What are Meeting Automation Platforms and Why are They Important?
Tags: Conference, Meetings, Events, B2B

According to recent research, meeting automation is an up-and-coming industry that is expected to grow from $500 million to $3 billion by 2023. So what is this hot new tech? How can it help you? In this blog, we’ll explore and answer those questions.

About Meeting Automation Platforms

Meeting automation platforms (MAPs) simplify the conference and trade show experience by automating the tasks and activities for which you typically rely on spreadsheets. They are applications, typically SaaS, that automate all activities associated with the event arc, starting at pre-event coordination, through on-site management, and ending with post-event analysis. Key components of each stage include:

Pre-Event Coordination

Know who’s attending events. Certain MAPs, like SummitSync, can predict the attendees for each major conference and trade show you should target based on publicly available data. These lists help ensure you are shaking the right hands and maximizing your resources.

Certain MAPs, like SummitSync, can predict the attendees for each major conference and trade show you should target based on publicly available data. These lists help ensure you are shaking the right hands and maximizing your resources. Easy scheduling. Each user is given a personalized meeting link that syncs with their calendar for joint meetings and allows a prospect to select the time and location that works best for them.

Each user is given a personalized meeting link that syncs with their calendar for joint meetings and allows a prospect to select the time and location that works best for them. More relevant meetings. When you know who’s attending an event, you’re able to shake hands with the right person for your company. Gone are the days of scraping websites for sponsors and speaker information!

The Event Arc

On-Site Management

Meeting management. Meetings scheduled within MAPs are synced with your primary work calendars, allowing you to make adjustments within your calendar that are then automatically synced within the MAP and CRM.

Meetings scheduled within MAPs are synced with your primary work calendars, allowing you to make adjustments within your calendar that are then automatically synced within the MAP and CRM. Locations and resources. Sales team members unsure of which locations they have access to? Within MAPs marketing users can assign specific meeting locations to a sales rep, ensuring that no location is double-booked and that your VIP meetings have the right VIP location.

Sales team members unsure of which locations they have access to? Within MAPs marketing users can assign specific meeting locations to a sales rep, ensuring that no location is double-booked and that your VIP meetings have the right VIP location. Track team performance. Know instantly what meetings have occurred and review meeting notes.

Know instantly what meetings have occurred and review meeting notes. Notes-to-Go. This new feature, exclusive to SummitSync, gets rid of stress and saves time. Sales reps receive meeting reminders and prompts to log their notes, saving managers and marketing teams the hassle of sending out reminders.

Post-Event Analysis

Track event ROI . See what events fuel your pipeline and drive revenue without picking up a calculator or using a tricky Excel formula.

. See what events fuel your pipeline and drive revenue without picking up a calculator or using a tricky Excel formula. Strengthen team accountability. Sales teams get transparency around goals and bottom lines helping align their personal goals to the organization’s, which then allows departments to run like a well-oiled machine.

Sales teams get transparency around goals and bottom lines helping align their personal goals to the organization’s, which then allows departments to run like a well-oiled machine. Year-over-year performance data. Compare how your organization and team perform year after year with clear, easy to digest data.

Why are They Important?

MAPs are important because they help align your marketing team’s goals with the sales team’s, improve the quality of leads targeted, and reduce the length of the sales cycle. They can also positively impact a company’s bottom line by providing transparency around ROI — companies can know for certain which events drive them the most revenue. Most MAPs integrate with CRMs, though some do work as a stand-alone platform.

If you need to make a case to your organization for meeting automation, here is a great example. Informa Events, a SummitSync partner, began offering meeting automation services to their sponsors in 2018. As a result, they reported that with the use of a meeting automation platform, their clients scheduled 3x as many meetings in 2018 compared to 2017.

Ready to Meet Your Meeting Goals?

To learn even more about meeting automation platforms, download a copy of our new ebook. Or, if you’d like to learn how your team can use SummitSync to boost event ROI, schedule a demo by emailing us at hello@summitsync.com.