Now that you’ve created your first CEU course and received approvals—congratulations! While the hardest part may seem behind you, the next steps are just as crucial. They involve strategic planning and logistical details to ensure your program’s success. Here’s how to effectively launch and grow your in-person CE program:
Focus on Your Target Audience
When launching your CEU program, it's essential to focus on who you want to educate and for whom the course was originally designed. Your target audience could include interior designers, architects, professional engineers, or even plumbers. Identifying your key demographic early on enables you to tailor your efforts and resources toward the right audience, ensuring a more effective and impactful program.
Invite the Right Instructors
Most companies don’t have a dedicated team of CEU presenters, so you’ll need to tap into your existing resources. Look for people in your organization who regularly build relationships with the architecture and design (A&D) community. Ideal candidates may include:
- Topic Experts
- Sales representatives (both in-house and out in the field)
- A&D representatives
- Brand ambassadors
- Distributors and their networks
- Showroom staff
Once you’ve identified potential presenters, it’s essential to train and equip them with everything they need to be effective. Make sure they’re comfortable presenting the material and understand how to engage with your audience.
Best Practice: Make sure your instructors are both knowledgeable and effective at presenting. Conduct practice sessions and review attendee feedback to assess who engages best with the audience.
Determine Where to Present
Your presenters likely already have connections within the A&D community and can recommend ideal venues for your events. Common options include:
- Architecture and Design firms
- Design centers
- Showrooms
- Conferences
- Local chapters of professional associations
- National Webinars
You can hold a presentation anywhere your target audience gathers. Don't forget, you can always set up a hybrid event. This allows you to present live in person while simultaneously broadcasting via a webinar platform to reach a remote audience. Collaborating with your marketing team can also provide valuable insights and resources to help you secure the best venues and reach the right people.
Promote Your CEU Events
Once you’ve selected a location, created the event, the next step is to fill the seats, and effective promotion is key. Organic outreach, like invitations from your brand, often yields the best results. Additionally, by selecting 'Public' for your event on www.ceuevents.com, you can attract over 20% of registrants through the platform’s built-in exposure. To further boost attendance, regularly promote your CEU Events Company Profile, which lists your upcoming events, by sharing the link through newsletters, social media, or Google Ads. Always include the registration link from CEU Events so attendees can easily sign up and receive their certificates and credits where applicable.
On the Day of the Event
Presenters should come prepared for attendance recording by having the Attendance Reporting Guide on hand and ensuring the Attendance Slide is updated before each session. Ensure your presenters avoid directly promoting your company or products during the approved portion of the presentation, as attendees are there to learn. You can take a few minutes before starting to introduce yourself and your company. After the presentation, feel free to open the floor for questions and, at that time, share any samples or literature. Be sure to prepare a follow-up that's relevant to your audience and their needs. It is the presenter's responsibility to follow the process to ensure attendance is accurately recorded. Once this is completed correctly, attendees will be able to instantly download their certificate of completion, and CEU Events will report their credits where applicable.
After the Presentation: Follow-up and Reporting
Ensure that presenters have follow-up communications planned. If there were any unanswered questions during the event, they should address these as soon as possible. Data and reporting are crucial for your success, so it’s important to establish KPIs for your presenters and regularly review the reporting module. This will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your CE program.
Scaling Your Program
Once you’ve reached your initial event goals, you’ll need to introduce a new course to revisit the same firms. Attendees cannot earn another credit for the same course during its lifecycle, so offering fresh content is essential. For a more mature program, or as you enter the second phase of your CEU program, we recommend having at least four courses in your portfolio, updating around 25% of the content each year.
CEU Events platform provides a structured, scalable foundation for your program by streamlining administrative tasks, managing presenters, and tracking event data. This allows your program to grow efficiently without losing control of essential details.
Ways to Scale:
- Increase the number of instructors
- Introduce new courses regularly
- Set quotas for your presenters (e.g., one CEU event per quarter)
- Start small, but aim high. For example, if 10 presenters each host just one event per quarter, you’re looking at nearly 40 events a year—an excellent way to build momentum.
Conclusion
Launching your live, in-person CEU program is a significant accomplishment. By strategically planning your target audience, selecting skilled instructors, and leveraging marketing efforts, you can ensure your program’s success. As you grow, don’t forget to establish a sound infrastructure that will allow you to scale seamlessly. With the right approach and tools, your CEU program can become an integral part of your brand’s outreach and relationship-building strategy.
Remember, the CEU Events staff will be there to support you whenever you need assistance, including conducting bi-annual account reviews to help you stay on track and maximize the value of your program.