🤔 “Everyone seems to be doing webinars and seminars these days… is it right for us to just follow suit?”

If you work in B2B marketing and sales, you have probably had a thought like this at least once.

I understand that it is an opportunity to meet customers directly, but when you actually try to hold a seminar, attracting participants is difficult, and conversion feels even more daunting. Moreover, while everyone says "you have to do it," it is a channel where you rarely hear stories about how "it really works.".

Is a seminar really the right strategy for our business?

The person who can provide the most realistic answer to this question is Ahn Young-hak, CEO of Eventus. For the past 10 years, he has experimented with the seminar channel more closely than anyone else, and he has experience personally designing and operating the entire process, from lead generation to conversion, at thousands of seminar venues.

The channel where you can most clearly understand what concerns customers have is precisely that—seminars

As CEO Ahn Young-hak said, a seminar is not just a simple event, but the beginning of a process that identifies problems, initiates relationships, and leads to transformation.

In this B2B Roadmap 2025, we share strategies to turn seminars into a tangible B2B performance channel. If you are wondering, "Should we hold seminars?", this interview will be the starting point for finding the answer.

💡 Creating a platform to solve 'business problems' through seminars.

Ahn Young-hak, CEO of Eventers, a business event platform

Q. Hello, CEO! Please briefly introduce yourself.

I started a business because I enjoy discovering and solving problems.

Yes, I am Ahn Young-hak, CEO of Eventers. I have always been very interested in problem-solving, and I started my business based on that very awareness. I have been running this business for over 10 years now, but honestly, I never thought I would be in the event industry from the beginning. (Laughs)

I have come this far by contemplating the solutions I could handle at the time.

Q. Eventers is a platform that anyone in business has likely heard of at least once. I am curious to know what potential and market needs you saw that led you to start this business.

The reality that sustainability is difficult with 'good products' alone, and the transition to the seminar market

Actually, Eventers is my first startup. Initially, I focused on the education sector, specifically creating tools to facilitate better communication in the classroom. Becoming a teacher was also my dream when I was young. I wanted to make classes more interactive and create an environment where communication flowed well.

However, what I learned while starting my business was that no matter how good a product is, it must be profitable to be sustainable. The education market already had well-established systems like LMS, and even if we provided additional services within that framework, it was not easy to generate revenue.

So, naturally, I started looking into other markets and turned my attention to the seminar sector. Since seminars have a fixed budget per event, the structure for paying software usage fees was already well-established. I concluded that this could be a viable business, and that is how Eventers began.

🎯 Why You Should Pay Attention to Seminars in B2B Strategy

Q. Among various B2B strategies, is there something special about 'seminars'?

Seminars are a channel where 'our customers' come directly to us.

What makes seminars special is that customers naturally connect with us as they recognize a problem on their own and come seeking a solution. It is difficult to gauge someone's critical awareness through cold emails or advertisements. However, seminars are different. The very fact that someone signed up because they were drawn to the session topic is proof that they are grappling with issues related to that subject.

And one more thing: among channels other than meetings, seminars are the only venue where we can have a heart-to-heart conversation for at least 20 to 30 minutes. As this time accumulates, it can become the starting point of a relationship.

Q. You have co-hosted over 7,000 seminars annually with Eventers. Among those, were there any 'differentiating factors' in the cases that truly generated leads effectively?

The most successful seminars start by accurately identifying the 'customer' and the 'problem'.

Events are, after all, content. For content to work properly, the target audience must be clear, and you must accurately pinpoint their problems. However, most people plan vaguely, thinking, "AI is hot these days, so wouldn't they like a session like this?" But that approach doesn't work well.

The most successful seminars were always those that started with deep consideration of "who our customers are" and "what problems they are currently facing." Eventers offers a "Sales Webinar Package" that handles everything from planning to operation, and almost all seminars conducted using this package were highly successful in attracting participants.

The reason is simple. It is because, starting from the first meeting, I kept digging deeper by continuously asking questions such as, "Who is the customer?" and "What problem does that customer have right now that requires them to attend this seminar?".

🛠️ How to Start Seminar Planning?

