Don’t be shy of a little adversity. It can be an opportunity to do things you didn’t think you could do before. We spent the first few weeks trying and testing out dozens of other company’s virtual expe- riences (incognito, of course)—and taking detailed notes; what worked, what didn’t, what sang to us, what fell flat in the virtual world. By the end of it we put together a list of “Three things we’re going to need to make this virtual thing work” (great titles wasn’t one of them): Real Human Dialogue Live hosts or facilitators with genuine charisma and palpable energy, interacting two-ways and not demonstrating or lecturing one-way to their audience. Unique Concepts I will instantly delete any e-mail that invites me to another “virtual yoga session” or “virtual cock- tail class.” Think outside the box! Try something different! Stand out! Polished Visuals If your entire medium is going to be experienced through your audience’s ears and eyeballs (with no scent, touch or taste like we’re all used to in travel), it better be slick. That means professional actors, green screens, halo lighting, video edit- ing, immersive graphics and soundtracks. And that’s just the start. With those three pillars as our foundation, we set out to build one new concept per month as we also learned how to market ourselves and an entirely new product line using a different approach then we were used to. It has been a whirlwind adventure these past six months, navigating all of the new challenges that we’ve faced as a team trying to reinvent ourselves as a “culture-building company” in a virtual world. The results have been beyond even my own most optimistic expectations. We’ve managed to turn the course entirely, staving off all layoffs and even affording to give out modest raises, in addition to hiring new faces to support our growing virtual division as we struggle to keep up with demand. Whatever 2021 may have in store, we are ready for it. Our virtual division is here to stay, and when travel returns, we’ll be ready for that too. Helping companies engage their teams and build cultures in both the virtual world and the real world, wherever that may be around the globe. Stay positive, work hard and make it happen yourself. Success is equal parts careful planning, sheer luck and hard work. My message to the industry is this: Accept this new reality we live in, and try to find the pos- itive opportunities that being caught in these dark times might illuminate. Don’t let yourself play the victim card or get drawn into the-sky- is-falling Zoom sessions. That solves nothing. Whether we like it or not, this has happened, and it’s going to continue to happen for likely a long time still, so you better figure out what your Plan B is, if you haven’t already. A lot of companies have changed, whether by neces- sity or by a forced hand. Now it’s your turn to decide your own path forward. What will you do? 5 strategies for success Market, Promote, Advertise! Continue Innovating Master the Platform Find a Unique Concept Create Your Own Content Try to avoid reselling (or repackaging) others’ content: If you want to create a sustainable business model you’ll need high enough margins to have revenues cover your costs and overhead. Reselling someone else’s idea with a small markup (10-25%) means you need to book four to five events for the same amount of revenue a single event of your own creation would bring in. Hint: virtual yoga sessions or ‘wine & paint nights’ have been done already. Brainstorm something truly different that will stand out. Be creative! There are a lot of options for you to operate your virtual experiences on— Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Webex, to name just a few. Figure out which one suits your needs the best, and which your clients are most comfortable with—then leverage all available features to the max! There are a lot of built-in functionalities that can really take a plain virtual experience to the next level if you know how to utilize them. Consider investing in search engine marketing and paid ads on various platforms to boost awareness of your new business line and drive traffic to your site. Even if you never did this previously, this is a great time to start. Once you have something, don’t stop there. Keep creating new concepts and generating new ideas in the pipeline for when clients have gone through one experience and come back for something new—you’ll be ready with the next one! November 2020 | Ignitemag.ca | 23
