I read an article in Canadian Business magazine written by Andrew Potter about the halo effect. It’s the perception that objects or people are better because of certain traits. For example:

• People are willing to pay more for organic foods because the perception is that it’s more nutritious.

• Or, that tall people are more likely to be hired because the perception is that their height makes them more competent.

The halo effect got me thinking about telesummits and virtual events…

Only Live Is Good Enough

I’ve noticed a curious habit when setting up telesummits and virtual events for my clients. Most attendees will wait until the last minute to register (70% to 80% of new sign-ups come through in the few hours before the first live session begins), then panic if they don’t get the call-in details before the first live session starts.

Despite the fact that the attendee can catch up with the recording, they will ask for a refund because they missed the first session as it was playing live.

Many treat telesummits and virtual events as a rock concert…

We grew up in an age when live was a better experience than the recording. If your favourite band came to town, you had to be there live to have something to remember for the rest of your life.

If a recording of a past concert was available for sale on DVD, you’d buy it  on your way out of the stadium knowing that the recorded experience could never compare to what you consumed live.

Another example is the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation…

When the 2-hour finale was shown on television, I didn’t record it on my VCR (remember those) so I could watch later on. In fact, I climbed on the subway and made the trip to the Rogers Centre (then called the Skydome) to watch the series finale in a stadium with over 30,000 other Star Trek fans. When the episode is shown today in syndication on television, I reflect back to what I was doing when I saw the episode live.

We have been socialized to believe that the live experience is way better than the recording. The halo effect with telesummits and virtual events is that only the live session is worth investing in.

Use On Demand Language

As telesummit and virtual event hosts, we need to use different language when referring to live vs recorded content. If the halo effect gives the perception that live is better than recorded, then we have to change the perception with what we say.

On demand content is the language we should use.

• On demand helps us sell choice to the attendee.

• On demand helps to lessen the hierarchy of consumption.

• On demand helps to democratize how attendees interact with the content.

• On demand helps to remove the stigma that one consumption style is better than the other.

How would you reflect this new reality on your sales page? How would you position on demand content so attendees understand what they’re investing in? Leave your comments below.