A famous psychologist, Abraham Maslow, hypothesized that there is a hierarchy to humans’ needs. Basic survival needs form the bottom of the pyramid; when people lack air, water, food, sleep, shelter, etc, they can’t really care about much else for long. But once those needs are satisfied, they become concerned with the next level of the pyramid and so on. They progress through the need for safety, then social belonging, then esteem, and finally self-actualization. To be a fully psychologically healthy person, all of the needs must be met. But the highest levels cannot be achieved unless each of the lower levels is satisfied.
It’s a theory that doesn’t just apply well to humans in general; we like to think about it in terms of technology as well. For a given piece of tech, there’s a bare minimum that needs to be met. When that level of functionality is there, users’ expectations rise. They demand progressively more. Only when the highest expectations are met can the user be fully satisfied.
Webcasting is no exception. Today’s webcasting has matured to this point. It’s no longer enough for a webcasting platform to simply work. (Although that’s certainly the bare minimum!) Today’s users have much higher expectations. Veteran webcasters have seen the disasters and know what to look for to ensure a seamless event. Some have lost faith with earlier platforms and are looking for something more sophisticated. And even those just getting started now come prepared, having read up on analyst reports about capabilities.
So what are our building blocks? What are the fundamental needs from a webcasting platform that you should make sure your Webcasting RFP covers?
If your webcast fails, there was no point.
Worse, actually – it’s an embarrassment.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways things can go wrong. Just like people need things like air, water, food, and shelter, webcasts need a number of elements to go right. Here are some topics to make sure you cover in your RFP:
Once you’re sure your webcast will actually be delivered, then it’s time to worry about making the process less hair-raising. Maslow said people need safety and social belonging. Similarly, webcasters need confidence and webcasting workflows that tie into the rest of the surrounding workflows. Make sure to include questions about:
When the technical hurdles have been cleared and webcasting has become a seamless part of the workflow, it’s time to take the user experience to the next level. If people in general want self-actualization, so do webcasting presenters and attendees. Consider the following in your RFP questionnaire:
Bottom-line, if you want your webcasting team and audience to be satisfied with their webcast experience, it’s critical to make sure you’re fully addressing all of their needs. Look for an end-to-end webcasting solution so you can address all those needs in one place, for live-to-VOD, platform to delivery, solution to services. Shouldn’t your webcasts achieve the highest levels of self-actualization? Here’s to successful webcasts and good RFP questions that will get you there.
Good luck!