Creating Successful Adoption Events with Cisco Webex
Events play a crucial role in engaging people throughout the adoption journey of Cisco Webex services, from awareness to support. This guide provides insights on hosting successful adoption events, setting objectives, leveraging tactics, and collaborating with experts for maximum impact. Learn when to hold events, such as for new employee onboarding, product launches, upgrades, and feature releases, to boost adoption efforts and drive value for your organization.
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Creating successful adoption events
Creating successful adoption events Events offer a brilliant opportunity to engage people in your launch or adoption campaign. You can use events at any point throughout your Cisco Webex journey for everything from awareness to support and even a little bit of fun. Here s what you ll find: What type of event you should host and when The purpose and objectives of the different types of events In this you ll find some helpful tips around creating successful adoption events, your Cisco customer success manager can support you through out the planning of these so don t hesitate to get them involved and ask for their help. A worksheet to set SMARTER objectives for your events. The people who can help you with your events Tactics to use at different events based on the scenarios and outcomes
Events offer a brilliant opportunity to engage people in your launch or adoption campaign. You can use events at any point throughout your Cisco Webex journey for everything from awareness to support and even a little bit of fun. Running a well-executed event can add huge amounts of value to your project, the people using your Webex services and your company's overall return on investment. Adoption events Set up a stand in a prominent place to raise awareness, take questions and share benefits Launch event (Stand) Discover Launch event (Theatre/presentation/party) Create an Apple-like launch event to wow your people, share the importance of your new ways of working and get buy-in Lunch and learn Small groups of people can learn about Webex services over lunch (or breakfast) Explore Live demo A trick to always have up your sleeve for every type of event Solving problems, taking adoption to the next level and objection handling your biggest critics Webex walk-in After the initial launch hype, awareness roadshows can help you renew focus on Webex services Awareness roadshow Adapt Workshop Reiterate and create new use cases for lines of business that need to be onboarded Partner with wider teams to share expertise on all the products available and how they work together Transform Workplace tools/IT event
Deciding when to hold an event You can use events at any point throughout your journey for everything from awareness to support and even a little bit of fun. But it s important to understand the purpose behind the event, and how this can help you on your adoption path. New employee onboarding / location So your company s expanding and you have lots of new employees. A brilliant excuse to throw an event to bring them all on board. Launch events New hardware Use these right at the beginning of your journey to create awareness and buzz around the services. There s no time like new hardware time to throw an event to showcase the new technology available to employees. Revival Upgrade / feature release It s been 6 months since you launched, your metrics are stagnant, and you aren t seeing the great adoption efforts from the first few months. Time to bring the focus back and talk about the benefits. Even if your people are comfortable using your Webex services, creating a little bit of excitement around an upgrade or feature release will give you a renewed focus on adoption.
SMARTER events S M A R T E R Specific What do you want to achieve with your event? Is there a trigger for it, such as a launch or low adoption? Be clear about your why . hope to see movement in? Will you gather feedback from your attendees post-event? Before jumping on the event train, you should always set yourself clear objectives. These will help you with the conversations you ll need to have pre-event and make sure you can create actionable takeaways for your attendees. They ll also make it easy for you to measure, reiterate and review things after the event. Measurable How will you measure the success of your event? If the goal is awareness, track the number of people you speak to. If it s a shift in adoption metrics, which ones will you Actionable How can you achieve the objectives you ve set? Do you need expert help? And what s the key takeaway for those who ll attend? Relevant Think about the people you want to target with your event. Create content that s relevant to the audience and deliver a message that will move them to act. For example, If you want to increase awareness of Webex Teams, posting in Webex Teams spaces won t reach the people who don t know about it. Time-bound Set yourself a date early on and stick to it. Consider the factors around your event is it a busy period in the office, or quiet with lots of people on holiday? Are there any other larger events taking place that will clash? Evaluate Post-event, it s essential to evaluate how well the event went. You can do this either against the initial measurements you set yourself, or by gathering feedback from the attendees. Capture these learnings in one place so you can share with colleagues and teammates. Review Don t be afraid to reiterate your materials or alter the flow of the event should you be repeating. Changing up slides in a presentation or the layout of your stand can make a big difference to the message you re delivering.
