The Essential Guide to Business Matchmaking

1
Eventdex
T H E E S S E N T I A L G U I D E T O B U S I N E
S S M A T C H M A K I N G
H a r n e s s T h e P o w e r O f B u s i n e s s
C o n n e c t i o n s
2
Eventdex
TABLE OF C O N T E N T S
PAGE NO.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
3
Chapter 1 What is business matchmaking? 4
Chapter 2 Why use business matchmaking? 6
Chapter 3 Benefits of having business matchmaking at events 9
Chapter 4 Where to use business matchmaking app? 11
Chapter 5 How to use business matchmaking app? 13
Chapter 6 Features of business matchmaking app 15
C O N C L U S I O N
17
w w w. e v e n t d e x . c o m
3
INTRODUCTION
The live event offers a unique opportunity for
brands to forge meaningful personal
connections. It is an integral part of any
organizations 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 doesnt provide enough
chances for attendees to capitalize building
those long-lasting connections. And thats where
business matchmaking can be so crucial.
Eventdex
3
4
WHAT IS -BUSINESS MATCHMAKING?
CHAPTER 1
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. Lets 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.
Eventdex
4
5
For attendees, there are not enough opportunities
to network with the right exhibitors. In most
cases, the attendees dont 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. Abusiness matchmaking
appallows 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 more productive. In return, exhibitors receive
better quality leads to boost their ROI.
DISCOVER
CONNECT
Eventdex
TRANSFORM
5
6
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
todays 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.
CHAPTER 2
Eventdex
6
7
Eventdex
Reason 1 High Demand From Attendees Attendees
come to events like trade shows and big
conferences for several reasons. They want to be
up-to-date on industry trends, see and
experience latest technology 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
dont 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 dont have to make
elaborate introductory presentations for the
matched leads.
EXHIBITORS BOOTH
7
8
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 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.
8
w w w. e v e n t d e x . c o m
9
HOW CAN BUSINESS MATCHMAKING EVENTS PUT YOU ON
TOP?
CHAPTER 3
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 ahigher
ROI for exhibitors and sponsors? Here are the top
three benefits of using a business matchmaking
app.
Eventdex
9
10
Benefit 1 Match Attendees With Exhibitors No
prizes for guessing the first and the most
important feature of business matchmaking apps
connecting exhibitors with prospects. Once
prospects are matched with exhibitors, they not
only save their time, but exhibitors generate
meaningful leads and prospects remain engaged
throughout the event. It offers a high level of
networking between prospects and exhibitors.
LEAD SCORING
MATCH FOUND
50 60 JHON ANDREW
95?
30
MARK Eventdex
JAMES
MARK
Benefit 2 Create Personalized Meeting
Schedules 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.
SCFHEADUSLETONED-ONE-OLNEIVMEEETIRNGYS
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 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
DETAILED REPORT
Eventdex
business.
10
11
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.
Eventdex
12
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.
Eventdex
13
HOW DO YOU USE A BUSINESS MATCHMAKING APP?
Eventdex
CHAPTER 5
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.
14
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 attendees 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.
Eventdex
15
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
Eventdex
15
16
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.
Eventdex
16
17
REQUEST demo
C O N C L U S I O N
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.
For more information, please visit
www.eventdex.com Connect with us on Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube or LinkedIn.
support_at_eventdex.com 1 [phone]