At B2B events, such as trade shows, road shows, conferences, and corporate events, attendees learn about your organization, brand, and products. However, the primary goal is to meet with your customers and prospects. That means you need to book business meetings, which is where seeds are planted and deals get made.
Of course, there are all different types of meetings and engagements to book, depending on the type of customer or prospect. Every meeting type serves a different purpose, which is why it’s a good idea to understand each one individually. Let’s discuss the various types of meetings you need to hold at B2B events and what you can do to schedule them efficiently.
The role of meetings and sessions at B2B events
According to Markletic, 94% of B2B companies measure event success by “pipeline generated.” In other words, they’re focused primarily on creating opportunities that salespeople can later convert into revenue. How do they do it? By scheduling B2B meetings and sessions.
Think about it. Even if you don’t convert a lead at the event, that opportunity may convert down the line. In fact, 86% of B2B companies see a positive return on investment (ROI) around seven months after the event.
Quite simply, B2B events are where high-quality meetings take place. Whether it be an executive session or an informal meeting, it doesn’t really matter — the key is that attendees get a chance to interact with, understand and evaluate your brand at a pivotal point in their buyer journey.
Therefore, it’s no wonder why 97% of B2B marketers believe in-person events have a major impact on achieving business outcomes. From brand awareness to sales conversions and everything in between, organizations can count on event marketing to produce positive results on a dependable basis.
9 essential B2B meeting types
Planning meetings at B2B events isn’t quite so simple. In the past few years, several challenges have started undercutting the benefits of B2B event marketing, with rising costs leading the way. 65% of B2B event organizers ranked decreasing budgets among their top three concerns in 2022. Worse yet, 57% report less value for their money compared to 2019.
With budgets stretching thin, it’s important that marketers begin planning meetings with greater efficiency. How? For starters, they can introduce new types of meetings into the fold, booking engagements based on the meeting type with the best chance of conversion. By tailoring each specific meeting to the needs of the participants, organizations can capitalize on more opportunities and get more out of their budget.
And the good news? No need for brainstorming. We’ve already assembled a list of the nine types of meetings you should schedule at your next B2B event. Let’s explore each one individually by breaking them down into two categories: 1-1 business meetings and 1-Many engagements.
1-1 Meetings
A 1-1 business meeting is exactly as it sounds: a formal meeting between one employee at your organization and someone from another. Although these can be remote meetings, all are best served face-to-face.
- Demo meetings: This meeting type includes a product demonstration, wherein the interested prospect gains a “hands-on” evaluation of the product and has the freedom to ask questions whenever necessary. This is key for prospects at the evaluation/consideration stage of the sales funnel.
- Expert meetings: Internal subject matter experts often sit down with participants to discuss products and solutions with a bit more granular insight. This special meeting is effective as a tool for earning the trust of the attendee.
- Sales meetings: Looking to accelerate the sales cycle? No surprise, a sales meeting is the right idea. Here, a sales team member sits down with a prospect and inches them closer to conversion.
- Executive briefings: An executive session is a special meeting wherein a C-suite employee reviews strategic updates and opportunities with the potential client.
- Dinner meetings: Some business meetings happen off-site at a restaurant. The beauty of this idea is that participants get to foster a connection and strengthen their relationship over a good meal.
- PR/AR meetings: Public Relations/Analyst Relations meetings are held between internal team members and targeted media members to amplify share of voice.
1-Many Engagements
On the other hand, 1-Many engagements involve someone at your organization meeting with several stakeholders from one or more businesses. These include:
- Tracks and sessions: Here, an internal team member provides a business or technical presentation on a relevant topic, product or service offering. This gives prospects a chance to learn about these areas in depth, influencing their decision-making process.
- Booth tours: When exhibiting at a B2B event, organizations often take potential clients on guided tours around their space, overviewing displays as they go.
- Roundtables: Need to sit down and talk things out? Try a roundtable. Here, you hold meetings with multiple parties about various topics of common interest.
The meeting scheduling process
With so many types of meetings at your fingertips, you might wonder how anyone can possibly schedule them all at scale. Most organizations plan dozens or even hundreds of business meetings, but some don’t have the tech stack required to optimize the process.
Too many event managers rely on manual tools and spreadsheets to schedule meetings and sessions. Why doesn’t this work? Because manual workflows are prone to time-zone errors, double-bookings and other costly mistakes. Worse yet, they don’t produce actionable insights about meetings, since they don’t automatically share the meeting agenda with the participants and they require too much back-and-forth communication.
Clearly, event marketers have a problem on their hands — even if they don’t know it. The good news? Automation is the easy answer to increase efficiency even amidst rising costs and staffing shortages.
With a meeting scheduling automation platform like Jifflenow’s eEvent software, organizations book more meetings at B2B events, thereby generating pipeline and influencing more revenue. Schedule sessions by meeting type, map attendees to the right internal experts and take the pain out of scheduling meetings — all in one comprehensive dashboard.
Want to learn more about Jifflenow’s meeting scheduling automation platform? Request a demo today.
