B2B MATCHMAKING MEETINGS IN TRADE SHOWS

Matchmaking meetings are pre-scheduled, face-to-face, networking meetings between an event’s participants. They are a popular method of increasing the efficiency of trade events. 72.7% of the trade fair organizers surveyed by UFI in 2012 claimed that they have organized at least one matchmaking event in past 3 years.

In this article I try to present a few successful examples of matchmaking meetings embedded in trade fairs.

1. Paid Matchmaking Modules

Match & Meet Platform 

Match & Meet Platform is a detailed example of how a matchmaking event can be used as an income generator for an already hit trade fair. This platform offers participants the opportunity to identify and contact matching customers and suppliers on the basis of profile information contained in a variety of participation packages comprising different services. The spectrum of services extends from online contact management to appointment scheduling and personal meetings organization during the show.

Match & Meet Platform consists of five different service packages aiming four different user groups: Visitors, Exhibitors, Non-Exhibiting Vendors and Visitor Delegations. Registration is free. However free users can only respond to meeting requests made by other participants. In order to browse the database and make your own meeting selections you need to upgrade to a 3 day trial-version which will cost 99 €. Full membership cost 300 € for visitors.

Deutsche Messe will integrate Match & Meet Service to five hit shows they are organizing in Germany in 2013. These are: Domotex, CeBIT, Hannover Fair, BioTechnica and Ligna.

Full details on Match & Meet Service can be reviewed in the CeBIT website.

Euromine Expo & Conference                         

Paid matchmaking services have the advantage of only addressing the interested professionals – which promise better results to the participants. Payment can be a tool to keep unrelated people out of the system. Euro Mine Expo & Conference in Sweden which organized a matchmaking event for industry professionals attending the show in 2012 requested only 50 € from non-exhibitors and 25 € from exhibitors and conference delegates.

Below are some other examples of paid B2B Matchmaking modules embedded into exhibitions:

FASHION & TEXTILE RIGA 2013	BT1 Int’l Exhibitions	Latvia
ALIHANKINTA 2012	Tampereen Messut	Finland
BALTIC TEXTILE + LEATHER	UAB	Lithuania

2. Matchmaking Meetings Integrated in Hosted Buyer Programs

Hosted buyer programs attract qualified volume buyers to trade shows. In these programs, flight and accommodation costs of the buyers are covered by the trade show organizers. The organizers in return expect buyers to meet with a specific number of exhibitors. The meetings are held in a designated area separated from the main show floor –mostly a VIP Buyer Lounge created within one of the exhibition halls. Buyers select the exhibitors they will meet from a digital directory and use an embedded online scheduling system to book the appointments. Exhibitors also use the same system to request meeting with a hosted buyer. Every buyer has a daily meeting program which is controlled by the organizer. Matchmaking team manning the VIP Buyer Lounge can keep track of the appointments taken by each exhibitor and re-schedule any meeting which has been cancelled or postponed. Some organizers take their hosted buyers’ credit card details and charge a compensation fee for any appointment not taken by the buyer. The number of obligatory meetings per buyer changes 6 to 10 per day.

Below are some of the exhibitions that are using matchmaking meetings as an integral part of their hosted buyer programs.

MEETINGS AFRICA 2013 Hosted Buyer Program

SEAFEX Middle East & Africa Seafood Exhibition Hosted Buyer Program

IMEX 2013 Hosted Buyer Program

3. Matchmaking Modules Free and Open for All Attendees

According to a survey made by UFI in 2011, 75% of the trade show organizers do not charge a fee for matchmaking services. The reason is obvious: Matchmaking meetings promise a much higher value than money to the events they have been integrated. Matchmaking modules increase the business value of trade shows both for the exhibitors and visitors. They also increase the satisfaction of all attendants and add credibility to the show –ensuring higher attendance for the next edition. In the same survey on matchmaking made by UFI, 89,9% of the organizers claimed that their exhibitors have appreciated the matchmaking program integrated into their shows. Visitor appreciation level is stated as 85.3%.

NANOTECH 2013 JAPAN             

Qualification is the key point in matchmaking meetings. As long as you have a team dedicated to matchmaking program, free modules can be as efficient as paid matchmaking events. They can even be better. NANOTECH 2013 Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference in Japan offers ICS Business Matching System both to their visitors & exhibitors. The online appointment scheduling system allows participants to search the event database for potential business contacts, alert them on potential business opportunities and automatically arrange appointments. System allows Visitor-Visitor, Visitor-Exhibitor and Exhibitor – Exhibitor connections. This means a professional visitor registered to the matchmaking module may have opportunity to introduce his product or services to other visitors just like an exhibitor.

POLAGRA

Polish agro-food show POLAGRA organizes a different and less detailed kind of matchmaking event. The organizer holds separate thematic meetings to facilitate business between the members of two main industries within the show: Milk Sector Meeting & Meat Sector Meeting.  Applications are qualified by the organizer. After a participant (visitor & exhibitor) is approved by the organizer he can attend a seminar where he will receive information on the products & services of the attending corporations. Interested participants then stay for the second part of the event where they meet with the other attendants. This is little more than a product demonstration for pre-screened visitors. However it still adds much value to the exhibition it is integrated. You can receive a more detailed introduction in this program in the following link:

POLAGRA Matchmaking Meeting

Below are several other exhibitions which offer a free B2B Matchmaking for their registered visitors and exhibitors:

AIRTEC 2013 Frankfurt	Airtec Gmbh	Germany
ECOBUILD 2013	UBM	UK
EWEA 2013	EWEA	Austria
SIFER 2013 Rail Show	Mackbrooks	France