SMARTER events Create your own SMARTER event plan: Specific Measurable Actionable Relevant Time- bound Evaluate Review
People power Internal communications Engage them early in your ideation and planning. The internal comms team will often have experience of events in your company and can tell you what does and doesn t work. You ll need their help in getting the message out there about your event, whether it s via an email invite, an article on the intranet or a video. You might even get a wrap-up article after the event. Leadership As one of your main pillars of success, having leadership involved in your event can really put some clout behind it. Whether that comes in the form of sponsorship, speaking, or even just attending, it allows you to drive the importance of adoption. Your customer success manager Engage your customer success manager from the beginning, they'll be able to get you insider resources and knowledge, support the organisation of your event and share with your best practices from their customers. Your CSM can even help you set measurable targets for your event, run tactics and create actionable outputs for your business. We ve said it before and we ll say it again: you can t do it all on your own. You have experts around your business who can help you create successful events, so don t be afraid to reach out to them. You ll find a few suggestions here to get your started. We ve got your teams back too, find a range of banners, posters and collateral you can use to promote and educate. Champions This is exactly the kind of situation where you can rely on your champions especially if something is site-based or department-based. They know the people, they know the tool, and it also serves as a little bit of recognition for them. Be sure to call on them early for their input and agree how much time they can dedicate to the event. Click here to learn more Facilities The facilities team know your real estate inside out. They know where the spare tables and all the plug sockets are, and they can make it all come together when you re thinking about location. They re your logistical best friend.
Event checklist Event day Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Set SMARTER objectives for your event Execute comms plan promote, promote, promote Link in with catering teams to place and confirm order if required Will you need adaptors or extension cables for the devices? Create a schedule if you re holding an all- day event to make sure there s always someone on hand Arrive early to set up the space and get things laid out as you need them Follow up with those you spoke to answer any questions they may have and thank them for coming Engage the internal comms team to create a comms plan Enlist your on-site champions If you need monitors, make sure you have them in the room Do you need AV equipment? Can this be provided by facilities? Make sure all your technology works and that you have WiFi available Brief those who ll be assisting with the event beforehand so everyone knows what s expected of them Share a survey if appropriate to capture learnings and feedback Invite participation from your team Create budget and apply for approval Can you use Cisco Webex hardware for the event? Check availability of Webex Boards Welcome your attendees and volunteers and speak with them as much as possible Produce a summary of the event and feed back to stakeholders and leadership teams Engage leadership team for sponsorship and support Request resources such as swag, stands or branding. Capture the names of attendees you ve spoken too you can do this either informally or by running a competition Start design process of any custom leaflets or handouts Start speaking to facilities or venue team if required (health and safety, insurance and first aid considerations) Have someone capture pictures and videos that can be used in wrap-ups Have fun! Book out a room for the times required
Launch event Launch events help put your team in front of the people who ll be using the technology. It gives your users a physical reminder of the new service, a way to ask questions, and an actionable take-away. What you ll need 1. A table or stand Creating a stand in a busy place in your office will allow you to reach the largest number of people quickly. Busy times will be in the morning and at lunch time, when people usually have a little more free time. 2. A place with busy footfall Insider tip 3. Computers and monitors Have something that will capture people s attention. If you don t have the budget for swag, then small bags of sweets or pastries at breakfast time are a great draw. Create a visual experience for them using monitors and posters, plus have a postcard, swag or take- away available to give them something to do when they land back at their desk. 4. A takeaway/action 5. People If you have access to a monitor and power supply, this is a great opportunity to either demo the production demand or have a video loop playing in the background.
Webex launch party If you have a slightly larger audience, or the ability to get everyone together in one place, creating a big theatre-style event will give the launch an air of importance. Plus, presenting the wider thinking around the services will really help to get people on board. Choose speakers from your leadership team who inspire, alongside a killer demo and presentation to kick things off in style. What you ll need 1. A location large enough to hold all those you want to attend Insider tip If getting everyone together in a formal seated area for a presentation isn t possible, a more relaxed launch party can have a similar effect. Create a small stage where a presentation can be delivered, place branded materials on tables, and serve drinks and food to entice people to attend. Create a show with branded balloons, demo stations and a takeaway for the attendees. 2. A killer presentation and demo Consult your internal communications teams for the above event types. They will have expertise in this area and be able to share their past learnings with you, as well as support you throughout.
