Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Hold a Q&A Seminar for Your Customers

By Theo McLanahan

Question and answer seminars for your customers can help you accomplish many things. Some examples are: you can create buzz about your website, increase your mailing list size, launch a new service or product, or even increase your profits.

A q&a seminar can certainly help you increase your mailing list. Put up a notice on your website that you are holding the seminar, and feel free to include the day and time, but don't publicly announce how they access it. Instead, have them fill out a form tied to your autoresponder. Once they fill out the form, your autoresponder can send them an email with the teleconference or web conference room information.

If you are preparing for a product launch, having a question and answer seminar can work similarly to holding a press conference. It gives you the opportunity to explain the benefits and features of your product, and create publicity, and hopefully to increase your sales. The more information you can get out about the new product, and the more likely they are to want it and buy it.

Holding a q&a seminar also adds a personal touch and helps you communicate and interact with your customers. You could opt to have a special session for past customers only. This is also a great way to get feedback on how to improve your current product as well as add new products.

As you hold these seminars you can record them and sell them at a later date. You could bundle them together into one package or offer them individually as bonuses to your other products.

You may also wish to open up a seminar to others as a way for them to advertise. Other businesses with similar, complimentary businesses may be very willing to pay a fee for the opportunity to speak to your audience. For an effective question and answer session, make sure it doesn't come across as a sales pitch. Presenters should be giving helpful information to the listeners, as well as find good ways to promote their own products or services.

You have several options on how to hold your q&a seminar. You can reserve a teleconference line, and there are many companies who will allow you to use one for free. Alternatively, for a small fee, you could reserve a web conference room. This would allow you to show pictures, graphs, and PowerPoint presentations to your audience. You can also choose to broadcast over both a conference room and a teleconference line at the same time.

Once you have your time, date, and method of delivery set, it is time to promote. If you already have a mailing list, make sure to let them know about your event. As noted above, you could display some teaser information on your website, as well as any email or forum signature lines you may have. If you have an affiliate team, get them in on the promotion, too. If you don't have any affiliates, ask your online friends to help you spread the word. You may want to consider paying for some advertising, as well.

The more you hold q&a sessions, the more comfortable you will become with the planning and promotion process. Remember, these are fun ways to promote your business and connect with your customers, so take some time to enjoy the process. - 15246

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