Changing the way we train.
Updated July 28, 2020

Changing the way we train.

Tyler Hershberger | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with ON24

We provide continuing education credits for HVAC contractors throughout the US. We use ON24 to deliver that content and manage the credits. It is mainly used in our education department. Our main problem was reachability, we could only train those who could drive to our facility. With ON24 we can now broadcast our training across the country.
  • The reason we went with ON24 was for the broadcasting feature. Video quality was vital for us. We needed a simple to use tool that looked amazing. There are still some bandwidth issues, but still far superior to the alternatives.
  • One of my biggest requirements when choosing a platform was the ease of use for our attendees. Between making it very easy to sign in, and how customizable the user dashboard is, I was able to ensure the best user experience for my audience, most of whom don't use a computer much.
  • We are now in our third year with the platform and it continues to get better. The ON24 team has been very responsive when we have any concerns.
  • Freezing and buffering problems with our audience. When we first starting using their platform, ON24 was flash based. They have made strides to move to HTML 5 and adaptive bitrates, but we still get complaints of the video freezing. Most of the time, a browser refresh fixes it. I have a feeling that most of the other problems stem from someone watching Netflix in the other room.
  • The second is the mobile phone experience. For a standard webinar, it would be ok, but it is unusable for broadcast video. Since they cannot have the slide widget and the media player open at the same time, it makes it way too cumbersome to switch from video to slide to Q&A and back. Until they have an app like Citrix, I tell all my attendees to never use their phones.
  • As our reputation for providing high-quality training grows, we continue to forge more relationships in our industry. Using this platform has allowed us to forge relationships with companies like Nest and Ring.
  • Track registration and attendance
  • Enable sales follow-up
  • Identify and track top-engaged accounts
I almost always can connect instantly with chat support if I have an issue. I have had major event problems (my fault) fixed 40 min before going live, twice. In general, I have never had an issue where I could not get into the Elite platform to plan or make changes.
During quarantine our attendance exploded. We found that since we were already positioned to deliver online training content, we were in the perfect position to help provide a much needed outlet for our contractors stuck at home. We were even able to help our industry partners deliver content while they were trying to cope with the change.
In the end, it boiled down to video quality and ease of use. The video had to be in HD and stay in sync, plus it had to be easy for a contractor to sign in and participate. ON24 gave me the ability to customize the user experience. I could pre-set the user dashboard, but they still had the ability to move things around to best fit their learning style.
My best example of user-friendliness would be how easy it is to have remote presenters learn the presentation portal. With the state of the world I have had more trainers present remotely this year then I have had in the past 5. Because of our use of the Broadcast module with On24, bringing in a remote presenter was a challenge. We basically needed to use two softwares running in conjunction and because On24 was easy to pick up, my presenters had no issues.
ON24 is great for education and training. The certification widget is well thought out, giving the trainer a lot of flexibility on how to track a passing scenario for the class. Once an attendee has met the requirements, they can download a certificate that auto-fills their information. This works great if you need to interact with a third-party certification entity.

Where I cannot use ON24 is for one on one video training. We use a different solution to quickly connect with individual clients.

ON24 Feature Ratings

Audience polling
10
Q&A
10
Branding options
10
Integration to Marketing Automation
10
Participant roles & permissions
10
Confidential attendee list
10
Calendar integration
10
Record meetings / events
10
Slideshows
10
Event registration
10

ON24 and Communications During a Pandemic

After using other similar programs, the On24 event planning back end was very straight forward. You can customize almost anything you want, and if you need something changed, the On24 chat is very helpful. My favorite part of On24 is how easy I can make it for my attendees. By being able to design not only the registration page but the meeting console, I can ensure the best experience possible.
  • Customer training
  • Internal communications
  • Lead generation
  • Product Marketing

Using ON24

5 - All of us are in Marketing and or Customer Education
1 - I do all the internal support for On24 then if I need help with a problem then Incan reach out to either Chat Support or create a Tear II ticket. If you are going to support for internal users you should either enjoy learning / teaching programs or regularly be using the software yourself. Being a designer or having access to a design team is helpful.
  • Product Launches
  • Skills Training
  • Q&A interaction
  • Town Halls
  • Support Industry partners with external communications
  • Create certificated training modules
  • Content delivery
  • Content organization
We have been with 0n24 for almost 5 years, every time we had an issues they have helped us find a solution. I still have not seen another option on the market that can deliver the type of experience I can craft with On24. We have no reason to switch.

Evaluating ON24 and Competitors

Yes - WebEx - because it was too hard for my contractors to figure out that program.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
I all boiled down to two things. Could I send them a HD RTMP signal and how easy was it for a user to sign in.
I would not change anything. I tried multiple programs I’ve the course of 6 months.

ON24 Support

I have always had a great experience even if my request can’t be resolved at that time.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
No - There is no need beyond the support I have with my account.
I messed up an event start time and did not catch it until 40 min before. Because the event had already concluded I could no longer access the settings. I was able to start a chat session and have the event time changed within 20 min, allowing me to run everything as scheduled.

Using ON24

97% of our attendees say it is the best trainings they have every attended. But they other 3% have a horrible experience (while watching the event live) interesting fact. On24 uses two different encoders for live vs OnDemand. I have never had issues with the On-Demand experience. My only complaints come during live events.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Lots to learn
  • Console Creation
  • Looking at Reports
  • Event creation
  • OnDemand Slide Syncing
  • Editing slides once uploaded to the event
  • Looking up events attended by a specific person
Yes - I want to preface with that I use the Broadcast module, not the standard meeting setup. We have four they the mobile experience is the worst part of On24 (for our attendees)

they are not able to see the video and slides at the same time while using a phone, and the event keeps freezing while using a tablet. We tell our attendees to only use a laptop or desktop.