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Save Chores For Home; Make Your Meetings Management Fun

Reduce your stress—check out our top do's and don'ts for meetings management.

Hosted buyer meetings in Berlin 2024.
Hosted buyer meetings in Berlin 2024.
Photo: Courtesy of BW Events Tech

Let's face it: While meetings are crucial for many in-person events, they can be a chore for attendees, sponsors, and organizers alike.

Organizers have to manage meeting logistics and make sure all of those elements are appropriately visible while dealing with last-minute changes. This can feel like a Herculean task.

From an attendee/buyer perspective, even with the best intentions, it's easy to forget to prioritize setting up a profile, researching the attendee list, and setting meetings. And if attendees/buyers don't do their part, then where do the sales reps and sponsors even begin?

Check out our do's and don'ts of meetings management so your program can feel less like doing the laundry and more like going to an event.

Do's

  • Do make sure that your event should have meetings programming in the first place. Consider the objective of your event and the benefits of having structured meeting slots/times/tables available.

  • Do make it fun! There are many reasons why connecting at an event in a meeting format can be beneficial for everyone involved! Find out about what your attendees care about and drive those points home!

  • Do think about meetings from the beginning of your event cycle. Consider questions like, Can we gather important data for attendees in registration? Will there be a meetings opt-in at registration?

  • Do make sure whatever you're using to schedule meetings is compatible with your registration platform. If it is not native, is your tool compatible with APIs?

  • Do consider who at your event will be able to attend meetings, who has to attend meetings, and any other parameters. Mapping these out in advance will help keep your vision (and tech configuration) clear

Don'ts

  • Don't leave room for human error. A can-do attitude is important in events, but that does not mean you have to do everything manually yourself. Consider initial cost versus time and manual labor savings.

  • Don't forget about your sales reps and sponsors! Everyone's profile should contain relevant and helpful information. Including things like pictures and custom meeting fields helps paint a picture and make sure the meetings being set are a good match for everyone.

  • Don't assume just because you are hosting an event that people will register for meetings. Make sure your attendees understand the benefits of meetings and get them excited for them.

  • Don't forget to leverage your marketing team to encourage your attendees to book meetings. Announcements on socials, inclusions in the newsletter, specifically crafted emails—getting the word out and reminding your attendees about important deadlines and tasks is about quantity and quality.

  • Don't assume reminders to schedule meetings will be enough. Incentives matter! Whether it's a contractual requirement for a hosted buyer, or a gamification for attendees, a little incentive (and FOMO) goes a long way.

If you're looking for some advice about incorporating meetings management into your next event, the BW Events Tech team can help. Contact us at [email protected], or learn more about BW's custom meetings management solution here.