Insider Tips to Great Event Websites - Number 7
2010-08-11 09:58:46
We asked a group of successful corporate meeting planners to share with us their insights into what makes an effective website for marketing an event. We took away 7 great tips that we've been sharing with you over the last couple of weeks. Today, we come to lucky number 7!
7. PROVIDE VALUE-ADDED CONTENT
After your event concludes, keep registered attendees engaged by providing content for download. This content might be copies of slides or handouts or podcasts/webcasts of the presentations themselves. Some content you may want to password protect, so that only registered, and paying, attendees can access. Other content you may want to make available to anyone who finds your site. One of our clients, Odyssey Media produces a annual 4 day networking conference/retreat for women and they follow up the event by posting photographs of the event on the website. This online photo diary reminds the attendees of how much they enjoyed the event, and inspires new potential attendees to seek an invite to the event the following year.
I am off to Boston for the CanaccordGenuity Growth Conference - their website is a terrific example of a well structured and complete event website. Check it out!
Making the Case for Face to Face Meetings
2010-08-02 12:13:56
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.
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.
Quantifying the Value in Corporate Access Reporting
2010-07-26 11:18:53
The article below from the Wall Street Journal identifies very significant changes in the IPO league tables in 2010. Specifically strong gains from mid size investment banks. We have seen strong interest by investment banks in using the corporate access data set (buy side meetings with corporates) as part of the ongoing dialogue with a corporate issuer. The Wall Street Transcript software is able to generate detailed reports for these discussions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954804575381221139138074.html
There is considerable value in Corporate Access reporting for the investment banking side of the business. MeetMax CAM generates the most detailed reports available for each Corporate of which buy side firms the Corporate has met with, when, and where. This can be of great value to a banker in his dialogue with the issuer as part of the day-to-day relationship management. In banking, relationship management is critical as the deals are infrequent but very profitable - and it is vital that the bank demonstrate support of the Corporate between deals.
While the role of the Corporate Broker is well established in the UK, it does not have an exact counterpart in the US. Full-service investment banks nevertheless seek to offer a comparable set of services:
1. Advising Corporates on fund raising (e.g. new issues of shares).
2. Helping generate interest among investors for the company's securities.
3. Making a market in the stock.
The global settlement of 2003 between the SEC, NASD and NYSE placed strong constraints on using research to provide Service #2 above. Corporate Access is not subject to these constraints - and is a vital part of Service #2, that is needed to get to Service #1.
We are seeing increasingly that Investment Bankers include Corporate Access reports in their presentation materials for Corporate meetings. MeetMax CAM makes that quick, easy and accurate.
Secrets to Great Event Websites: Number 4
2010-07-19 15:35:47
After a brief hiatus for vacation, we continue the series on insider secrets to great event websites -- 4. FACILITATE NETWORKING Much of the value attendees get at a conference comes from the conversations they have outside of the meeting rooms. If you want a truly successful event, you need to facilitate opportunities for your attendees to network/talk with one another. A great way to do this is to offer the ability to set appointments with exhibitors, sponsors or speakers in advance. Post a directory on the event website and offer the opportunity to request meetings as a function of registering for the conference. Want to read the whole white paper? Click here to download.
Scheduling 1-on-1 Meetings just got easier!
2010-07-01 14:25:11
You asked for more automation in scheduling 1-on-1 meetings and with our latest release, you get it! Now with one click you can schedule all of an attendee's meeting requests. It doesn't get much easier than that. MeetMax builds the schedule based on a few variables: availability, preferences, request rankings. And if you need to reschedule a meeting, MeetMax makes it easy to keep track of how an individual attendee's schedule changes over time. Are you new to coordinating 1-on-1 meetings? Our MeetMax customer support specialists can offer suggestions on how to go about managing the 1-on-1 process, and can train you on how to use the MeetMax 1-on-1 scheduling tool. Click here to read more about MeetMax's latest release.