How Gorgias uses Vouchers to lessen webinar fatigue

More than a year of cancellations, postponements, and remote work has made it difficult to remember pre-pandemic life. For those in the events field, it has also been a year characterized by pivots and creativity. Travis Cross, Partner Marketing Manager for Gorgias, recalls when he realized COVID-19 would have drastic effects on his work: “Shopify Unite, one of the biggest events in North America, decided to go virtual. And that was very early on. That set [off] a domino effect of every single [company] shutting down physical events.”

Gorgias, a growing e-commerce help-desk platform, had previously relied on in-person events as a major leads and revenue channel. The team acted fast to move everything online, but they soon learned the challenges that come with webinars and virtual events. Cross remembers brainstorming ways to increase participation and keep people engaged, ultimately landing on meal delivery as an incentive. At first, Gorgias ordered meals for attendees through employee Uber accounts, which quickly became unsustainable. It was hard to organize the large number of meals from different restaurants as well as individual requests for food customization.  

To make the process easier and more scalable, Gorgias decided to leverage Vouchers for Uber Eats. After creating a profile on the Uber for Business platform, they could distribute the vouchers to event attendees anywhere, at any time. Participants across the globe could take advantage of the perk because Uber Eats is available in over 10,000 cities. And because vouchers allowed individuals to order for themselves, they could make sure they got exactly what they wanted. An added benefit? Voucher recipients were patronizing their local favorites, which helped support area businesses during the pandemic. 

Using Vouchers turned out to be the biggest driver of Gorgias’s virtual event attendance. “We’re a lot more confident in the webinar channel as opposed to [before] coronavirus. It wasn’t necessarily a channel we saw a lot of return in, but we found a way to make it work,” explains Cross. The success of incorporating Uber Eats into their event strategy also opened up the future possibility of using other Uber for Business offerings, like vouchers for ridesharing once physical events are up and running again. “We’re definitely looking to continue our relationship with Uber past coronavirus,” Cross says. 

Learn more about using Vouchers for your events here.