Due to the recession, there has been a dramatic shift to using Web Seminars (Webinars) to save money on Marketing Events. Executives have found that Webinars save money, are extremely effective, and the ROI is very measurable. This trend will be accelerating in 2010. When planning a Webinar, the big question is: When is the best Day and Time to schedule the event(s)?
This year, I've attended 3 to 6 webinars per week. I'm amazed that almost all of them are scheduled on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, at 10am or 11am PST. Very few are scheduled at any other time.
So, why is this happening? Marketing Managers read or were told by the experts that these days and times are the ideal day/ slots to conduct events. The bad news is that everyone now knows this and there are way too many events during these times....and it is going to get worse. Only 6 hours (15%) out of a 40 hour work week are currently being targeted for webinars. That leaves 32 (85%) other hours to schedule your events.
Many times, I can't attend Webinars that I'm very interested in due to conflicts with other company webinars scheduled for the same times :(
So...what are some other "Best Days and Times" that we should use?
A good rule of thumb is to schedule webinars when your target prospects are available.
Here are some suggestions: If you are targeting Executives, try early mornings, lunches or end-of-day. If you target Sales Managers, you should test webinars after hours. A great Salesperson once told me: "Sales people should be out with customer and prospects during normal working hours" ...not attending meetings. Financial Managers should never be targeted the last few days...or the first few days of the month, quarter and year.
Don't forget to be creative with your Webinar schedules. You maybe surprised to see how many people show up when you least expect it.
Please comment: When do you schedule Web Seminars? Any suggestions?