Recently I have found myself attending an increasing number of webinars. Some have been to help me learn new skills and keep up to date with Marketing tools, others have been hosted by analysts or industry experts to help with market research and some have been organised by potential suppliers to help me understand the products and services they have on offer.
I started to think about whether webinars are a positive or negative trend: yes they are convenient, ‘green’ in the sense you have immediate access to anyone/any company anywhere in the world without spending money or wasting energy on travel and you have the ability to quickly capture and share new information with your wider team.
But on the other hand, web meetings and web conferences are not suitable for all types of gatherings. Human contact plays an import role in relationship building with customers and suppliers and should not be underestimated. There is often no substitute for face-to-face contact, particularly at the start of an important business relationship and for the purpose of networking.
Would you buy from a new supplier without meeting them in person, only via web contact? Do we need to achieve a balance between face-to-face and web contact? I would be really interested to know what you think.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I don’t think webinars and web conferences will ever replace face to face contact – a balanced approach is needed.
Although online web meetings can save money, and of the course help the environment, I will always insist on an introductory face to face meeting with a supplier or new contact in the very least
In terms of webinars, I actively encourage my team to sign up for online events as think they are a great opportunity to foster continuous developement and learning and for often no cost.