15 Tips: What IR Professionals Should Look for in a Virtual Events Partner
The virtual events industry exploded with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the demand for events expertise continues to accelerate. Increasingly, investor relations professionals are looking outside to help them manage the demands of IR webcasting, conference calls, virtual events, and investor days. I’ve had the pleasure to work with many of them, and I have a strong working knowledge of the solutions available to the IR community. Based on my own experiences, I believe it’s essential that IR professionals look for these qualities in a virtual events partner:
1. A specialist who knows the IR industry.
There are a lot of conference-call companies available who know how to manage a conference call, but they don’t understand the unique demands of IR communications. Someone with deep expertise in IR understands that IR meetings are high-risk, high-pressure endeavors with zero room for error, and communications need to be managed to a T. You need a partner who understands the stress and strain of preparing for showtime.
2. The ability to communicate with the C-Suite.
Your partner should possess the tact and judgment of a diplomat and the unflappable demeanor of a news anchor. They need to know how quickly find answers to thorny questions and do so with a smile. They must present well. Executing well is not enough; communicating with clarity and grace are essential.
3. Consistency.
We typically assign the same team with the same liaison for every single call, webcast, and event. Familiarity breeds comfort. Comfort eases the stress of IR. Consistency is also important with the equipment and communications format you use, down to the dedicated number you use for your event. The fewer steps and procedures you need to learn from one quarterly call to the next, the more you can focus on communications and not mechanical set-up
4. Easy access to an event.
One of the most exasperating experiences with any online event is having too many people try to dial into a webcast five minutes before showtime. Hey, it happens. Attendees wait until the last minute to attend. Before committing to a partner, ask them how they handle a surge in dial-ins. What kind of broadband connection do they have to enable multiple people attempting to flock to a site, for instance?
5. Flexibility with dry runs and sound tests.
You do not want a company that is booked up when you need a sound test during the day of your event. Also, are they flexible on the time to do your pre-records at an affordable price? Some companies require at least two days' lead time to do pre-records, which is not feasible in the world of IR.
6. Emotional trust.
Get to know your liaison. Do they make you feel at ease? Do they instill confidence, or do they seem stressed out? Building emotional trust is just as important as possessing technical competence. Your space is important. Do you trust them emotionally? Do they instill confidence? Are they adaptable to last-minute requests and fast-moving parts?
7. Responsiveness.
Your partner needs to respond to all queries -- follow-up emails, and phone calls, texts, etc. -- within 15 minutes. We all know these events trigger a flurry of follow up action and being responsive can literally affect the stock price of a business. Also, your partner should consider themselves on call. You call me at 5:30 a.m. on the day of a big event, I am going to be there to answer. If you have an urgent issue, you need to know you they can reach out and find someone.
8. In-depth understanding of the technology required.
Make your potential partner walk you through their digital capabilities. Do they offer participant Q&A? Do they make speaker biographies available online, and downloadable documents? You would be surprised at how many online events companies still do not offer these capabilities.
9. An understanding of your brand.
IR is more than numbers. It’s about sharing a narrative in a visually powerful way that reflects your brand. This is an especially big consideration, especially for investor days, which require more theater and storytelling from start to finish, including the incorporation of video and other interactive elements.
10. Strong UX skills and an accessible platform.
How easy is it to use their platform? Try it yourself. Do they have a team onsite who can assist attendees who might require mor handholding, and is their platform accessible?
11. Accountability.
Sometimes glitches occur. If something wrong happens, are they taking accountability and owning a problem, even if they don’t have an answer to the issue, are they owning the outcome? What you do when things go wrong defines you.
12. Redundancies in place.
Do they have a fail-safe in place if something goes wrong? What kind of back-up speaker line do they have in place if the main line goes down? Your vendor should demonstrate that they have a back-up in place in case things go wrong.
13. Has a secure network.
Today, it’s essential that your event goes off without being compromised by hackers or other malicious parties. Your partner should understand security and have an airtight platform of their own.
15. “Yes, and . . .”
This refers to the ability to contribute ideas beyond your own. Your partner should do more than implement. They should bring to the table suggestions for how to make your event better, whether it’s a pre-recorded alternative to a live presentation or a cost-effective alternative to a meeting idea. A partner should be able to go beyond what you asked and offer suggestions about the things you don’t know.
Download Our Guide
For more information on mastering a virtual event, download our guide on Webinars, Webcasting, and Virtual Events. This guide provides you with all the insights you need to create close emotional bonds with your audience at scale, get high attendance and engagement, faster and more cost-efficiently than you would with an offline event.
The guide builds off the expertise of Investis Digital Live, which is our is our in-house Webcasting, Webinars, and Live events service. We support more than 750 global events a year through a team of dedicated professionals and our proprietary technology solutions. We are the event experts. Looking for other investor relations solutions? Click here.