_{How to facilitate successful B2B Meetings at your event}

Updated on: June 3, 2020

We now have experience in organizing hundreds of events and we notice the question; “Where do we organize the physical meetings/business meetings at our event?” is not as simple as it sounds.

There are many decisions involved. For example, ask yourself: Is the experience of the encounter more important for the visitor, or for the exhibitor? What level of dedication or commitment do you expect in pre-scheduled meetings? Am I willing to fully reserve a space at the event for networking? And so there are more of these kinds of, at first glance, 'simple' questions that are important.

In this blog, you will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of meeting design at your event, based on our experiences in organizing meetings at trade fairs, conferences and networking events.

Why schedule meetings in advance? The first question is: Why should I make it possible for attendees to pre-schedule meetings during my event? In our opinion, the main reason for this is: Return on Time! For participants and exhibitors, time is the most valuable thing there is at an event. Every “event tool” should aim to increase Return on Time.

As little time as possible should be 'wasted' searching for a specific room, waiting for your badge to enter, and finding the right person to have a meeting with.

By offering the possibility to schedule meetings prior to the event, you ensure that participants can plan the day in advance, just like sessions they want to attend.

_{The various facilities for event meeting locations}

General locations: The simplest way to set up meeting locations is to use general areas such as at 'the entrance' or a 'meeting point'. The advantage of this is that it is especially very easy to set up. It requires little coordination with the operational team and as long as there is a banner that defines the place, it's good. However, there are major drawbacks. In general, people will not actually go to the appointment as often as there are no specific meeting tables assigned to the appointment. In addition, people are more likely to get frustrated when they can't easily find the person they've met with.

Meeting tables: Numbered tables that are automatically assigned when a meeting is accepted ensure a smooth experience. When used properly, visitors can successfully streamline 10+ meetings in a day, with a minimum of no-shows.

Stands: For any event where the seller's product or stand is important, it is crucial that the appointments take place at the stand. For example, at ProWein, Germany's largest wine trade fair, where all appointments are at the stand itself. Indeed, more than 6,000+ exhibitors want to show off their wines. This requires clear communication and guidance about whether the meetings take place at the stand and where the stands are.

Hybrid: Several of our customers have successfully implemented the “Hybrid Model”. This model combines a small zone with meeting tables for mutual agreements between visitors and also the possibility to meet with the exhibitor at the stand. This video shows how the designated space functioned for Imble Live, where around 45% of the appointments took place. The other 55% of the appointments were at the exhibitors' stands, which shows that this makes for a better experience for all meetings.

_{Choice Overview Meeting Locations}

For convenience, we have created an overview below that will hopefully help you choose where meetings take place.

_{Profitable Meeting Room Ideas}

One of the difficulties that organizers have with meeting locations is that it does not necessarily provide more income, in contrast to square meters for exhibitors. We have two smart ideas to monetize the meeting location and make it a great opportunity for sponsors.

_{Sponsored Meeting Rooms}

During Money 20/20 US, the meeting room was named the PayPal Lounge and was a fully sponsored spot in the middle of the show floor. This fits perfectly with PayPal's brand that allows companies to do more business with smooth payments, which ensures great brand recognition. Below are our CEO; Tim Groot and exhibitor manager Laurie Delpino at Money 20/20 USA:

_{Premium Meeting Tables}

Another “premium” idea we're excited about is having premium tables in your meeting room. For example, you have 30 regular tables and 10 premium tables for a specific company that have all meetings in one room. This optimizes the use of space and offers these 10 companies an exclusive experience that distinguishes them from other companies.

Did we miss something? We'd love to hear your feedback as we continue with more “connected” events by Grip's intelligent matchmaking platform.

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