Webinar User Experiences Drive the Sales Pipeline

SAN FRANCISCO — April 29, 2015 — A new research report from ON24 and Nucleus Research conclusively illustrates that investments in webinar marketing solutions reduce the cost of lead nurturing, increase average deal size, and accelerate buying cycles by providing a more positive engagement experience across all phases of the marketing and sales funnel.

Available for immediate, free download, the “Nucleus Guidebook to ON24,” authored by Rebecca Wettemann, Nucleus Research’s Vice President of Research for Enterprise Applications, Analytics and Cloud, relays findings from in-depth interviews with customers who use the ON24 platform to support a variety of business needs, including lead generation, sales support and ongoing customer support and training.

The report was designed to explore customer expectations and the business benefits of investing in a professional-grade platform such as ON24 – and, most notably, how webinar quality and performance impact the sales cycle. Nucleus conducted interviews with companies ranging from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to Fortune 50 firms and found that high-quality webinars are “table stakes” in today’s highly competitive fight for new customers. The report also illustrates how some platforms can limit marketers’ ability to maximize program ROI, for reasons such as:

• Barriers to participation – Software installs or plug-ins for joining a web conference reduce participation by 30 to 40 percent.
• Technical difficulties – Issues like latency, poor sound quality and presentation problems dramatically spike drop-off rates.
• Static broadcasts – One-way broadcasts that lack interactivity mean that participants are less likely to remain engaged or retain the content.

The report states that fully branded webinars deliver real business benefits. Overall, Nucleus found that ON24’s branding capabilities, accessibility, interactivity, analytics and reporting, and integration drove greater value across the sales cycle through improved customer engagement and lead nurturing. Nucleus also revealed that smaller or less well-known firms were able to compete at a higher level with a more professional and polished platform for real-time and replayed webinars. Nucleus found key benefits of the ON24 platform to include:

• Customization – such as branding and the use of corporate colors, images and top-line messaging
• Interactive features – such as Q&A, chat, polling, surveys and social sharing
• Real-time analytics and reporting – including prebuilt reports and dashboards for participant and lead analysis
• Download-free webcast access – accessibility from any browser, tablet or mobile device
• Live and on demand – support for real-time and on-demand webinar broadcasting

“We are really pleased that research from a respected firm like Nucleus bears out what we already know, which is that investing in ON24 – and the powerful user experience that we deliver – drives engagement, reduces cost and speeds the sales cycle,” said Mark Bornstein, ON24 Senior Director of Content Marketing.

About Nucleus Research
Nucleus Research is a global provider of investigative, case-based technology research and advisory services that provide real-world insight into maximizing technology value. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com or follow us on Twitter @NucleusResearch.

About ON24, Inc.
ON24 is the leading webinar marketing platform for demand generation, lead qualification and customer engagement. Its award-winning, patented, cloud-based platform enables companies of all sizes to deliver engaging live and on-demand webinars. Providing industry-leading analytics that can be integrated with all leading marketing automation and CRM platforms, ON24 enables marketers to optimize demand generation, enhance lead qualification and accelerate sales pipeline opportunities.

Additional applications for the ON24 product portfolio include virtual training, talent development and town hall meetings. More than 1,000 enterprises rely on ON24, including IBM, CA Technologies, Merck, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Credit Suisse and SAP. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit https://www.on24.com.

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