MEETING EXPECTATIONS

Highlighting the pros and cons of pre-scheduled appointments and walk-in meetings, industry professionals determine which meeting format would trump the other.

KAPIL GOSWAMY Managing Director Trans India Holidays

While both exhibition formats have their pros and cons, I’d say that shows that offer pre-scheduled meetings work better for us purely from a business perspective. Thanks to advancing technologies and information readily available online, one is able to take advantage of the short 15 or 20 minute prescheduled appointments by doing a bit of research about the prospective buyer, even before actually requesting for an appointment. Having pre-scheduled appointments allows us to find out a bit about the products that would potentially interest the buyer, the kind of services the buyer’s company provides, and hence gives us a head start on what to present to the buyer. Larger exhibitions like ITB are of course good from the branding perspective, and for meeting industry colleagues and pre-existing buyers, but smaller shows with pre-scheduled appointments like PATA Travel Mart, or ILTM are better from the pure business generation point of view.

GULDEEP SINGH SAHNI President Outbound Tour Operators Association of India

In my opinion, both are equally important and effective. Pre-Scheduled Appointments give visitors an opportunity to meet the exhibitors at leisure, get to know their potential client and plan future business prospects with ease. But the visitor should also have an option to meet some of the exhibitors onsite and if he finds someone important while interacting during the event, they can meet them too within the remaining slots. 50 per cent of appointments should be pre-scheduled while another 25 per cent should be for walk-in meetings. Some percentage of slot should be given to exhibitors too as they should be allowed to select the visitors they want to meet. The whole experience can be more beneficial and fruitful if a combination of all these options are offered.

NAVEEN SETH Director-Exhibitions PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry

As changes knocked the trade show experience and everyone started talking about ROI for exhibitors and visitors, the first major change that was witnessed was prescheduled meeting or more conveniently baptised match making. What Pre-Scheduled Appointments (PSA) gained over walk-in appointments is that firstly, it helps optimise the visit as it allows you to shortlist your preferences. It also ensures adequate attention from the seller so that both parties are clear about their requirements and subsequently, put their best sales resource to handle queries. Unlike walk-in, one does not have to wait for hours and wonder who the right person would be to speak to. PSAs are also often a deal-breaker for many who want to make a choice between shows that are taking place at the same time. It will help narrow that gap, as you’ll know your key suppliers and their presence in these exhibitions.

PANKAJ NAGPAL Managing Director Travstarz Global Group

Exhibitions present an opportunity for the buyers and sellers to meet not only their existing contacts, but also develop new ones and enhance their knowledge about new destinations and its service providers. But to bring about maximum benefits, it is very important to create the platform to schedule the right appointments for both buyers and sellers. The PreScheduled Appointment diary, now available for most exhibitions, is an important tool for this as it provides detailed information on the company profiles and services etc. to the buyers and sellers much before the event thereby helping in fixing the appropriate appointments and facilitate business exchange. However, even though the Pre-Scheduled Appointments are of utmost importance, the relevance of walk-in appointments cannot be ruled out completely. Many a times you may miss out on checking some important profiles in the pre-scheduled appointments diary, thus on-site appointment may bridge this gap. To summarise, both forms play an important role for a successful event but the relevance of pre-scheduled appointments is still higher.

GAURAV SUNDARAM Regional Director - India, Global Business Travel Association

Trade shows and networking opportunities are generally driven by an over-riding concern for ROI. For the exhibitors, their main concern usually is "Do they generate adequate leads & contacts to justify their investment in the event?" while buyers deliberate if the event provides them access to quality suppliers who can improve the efficiency of their program. Given both the objectives, a pre-scheduled meeting generally generates more meaningful interactions and productive discussions. Both parties have the opportunity to clearly plan their time and organise their objectives. Pre-scheduled meetings would require very clear compelling profiles of exhibitors so their offering and value proposition is clearly visible to a potential buyer.