Q. What are the essential questions to address in the initial planning stages of a B2B seminar?

What do we really want to sell? Then, action design comes first.

Everyone is good at attracting people themselves. The problem lies actually in what comes next. Often, there is no plan for how to identify those leads after the seminar and how to connect them to the next action. Simply sending the same introductory emails after the event is ineffective.

That is why I always say: 'What do we really want to sell through this seminar?', 'How will we segment the participants after the event?', and 'What message will we send to whom?' If you don't design these things before the seminar, the follow-up won't work properly.

Q. What do seminar topics that attract applications have in common?

The key is the most painful problem 'right now,' specific experiences, and numbers.

Ultimately, the prevailing circumstances play the biggest role. For instance, during economic downturns like the present, companies are highly interested in increasing revenue or reducing costs. Therefore, naturally, covering such topics elicits a positive response. Including keywords like AI, which is currently trending, further draws attention.

Also, messages that include specific numbers and experiences are powerful. For example, a seminar titled “Offline Lead Acquisition Strategies Based on 100 Pop-up Store Experiences” has a strong message and seems to offer valuable insights. When numbers are included like this, credibility increases, and because the topic becomes clearer, the click-through rate is much higher.

🚀 Make seminars a conversion channel, not a funnel entrance!

Q. Could you introduce any seminars held through Eventers that showed exceptionally good B2B lead conversion results?

The seminars that segmented the target audience and tailored the message yielded good results.

A prime example is the B2B sales and marketing seminar we held last May. We established the direction for our new service while preparing for that seminar. At that time, we divided our target audience into three groups: sales managers, marketing managers, and startup CEOs

Eventers' Marketing & Sales Strategy Seminar That Brought Significant Lead Results

Sales managers are interested in how to segment leads, marketers are interested in how to acquire leads, and CEOs are concerned about how to promote efficiently and connect sales. That is why I structured the sessions accordingly.

As a result, we received over 300 applications, and the attendance rate exceeded 88%. Furthermore, revenue from related services was consistently generated for one year following the event. Partner companies such as Sales Map and Outcome also participated at the time, contributing to the excellent results.

Q. What are the key points that are easy to miss for lead conversion after the seminar?

Surveys should also be designed as part of the sales flow.

In fact, many people act as if everything is over once the seminar ends, but that is actually when the real work begins. You need to have a plan for how to share leads and what actions to take with them.

Usually, once an event concludes, people often just throw out a few survey questions and finish with a satisfaction survey. However, I always think deeply when creating survey items. I ask myself questions like, "Can we differentiate customers based on the answers to this question?".

For example, sales actions should differ for those who have plans to host an event and those who do not. You can also prioritize based on the expected revenue scale. Therefore, surveys and question items must be designed from a sales perspective. With survey results, you can categorize attendees into those who want to continue the conversation immediately, those who need more time, and those who are merely interested. Based on this, you can tailor follow-up emails and determine who to call.

The subsequent flow must be designed in this way for the seminar to function properly as a channel for conversion, rather than just an entry point to the funnel.

Eventers - CEO Ahn Young-hak - Elifunt - B2B Marketing

Eventers has enhanced its sales flow through a new service that scores attendee behavior. [Source] Eventers

Q. Do you have any memories of forming a 'real relationship' through a seminar?

I found that I remained connected with the people I shared problems with.

The most memorable moment was after the B2B sales and marketing seminar held last year. That seminar didn't just gather applicants; afterwards, we became friends on LinkedIn and continued to exchange news, naturally maintaining our relationships. The people I met then are still in frequent contact with me today. This kind of network was built not only for us but also with partner companies like Sales Map and Outcome.

I believe that seminars shouldn't end as one-off events, but should instead serve as a channel for reconnecting afterward, allowing people to remember, "That person was grappling with these kinds of concerns." In fact, following that seminar, one company even scheduled meetings with all three firms: Sales Map, Outcome, and Eventus. This was possible because it became a platform for sharing and discussing problems.

