‘Hosted Buyer Programs’ or ‘Hosted Buyer Events’ is a term long known by many Event Organizers. For those of you who may not be so familiar with the term, a hosted buyer event is a program of pre-arranged appointments between qualified buyers and sellers - this is done by the event organizer.
Why is this so important?
Besides guaranteeing that every participant or attendee will have an appointment, the guests can also know in advance how to best manage their time and resources.
However, regardless of the innovations for in-person, virtual, or hybrid events, encountering the right connection, acquiring qualified leads and closing business fast remains a challenge.
How can you, therefore, build successful Hosted Buyer Events?
As event industry professionals, we aim to stay ahead of the game and add value to our clients by choosing to use more technology, securing better speakers, speaking about relevant topics, and other gimmicks that lead to the ‘wow’ effect we want from our audiences. In hosted buyer programs both the attendee and vendor have a guaranteed potential value with those pre-scheduled appointments yet there are other things to take into consideration.
1. Partner up with a powerful technology partner
Part of ensuring value for all attendees is making sure that they find the right times to engage with the people they’d like to network with. By partnering up with a powerful technology that avoids conflicts between meetings, seminars, or workshops you can ensure they utilize their time at your event efficiently; in a way that brings them the biggest return on their investment.
Possessing a powerful algorithm allows you to generate the attendee and host schedules automatically, leaving you extra time to engage in other things.
At Deal Room we have built-in functions designed to assist event organizers in delivering successful hosted buyer event experiences:
Book 1-1 meeting: Attendees can book 1 on 1 meeting.
Pre-booking: Event organizers can pre-book meetings for attendees before the event.
Set number of meetings held: Event organizers can decide on the different ticket types, the max number of meetings per ticket.
Buyer-seller Roundtables: The event organizer can create roundtable meetings for buyers-sellers.
VIP Ticketing: The event organizer can decide which ticket type can connect and meet different ticket types.
2. Review qualification criteria set for attendees
To ensure the quality of the matches, emphasize selection criteria.
Most planners use typical criteria such as the annual budget, target industry or market, etc. Aim to introduce other criteria that facilitate the selection process by thinking about what other decisions would help the business between the matches more likely to occur. For instance, understanding how soon the buyer is willing to make the purchase? Is it in three months, a year from now, etc. This type of criteria will assist you, the event organizer, in making quality matches that are more likely to generate business together and guarantee attendee satisfaction.
3. Follow-up on invitations sent
Another step towards ensuring a successful ROI on Hosted Buyer event is a follow-up on emails sent. Attendees who go to the event, whether in-person, live, or hybrid, will build off the experience from their meeting. Thus, it is important to make sure all your guests attend. Sometimes, some emails may end up in spam and we want to avoid any sort of communication being missed. You want to make sure your communication channels are in good working order.
4. ROI in time!
Part of the success of the event is ensuring that every meeting is held on time and in accordance with the program so that each attendee can follow their schedule.
The former can be ensured by 1.) determining which processes during the event may lead to probable bottlenecks and then 2.) implementing tactics to reduce this risk. For instance, to welcome guests have two separate lines: one for registration and another for credential pick-ups. These small details can help save time, avoid bottlenecks, and allow your attendees to meet on time!
In the case of hybrid events, where one seller can be on-site in the Americas and is scheduled to have an online buyer in Europe, you have to take into account the times available to meet, that the virtual attendee may want to commit to fewer meetings than on-site due to #ScreenFatigue, etc.
5. Content is King & It includes feedback.
Asking your attendees for feedback can lead to a better future experience but also provides them a channel to communicate and make sure you are serving their needs while they spend time at your event.
These simple yet powerful tips can help craft a successful Hosted Buyer Event for your attendees.
Feel free to reach out for more information and guidance.
July 16, 2022
About me:
After seven years of translation experience in the management-related field and a passion for digital marketing, I was given the opportunity to work with the Cloud Markethink Agency and CloudTalk Global, the largest cloud computing event in Eurasia, as a team member to manage business events.
Additionally, working with Deal Room Events has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on and expand my experience as a content event marketing professional.
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