THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BUSINESS MATCHMAKING

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THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BUSINESS MATCHMAKING Harness The Power Of Business Connections

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TABLE OF

C O N T E N T S

PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION 1:

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What is business matchmaking?

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Chapter 2 :

Why use business matchmaking?

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Chapter 3 :

Benefits of having business matchmaking at events

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Chapter 4 :

Where to use business matchmaking app?

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Chapter

Chapter

5:

How to use business matchmaking app?

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Chapter

6:

Features of business matchmaking app

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CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION The live event offers a unique opportunity for brands to forge meaningful personal connections. It is an integral part of any organization’s marketing strategy. Live events thrive on networking, and each connection made during the event can go a long way. According to an industry report published by The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), 87% of exhibitors depend on face-to-face events to market their products and services. The report also mentions that 76% of attendees believe that face-to-face interaction with potential vendors and suppliers is very critical for buying products or services [1]. But sometimes, a busy exhibition or conference doesn’t provide enough chances for attendees to capitalize building those long-lasting connections. And that’s where business matchmaking can be so crucial.

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CHAPTER #1

WHAT IS -BUSINESS MATCHMAKING? Business matchmaking is a smarter way to connect attendees and sponsors. It is generally done through a mobile and cloud-based application that helps event planners connect attendees with sponsors and exhibitors, depending upon the type of event. It is a sure shot way to create more leads that are more appropriate for your businesses. Let’s take a look at a common scenario at business events.

In a large tradeshow or conference, there are a large number of attendees and exhibitors. This results in exhibitors meeting too many attendees too quickly. What that means is that exhibitors get several unqualified leads, which, in most cases, do not convert into business opportunities. For the attendees, it is a logistical nightmare to find the right exhibitor who can provide them the services or products they are looking for.

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For attendees, there are not enough opportunities to network with the right exhibitors. In most cases, the attendees don’t even know if the exhibitors can offer them the products or services they are looking for. For exhibitors, there is not enough ROI since they do not get enough qualified leads at events. Using business matchmaking can be a good option to bring both parties together based on their common interest and maximize the value of breakout sessions for both exhibitors and attendees. With the one-on-one meeting, exhibitors can build relationships and understand their customers’ needs in a relaxed and dedicated environment.

As conferences continue to evolve, the traditional methods of sponsorship are changing. With a decline in the traditional booth-style setups, event professionals around the world need to look for innovative methods of bringing exhibitors close to attendees. A business matchmaking app allows event organizers to easily and efficiently manage their matchmaking event. A basic matchmaking app allows attendees to choose the products/services they are interested in. Based on their preferences, the app matches them with the list of exhibitors who have such offerings. Once is matched, attendees can then even request a private meeting with exhibitors and save a ton of time and be

DISCOVER

more productive. In return, exhibitors receive better quality leads to boost their ROI.

CONNECT

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CHAPTER #2

WHY USE IT? To acquire a newer audience, to keep bringing the old attendees back to events, and to provide higher value to exhibitors, event organizers need to adopt the right event technology. Even in today’s digital era, there are several event organizers who rely on old-fashioned, paper-driven methods for connecting exhibitors with the right attendees. Here are the top four reasons why event planners need to provide an innovative way to match the right audience with exhibitors at their business and professional events.

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Reason #1 High Demand From Attendees

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Attendees come to events like trade shows and big conferences for several reasons. They want to be up-to-date industry trends, see and experience latest technology on industry solutions, and find new products/services. They also look to meet new people and create stronger connections.

Networking with the right exhibitor and finding the best product matches have become the most popular features demanded by attendees. According to a recent report published by Bizzabo in 2017, 95% of marketers agree that live events provide attendees with a valuable opportunity to form in-person connections in an increasingly digital world.

Reason #2 Exhibitors Need Higher Roi Driving the right traffic to exhibitors’ booths can be a challenge if your event has a variety of segments and categories. On top of that, 80% of trade show exhibitors don’t follow up with their show leads (according to a report published by Salesforce in 2012). To get higher ROI at trade shows, exhibitors can use a business matchmaking app to upload their content and engage registrants with their content even before the event starts. It will ensure that exhibitors get accurate recommendations to generate more and better pre- and post-show leads. Matchmaking technology makes it easier for exhibitor to convert these meaningful leads into business opportunities. It also makes exhibitors more productive because they don’t have to make elaborate introductory presentations for the matched leads.

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Reason #3 Rising Millennial Buyers And Decision Makers Millennial buyers and decision makers have increased as the number of millennial professionals continue to rise. What that

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means for the event industry is that these decision makers are also early adopters of technology. Adding to that, this generation also believes a lot more in the experiences and connections they form through their own interaction via social media and mobile apps. This generation, even though they are new to face-to-face meetings, demand more engaging and memorable moments online, especially during the search and planning stage.

Reason #4 Pressure On Event Planners To Extend Life Of Their Event As an event planner, the pressure of extending the life of events and keeping attendees coming back for more has never been higher than today. To thrive in this highly competitive and distracting age, event organizers need to extend the visibility of their brand and keep attendees engaged throughout the event.

