I recently found an article on Forbes.com that speaks to the business case for face to face meetings. In their study of 750 business executives, Forbes reports that “executives expressed an overwhelming preference or face-to-face meetings, with more than eight out of ten saying they like in-person contact more than virtual. Asked why, those that prefer face-to-face meetings cited how they build stronger, more meaningful relationships (85%), the ability to “read” another person (77%), and greater social interaction (75%).”
Here at MeetMax, we specialize in working with corporations for which conferences are a key part of how they provide value to their clients. At their conferences, they feature 1-on-1 meetings so that attendees can connect, in private pre-scheduled meetings, with companies with whom they may invest or otherwise do business together. Just a sample of some of the events our clients have held this summer –
- China Conference: 451 registered. 119 Attendees have 1-on-1 meetings. There are 1062 meetings in total
- Healthcare Conference: 478 registered. 92 Attendees have 1-on-1 meetings. There are 542 meetings in total.
- Automotive/Transportation Conference: 304 registered. 228 Attendees have 1-on-1 meetings. There are 2387 meetings in total.
- Energy Conference: 775 registered. 311 Attendees have 1-on-1 meetings. There are 1212 meetings in total.
At these events, attendees had on average between 4 and 10 meetings. These are meetings that are scheduled for them before they even show up at the conference — so they know in advance the value that they will get from attending. And the conference sponsor/organizer can make a strong case for attending – because they can guarantee some minimum number of private meetings. With travel budgets being slashed, conference organizers need to be able to demonstrate why attending their conference is going to provide a return on investment. And as the Forbes article points out, for the majority of business executives, face to face business development meetings provide a strong return on investment.
So that’s the case for including 1-on-1 meetings as part of your conference. But, imagine scheduling 2387 meetings on a spreadsheet! It hurts my head to think about how complex and time-consuming a task that would be, if you tried to do the scheduling without good tools.
At MeetMax, we provide you with the tools that meeting planners need to successfully manage a 1-on-1 meeting program within a conference. By integrating 1-on-1 requests with online registration, you can streamline the requests process. Our one-click scheduling tools make it simple to build the meeting schedules for each participant. And, built-in communications tools make it easy to email schedules to all participants in advance. On-site tools help you keep track of what’s going on throughout the day, and make sure that people are notified of any changes in their schedule as the day progresses.
When you are planning your 2011 user group conference, or trade association annual meeting, or industry conference – think about how 1-on-1 meetings can help you increase the ROI for your attendees and your company. If we can be of help to you, please give us a shout – meetings@twst.com.