Lunch and learns Lunch andlearns are an effective means of talking about adoption with a specific department or line of business. You can use these at any time throughout the adoption journey to kick off a proof of concept in an area, or to increase adoption in a department that might be struggling. They also offer a chance to engage a group of people such as the leadership team or personal assistants with a demo and overview. What you ll need 1. Catering services if you re providing lunch Insider tip 2. A room where you can gather people remember you ll need tables If you have the budget to provide lunch, keep it simple with finger foods and snacks. Focus attention on your presentation, not the buffet. Depending on your budget, you can either lay on a buffet or ask them to bring their own lunch. Or try putting a different spin on the idea by hosting at breakfast time and catching people first thing. Just make sure you give your invitees plenty of notice you re eating up their lunch time after all. 3. A killer demo / presentation 4. People remember to invite them!
Live demos Having a live demo up your sleeve will mean you re always prepared. Simple but impactful, live demos can be used in the following ways: What you ll need In a team meeting or department stand-up to give a quick overview 1. A demo script that will delight In response to ad hoc requests Insider tip 2. No longer than 10 minutes As part a larger presentation have something you can slide in seamlessly You ll meet your biggest critics and your biggest fans during these sessions. Be ready to handle objections, solve problems and follow up with people. Keep track of who you have spoken to throughout the day will allow you to engage with them after the short interaction. Create a script of steps you ll want to show your people and use cases you can cover to really drive the value of adoption home. Always be sure to read the audience beforehand start by asking who has used the Webex services before, or for typical pain points you can look to solve with use cases already created. 3. Focus on the key highlights for the people you re speaking to 4. Have your use cases ready
Webex walk-ins Supporting people through their onboarding of the technology will help you reach higher levels of adoption faster. One way of doing this is hosting Webex walk-in sessions, which allows them to come along with their issues and chat them through with an expert. What you ll need 1. Deep knowledge of the products and services Think Apple 'Genius Bar' quick, actionable help on a one-to-one basis to solve problems. Get it right, and you can very rapidly turn that person into an advocate of the services you re trying to promote. Insider tip 2. Champions and manpower on site You ll meet your biggest critics and your biggest fans during these sessions. Be ready to handle objections, solve problems and follow up with people. Keeping track of who you ve spoken to throughout the day will allow you to engage with them after the short interaction. As well as resolving issues in real time, these sessions also provide an ideal opportunity to engage the champions on-site and raise awareness of their role among the workforce. 3. An easily accessible room or table 4. Monitors, Webex set-up and power!
Awareness roadshows Often there is a stagnant period between launch and achieving high adoption. You might have onboarded people, created a big launch campaign, and started to settle into the day-to-day running of the Webex services. But that doesn t mean you should stop engaging with your people. What you ll need 1. A meeting room or place to meet users Organizing an awareness roadshow can help you keep your metrics moving in the right direction, capture new use cases, and get a feel for how things are going on each site and within each department. Insider tip 2. On-site contacts Get key influencers on site, or in the department, on board early. They can help you organize, relay some of the challenges and communicate out your intentions. 3. An early comms plan tell people you re coming and invite them along These events can be a combination of drop-in clinics, demos, lunch and learns, and team meetings. But the difference here is that you re aiming to make as much noise in one location in as little time as possible. Bring champions and experts together, share the values specific to the people you meet, and talk non-stop about your Webex services. This one isn t for the faint-hearted it s a sprint, not a marathon. 4. A killer demo 5. Objection-handling skills
Webex Workshops Workshops are helpful for bringing people together to tackle specific problems, creating use cases, or brainstorming new ways of working. Usually these will be people who work together day to day, but they don t necessarily need to be in the same team or department. It s best to limit your groups to 15 people or under, so that everyone has a chance to contribute and add value to the sessions. You can even use them with your champions. What you ll need 1. A meeting room or place to meet users Insider tip 2. Invites for people who need to attend Depending on the group, you should start by setting the scene and tone for the day. Keep this as informal as possible to encourage conversation. If the people in the room are all new to your Webex services, give them a quick demo to inspire. You can then dive into the meat of the workshop. If you have a Cisco Webex Board available to you, this is an ideal scenario to showcase the great things it can do. 3. Flip charts, Post-it notes and pens Keep in mind these should be working sessions, not presentations. Here are a few ideas for activities you can include: 4. Refreshments if you have the resources Build and develop user stories Generate ideas and new integrations Deep dive training for those who might want to utilise a specific feature, e.g. Webex Events
