Focus groups with Corporate, Agency and Incentive Buyers
Jaime McAuley, Event Director, ibtm america commented: “Our focus is to offer both buyers and suppliers a platform to grow their business in the global meetings, events, conference and incentives industry, ensuring maximum ROI for both exhibitors and planners. Confirming the right profiling of both planners and suppliers is fundamental to the matching process and we continually strive to create an improved individual experience for our Hosted Buyers, based around pre-scheduled business appointments, networking and learning.”
The show team will take to the road this month to engage in focus groups as well as customer visits all over the US. The first will be held in Southern Florida followed by another on the East Coast in early December. The purpose of this qualitative research will be to gain a clearer understanding of both exhibitor requirements and buyer business patterns and objectives.
The new recruitment process will also involve the use of LinkedIn Navigator, reaching out to the other ibtm events and their association partners as a resource, recruiting buyers incrementally with exhibitors, research to understand how much of an issue “preferred suppliers” are for corporate planners in America, the use of “industry spiders” to gain access to the right corporate planners and gain introductions, targeting Fortune 1000 corporates and adding new meeting planners to existing database as well as face to face and telephone screening of buyers.
Christine Gaudet, Director of Events, Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTEN), commented: “I had heard about the event but never attended. I wanted to check it out and I was impressed– I loved the one-on-one meetings set up, it was very well run. I was able to discover more about Chicago and I’m running a summit there next week. I also found a couple of vendors I’m planning on using, secured a mobile app provider for my meeting in Chicago this week, and discovered a few venues and destinations that I’ll be considering for future events. I can sum ibtm america up in two words: well done!”
Edward Weller, Account Director, Digital Mauve, commented: “ibtm america was a great opportunity to speak to people who we don’t normally see. I was given a couple of briefs for international events and found a new DMC. I also met with a private jet company that was a great contact. The keynote speakers and the session on planning incentive travel inspired me. The event was really good, not only my appointments, but the networking opportunities as well.”
Meeting professionals who apply to attend this event as Hosted Buyers will be selected on their business influence and buying power, both in the region and globally.
Hosted Buyer Registration will be going live in January. For further information, please visit http://www.ibtmamerica.com/Register-Today/Hosted-Buyer-Registration/
For further information about exhibiting, please visit www.ibtmamerica.com