I feel that seminars are most meaningful when they fulfill that role. It is not simply about introducing our service and ending there, but about developing a relationship where we empathize with the person's problems and think through them together. That is why I always recommend saying, "There is a way to solve this problem," rather than "Our service is great," during sessions.

🤝 Seminars are the beginning of relationships

Q. Lastly, there are practitioners who say, “Seminars still seem like a distant prospect for us.” Is there any advice you would like to give them?

You don't need to gather 100 people from the start. In-depth conversations with 10 people are enough.

I actually recommend it even more to teams that have never held a seminar before, especially startups or early-stage teams. If your team lacks experience generating leads or has had few opportunities to meet customers in person, there is no faster or more efficient way to connect with them than through a seminar.

You don't have to try to gather 100 people right from the start. Even 10 is fine. What's truly important is having deep conversations with those 10 people and listening to their concerns and how they view our product. If you start small like that and build upon it step by step, the scale will naturally expand, and the focus will become sharper.

And you don't have to think that a seminar must necessarily follow a grand format. In fact, these days, starting lightly with a webinar or a simple online session is sufficient. The important thing is not the format, but creating a space where a conversation with the customer can begin.

Q. What story would you like to share at this conference?

I would like to share the transition design following the seminar, as well as the specific questions and flow for this.

At this conference, I want to discuss how seminars can function as a 'conversion channel' rather than just an 'entrance to the funnel.' Most seminars focus only on attracting participants, and often lack a well-designed plan for conversion afterward.

Based on the data we have actually gathered from our seminars over the past few years, I would like to share specific details on what questions to ask to differentiate customers and what follow-up flows to design to trigger conversions. Furthermore, I want to emphasize that we are not simply ending this discussion with the Eventus platform; any team can utilize seminars as an effective sales channel if they fully understand these principles.

I hope this seminar will be a time for us to consider together how it can lead to real business results, rather than just being a means of brand promotion.

🏃‍♂️ Speaker Relay Question: What are your worries these days? I'll ask it for you!

Relay Question Runner – Desker Marketing Team Leader Yoo Hyo-young

Desker - Team Leader Yoo Hyo-young - Elifunt - B2B Marketing

Team Leader Yoo Hyo-young, who oversees marketing at Desker, gained experience in 'execution-oriented' marketing while managing BTL campaigns and spatial marketing for approximately 10 years at Leo Burnett and Innocean.

Desker has revolutionized traditional office furniture purchasing methods and generated 30,000 B2B subscribers in just over two years since its launch. In B2B Roadmap 2025, we plan to share the story of Desker's marketing strategies that bridge the boundaries between B2C and B2B.

👉 Read the interview with Desker Team Leader Yoo Hyo-young: 'Desker's Marketing Strategy That Generated 30,000 B2B Subscribers'

Q. Is there a way to maximize the motivation of individual team members? – Desker Team Leader Yoo Hyo-young

Do you have your own unique way of providing feedback to help team members feel satisfied with their work and grow? I am curious how often you speak and what aspects you focus on when communicating.

A. Continuously review your personal growth direction and goals, and even share your career concerns! – Ahn Young-hak, CEO of Eventers

I think many leaders will relate to this question. It is something we constantly think about as well. At Eventers, we have established expected roles and growth directions based on job function and years of experience. Based on this, we continue to communicate through monthly one-on-one tea times, reviews every six months, and annual salary negotiations.

What is important here is not simply feedback on whether something went well or poorly, but continuously guiding the individual toward the right direction—asking if they are on the right track and what they need to do to improve. There are many times when the team or company is on the right track toward its goals, yet the individual is unaware of where they stand. I believe it is crucial to continuously monitor this so that the individual can tangibly experience their own growth.

And one more thing: everyone has different career aspirations. So, if someone feels that their current work doesn't align with their desired career path, I make it easy for them to discuss that comfortably. Even if it isn't right now, I help them think through the process together so they can eventually shift in that direction in the long term. I believe that attitude is the core of personal motivation.

Want to hear more insights and vivid stories from the field from Eventers CEO Ahn Young-hak?

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Eventers CEO Ahn Young-hak: Is Attendance All There Is to Seminars? The Secrets of Planning and Operation Leading to Conversion