Better together with Webex Sharing your Webex service offerings as part of a isolated event is an effective way to increase adoption. But if you want to take it to the next level, communicating how your Webex services sit within your wider technology suite can really drive the benefits home for your users. Or even as a part of a benefits fair to showcase all the tools and resources your organization provides. What you ll need 1. To get everyone from IT, Communications and HR involved Insider tip Find out if you have this opportunity available in your company. Think about the messages you can add to the conversation and how you can physically get involved. That could mean setting up a stall in the atrium or corner of the canteen, or putting champions in branded t-shirts but there s a whole host of things you can do to raise awareness. A united front will benefit not only yourself but the wider technology suite for your company. Your people will understand how all their tools work better together, and overall adoption will increase. 2. A plan and a message be deliberate in your actions 3. Resources such as the Cisco stand and playcards If you don t have something set up already, why not suggest it? Remember, Global Collaboration Week takes place in September every year. It s the perfect excuse to rethink your engagement plans, reinvigorate your comms plan and do something exciting on site for your people. 4. Giveaways for competitions and swag
Virtual events You don t have to be on-site to host a successful event. Use the power of Webex to bring your people together for an event that really showcases your use cases, benefits and the technology at hand. What you ll need 1. A webcam and a quiet room to host from. Use Webex Meetings to get everyone together no matter where they are and present the benefits of Webex during launch. Hold a training session to get everyone up to speed on your Webex roll out with Webex training. Or host an all hands call for up to 40,000 of your closest colleagues to launch Webex, using Webex Events. Insider tip 2. SMARTER objectives Give your virtual event a professional flavor using the Webex Assist Services. With pre-event planning,, in event live support, and even post- event follow up, Webex Assist Services can help you deliver a slick event. 3. Webex Assist Services package Use Webex Teams to host an ask me anything chat with the senior leadership team, or bring everyone along to an on-site event by live streaming the day in a space and sharing updates. 4. Calendar invites for your attendees
Your event doesnt need to be a standalone affair. Combine it with tactics to engage people while delivering a strong message that will impact your goals. ~ Use and customize these little tricks to suit your audience and your objectives. And pay it forward by sharing your best event ideas with your CSM.
Tips, tricks and tactics Depending on the time of year, you can also have a bit of fun with your event to move that adoption needle a little further. Celebrate a year of using the technology by sharing the success stories you ve captured over the year. The template in the success pack will help you. Oh, and don t forget the cake! Launch birthday Is there a large sporting event coming up? There s no better time to talk about Webex. Olympics? Superbowl? World Cup? Create a leaderboard and challenge people to use the platform. You ll find some great ideas in the Gamification guide. Sporting event Set New Year s resolutions or pledges to take action in the coming year. Display them in a prominent place to hold people accountable. New Year There s no better holiday to share the love! Ask people to share what they love about Webex, and how easy it makes their working lives. Valentine s Day Easter Start an Easter egg hunt in Webex Teams, and have your users check out prominent spaces and teams to find the Easter eggs you ve hidden. Get creative here it s your chance to launch a crazy feature or update before noon. Have a little bit of fun and keep people guessing to get them involved. April Fool s Day Another holiday to share the ways Webex can make working lives easier. Perhaps focus on the human benefits such as reduced travel time allowing users to put the kids to bed or cook dinner. Thanksgiving Show off those tropical resort backdrops and vacation attire while you re on video for a virtual vacation. Where would you go if you could truly work from anywhere? Spring break Share how your organization has a commitment to reducing greenhouse emissions by allowing employees to work from home, reduce printing by sharing files in Teams, crowd source the best use cases for taking this to the next level. Spare the Air
Goal: Education and awareness Goal: Educate on sharing screens Event type Launch event / Awareness roadshow / Workshop Event type Clinic or drop-in session / Awareness roadshow Sharing your screen to show a presentation or document can make your Webex Meetings a whole lot easier. It saves having to describe what you re looking at, or emailing items over after the call. To raise awareness of your product or service, create a campaign that people will instantly recognize. Try consistently running clinics on the first Wednesday of every quarter for Webex, or sharing tips about Webex Meetings on #MeetingsMonday. Pair this approach with posts on Teams and your intranet, and you re heading down the right path. Create a stunt that shows the value of sharing your screen to capture attention at your event. #MeetingsMonday Webex Share-ades #TeamsTuesday Get a volunteer from your audience to start the game. #WebexWednesday Make it easy for them by giving them a card to act out. You can link these to your business, or keep it old school by acting out movies, books etc. #ThrowbackThursday The player acts out the word or phrase they ve chosen to the other players. The aim is to show how easy sharing screens can make your Webex Meetings with out having to describe what you are looking at, you can show people through the magic of screens sharing.
