follow-ups customized to your buyer. What do they need? Why did they attend your webinar? The number one way to sell your product is to focus in on why they MUST have it. What problem is it solving for them? Do a bit of research before sending out the email and find a good template that is easy to adjust based on who you’re contacting.

Another way you can boost your email response rate is to offer a free strategy session. This tells your buyer that you are willing to dedicate the time and effort to discuss how your solution can best serve them. Frame it in a way that convinces them that you are giving them a deal and a bonus information session with you. Make your contact information readily available by text, email, or phone.

Other follow-ups 

There is a lot of data to support that webinars can convert to leads with the right tools and follow-ups. Especially now, with the rise of digital health and virtual meetings more prevalent than ever. So, aside from emails, what can you do to increase the likelihood that a buyer will reach out? Here are a few suggestions to boost your response rate: 

1. Bring them back to your content 

Even if you don’t receive a follow-up call or an immediate purchase, you can use your platform to keep them coming back. Having a blog or newsletter is a great way to do this. It not only establishes that you’re an expert in the field, but if they follow your links, you’ll be more likely to end up with a purchase later down the road. If you have their email address, send them your information in your follow-up email, then include all your social media handles. At the bottom, add a hyperlink to a few eye-catching blogs or page titles. Finally, consider other places where your content might be discovered, such as partnering with third parties who are well respected in the space to widen your reach and grow your audience.

2. Create a survey

Having a survey follow-up is a great way to get feedback. You could send this electronically through your thank you email. This can help you adjust your webinar to make it more engaging and focused on your target audience.  Make it simple and short to encourage more participation. Some things you may want to ask include:

a) What did you find most interesting about the presentation?

b) What information would you like to learn more about?

c) How can this be used to benefit your health system?

d) Do you have any constructive feedback for our next webinar? 

3. Contact those who didn’t attend

You likely had a set of people that signed up for your webinar and did not attend. If they signed up, it shows that there is interest in your topic or product. It’s a good idea to follow up with them to see why they couldn’t make it. Sometimes it’s as simple as a time zone issue, or perhaps it’s during a particularly busy time in their schedule. Getting this feedback can help you determine if there is a better time to increase participation at future presentations and webinars.

Take it to the next level 

One reason you may not be hearing back from buyers is that maybe your product wasn’t a great fit for them, and that’s okay! They could also just be overwhelmed with work. While you won’t hear from every single person, you should be constantly seeking feedback and reading your audience as best you can to improve your webinar. Some tools or ideas to do this include: 

• Using programs and tools that can give you analytics on how successful your webinar was. Things you may want to capture include your click-through rate, attendee ratio, engagement levels, and retention of how long your audience stayed on the webinar.

• Using tools to automate part of your email systems. This can make it easier for you to manage large audiences. While a powerful tool to add to your arsenal, make sure to still customize parts of your email to keep it interesting and personal.

• Recording your webinar and posting it on social media and/or your website. You can keep track of how many people view it and capture data on who’s interested. You may also consider requiring an email address to download, helping you acquire new leads. When doing this, it’s often recommended to set up automation to email the recording link to the individual, helping ensure you get a quality email address.
  

Keys to success

Part of getting successful results is using feedback, engaging your audience, and being adaptable. To prepare for your next webinar, send out reminder emails that include an “add to calendar” function. Create an agenda, interact with your buyers, and follow up with an email or newsletter linking to your other content. Highlight your achievements and why you’re a key player in the industry. Tell your buyers why and how your product works, particularly for their health system. Include financial benefits, like the reduction in staffing administrative time or inpatient admissions that can be appealing to higher-level executives. Don’t give up and continuously aim for improvement to convert webinars to sales.