Turning social distancing into a chance to extend Agri-Service's reach
The year of virtual events
Agri-Service is one of the largest farm equipment dealerships in North America. Naturally, its yearly operator training events are large affairs. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 session needed to be conducted entirely online while still offering a high level of engagement and the educational credits of a typical year. Flint Group was brought on to promote and help host the virtual event.
Streamlined Solution
One notable advantage of a virtual event was Agri-Service’s ability to reach people who usually would not have traveled to the event and those unfamiliar with the dealership.
Survey says…
Mailers and emails were sent to a list of known customers who would be interested in training. To go beyond their current customer reach, we used social media to tap into an industry-specific audience across the country.
Using GoToWebinar, we hosted a six-hour training day with multiple presenters. To keep attendees active and engaged, we used the polling feature to send out quiz questions throughout the day. Responses were tracked along with chat questions and an opinion survey at the end of the event.
Sowing seeds for a new customer base
Our multi-channel approach to event promotion allowed Agri-Service to attract the attention of many new customers while positioning themselves as a resource and thought leader by offering a free training event. Specifically, applicators in Wyoming and Montana who lived too far away to attend previous live events were brought into the action.
Over 400 people across five states attended the training—a huge jump from the previous year’s total of 250 across two locations. Costs, however, were much lower for the virtual event and attendees were appreciative of the opportunity to gain educational credits at a free, interactive event.