Goal: Increase usage of video rooms Goal: Increase video adoption Event type Awareness roadshow / Launch event Event type Workshop / Live demo I pledge To turn my video on in meetings Even if I haven t done my hair. Create co-located events to increase the use of video room technology, but highlight the features, benefits and ease of getting together across multiple locations. Create pledge cards and ask attendees to pledge to turn their video on. Think of the usual excuses people use when not turning their video on you can be a little tongue in cheek about these. Display them on a tree or wall so that everyone can be held accountable. You can then even use some of the objections for further content and campaigns.. ~ Get creative with this one by hosting a multi-site quiz, a challenge of sorts, or a whiteboarding exercise such as hangman. Try to have a little fun to show that human interactions can happen without getting together in one location.
Goal: Increase mobile app usage Goal: Increase mobile app usage Event type Awareness roadshow / Workplace tools Event type All Create a QR code you can share on takeaways or posters during your event to encourage mobile app downloads. Take your mobile adoption to the next level by launching a campaign to share the most unusual places you ve held a Webex Meeting. Collect the ideas through Teams, an adoption email alias, or on your enterprise social network to create a bit of buzz. Perhaps there's a prize in it for the most unusual one. Include some quick benefits in the materials, such as working on the go and seamlessly moving calls between devices, to give them a real reason to use the app. Bonus tip By having your people share on Webex Teams, you ll not only have a wider audience viewing the photos, but also increase usage of Teams at the same time! Click to link to QR codes for meetings Click here for IOS download link You can then use these ideas in future campaigns on the intranet or with other teams. Click here for android download link
Goal: Capture event attendees Goal: Understand which tool to use when Event type All Event type Roadshow/Launch event/Workplace tools When you have multiple tools, it s often hard to know which tool to use when. Creating guidance on how each one should be used will help make things clearer. Finding out who has attended your roadshow or event can be difficult, especially if it s a high volume event where the people may not have been individually invited. During events, a fun and easy way to deliver this message is by creating a giant game of Pairs . Bonus tip This will also encourage people to come and speak to you, increasing your footfall. Create a set of cards with Webex tools on them and another set with meeting types or scenarios. Create a raffle where attendees can fill in their name and contact info for the chance to win a prize. It doesn t have to be huge just something that will encourage people to get involved. Ask one volunteer to turn over two cards. The aim of the game is to find the matching scenario and technology a fun spin on the traditional memory game. Have all the entries put into a glass bowl or similar, and get a member of the leadership team to pick a winner.
Goal: Decrease email and file sharing via email OR conference calls Event type Awareness roadshow/Workplace tools ENOUGH IS ENOUGH No more mailbox full . Example placards: Not for the faint-hearted, this takes on the giant that is email and conference calls, but is actually a good play when talking about the wider Workplace tools people have available. The goal here isn t to get rid of email, but to show the benefits of real-time collaboration within Webex Teams. You might however want to move away from old dial-in conference calls all together and focus solely on Webex Meetings. What do we want FEWER CALLS When do we want them? ENTER YOUR MEETING ID FOLLOWED BY # AFTER THE TONE. Make Teams NOT emails/calls CONFERENCE The email/conference call protest For this stunt you re first going to need leadership on side, plus some allies to get involved. Create a fake protest against email with placards that reiterate the benefits of thinking and working differently. The stunt needn t take up too much time, but be just long enough to grab attention. You could even rope in internal comms to cover the event for the intranet. Make sure your leadership team know what you re doing, and have your allies come up with a chant that will create some buzz. What do we want? FEWER EMAILS. When do we want it? You have 78 new emails. Webex Meetings are pretty neat, conference calls are obsolete or something a little more creative.