During the event, business matchmaking apps provide opportunities to attendees and exhibitors to build real connections so that they stay in touch even after the event. This, in turn, helps event planners to increase the long-term value of their brand and keep those attendees and exhibitor coming to the event year after year.

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CHAPTER #3

HOW CAN BUSINESS MATCHMAKING EVENTS PUT YOU ON TOP?

By now, it is obvious that business matchmaking is crucial to events. But what exactly are the benefits of a business matchmaking app? How can this easy and intuitive tool help you create a memorable event, all while delivering a higher higher ROI ROI for exhibitors and sponsors? Here are the top three benefits of using a business matchmaking app.

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Benefit #1 Match Attendees With Exhibitors No prizes for guessing the first and the most important LEAD SCORING

feature of business matchmaking apps: connecting

50 %

exhibitors with prospects. Once prospects are matched with

JHON

30 %

exhibitors, they not only save their time, but exhibitors

JAMES

MATCH FOUND

60 % ANDREW

95% MARK

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generate meaningful leads and prospects remain engaged throughout the event. It offers a high level of networking between prospects and exhibitors.

Benefit #2 Create Personalized Meeting Schedules FAST DELIVERY

SCHEDULE ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS

Creating personalized meeting schedules between prospects and exhibitors comes handy if your event is aimed at different audiences. Having a unique agenda for your attendees based on their job title, interests, registration level or any other criteria drives higher engagement and creates customized event experiences. It helps attendees to arrange their meetings even before the event starts.

Benefit #3 Track Event Data And Get Detailed Reports We all know that event data is a gold mine and is critical to the success of any event. A matchmaking app is your secret weapon of live event data and can give insights like never before. For an event organizer, the app allows them to see attendees’ movements and get

DETAILED REPORT

information about their preferences. For an exhibitor, they can get their business matchmaking data exported to their CRM. This will help them further analyze which attendee profile is best suited for their

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CHAPTER #4

WHERE SHOULD YOU USE A BUSINESS MATCHMAKING APP? A business matchmaking app is ideal for big conferences where sponsors and exhibitors are involved. These apps are also perfect for trade manifestations, conferences, business matchmaking events, and other special groups conducting b2b meetings. Here are few events where a business matchmaking app can add real value.

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Category #1 Government Conferences Large government conferences can use business matchmaking apps to better align the interests between buyers and suppliers. The app will ensure a higher rate of success while procuring new products and services.

Category #2 Tradeshows Large trade show organizers can use business matchmaking apps to connect hosted buyers with exhibitors. With a hosted buyer program in place, the trade show organizer can also encourage more exhibitors to participate at the tradeshow.

Category #3 Trade Missions At trade missions, businesses can directly meet potential clients in their markets. They can schedule one-on-one meetings with government officials, people from the industry, and other representative from legal and business communities.

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HOW DO YOU USE A BUSINESS MATCHMAKING APP? Once you purchase the license of a business matchmaking app, setting up the platform is just a few simple steps. Generally, these apps give each attendee the option to set up their profile and update their preferences. After setting the preferences and creating a profile, the participants can search for possible partners and schedule meetings with them. The participants can also generate a personalized schedule for themselves that can be used during the event.

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Some advanced business matchmaking apps also allow attendees to create various types of appointments, including open, semi-open, closed and custom appointments.

Open appointment: Open events can be created if the attendees wish to meet exhibitors based on their interest and time availability.

Closed appointment: These appointments are private and not open to the public. In such scenarios, exhibitors choose the people they want to meet depending on the needs mentioned in the attendee’s profile.

Semi-Open appointment: This type of appointment gives the exhibitors an option to either accept or reject the attendees they want to meet. However, attendees are free to choose whomever they want to meet.

Custom appointment: Custom appointments give the event organizers the power to choose any combination to create custom scenarios.

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CHAPTER #6

WHAT DO THESE APPS DO? Matchmaking app providers who claim to have the best app in the market are a dime a dozen. However, it is up to the event organizers to decide which solution will work best for their events. While a lot of app providers will vouch for having “something extra� for the event organizers, many of the features remain common across the board. Some of the basic features of a matchmaking app include:

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Feature #1 Set Up The Networking Parameters Create parameters for your attendees and exhibitors to network at your event and get full control over the attendees’ experience.

Feature #2 Engage Your Attendees Before The Event Have a pre-event online interaction to encourage networking even before the event begins.

Feature #3 Build Various Networking Profiles Event organizers can segment audiences into groups and decide their corresponding profiles. This will allow attendees to create meaningful business relationships with the right audiences.

Feature #4 Notify Attendees A business matchmaking app is one of the best ways to send meeting request alerts and automatically build the networking schedule. It also informs participants about last-minute updates.

Feature #5 Post-Event Reports A business matchmaking app helps event organizers and exhibitors get a detailed breakdown of event analytics such as buyer participant details, buyer and vendor break down by location, and meeting survey details.

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CONCLUSION Business Matchmaking has become a vital component of networking at live events. As new technologies come into the market, event organizers will sooner or later adopt this technology to increase engagement and generate higher ROI for their exhibitors. There are several benefits to using a business matchmaking app, including creating plenty of opportunities to connect buyers and sellers and increase networking with peers. It is a new technology that builds lasting business relationships, and the time is just right to harness the power of connections.

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