Small Meetings Get Helping Hands
-- Tradeshow Week, 5/4/2009
Life just got a little easier for meeting planners in charge of smaller events, with two companies, MeetingMetrics and American Express Business Travel, developing programs specifically geared toward them.
MeetingMetrics, a technology company that provides a set of online tools for optimizing meeting effectiveness and measuring meeting value, will offer smaller meetings use of the full range of its services, at a price scaled for them.
The large majority of meetings, according to MeetingMetrics, including training workshops, professional development sessions and seminars, are small-scale events that average 50 to 75 participants.
In the past, the cost of MeetingMetrics' services had been set with bigger meetings in mind.
“Small meetings can be every bit as effective as large meetings,” said Ira Kerns, the company's managing director. “The only real barrier to accessing the power of small meetings has been the cost of premeeting research to optimize agenda and training designs and postmeeting measurement.”
He added now the cost barrier has been removed “by making our tools extremely affordable and easily accessible.”
New users are required to purchase an annual license, which includes training, technical support and access to the entire MeetingMetrics online system.
If a planner has a meeting with fewer than 50 attendees, American Express Business travel wants to help them out as well.
The company recently launched Small Meetings eXpert, which will track a meeting's costs.
“Smaller meetings tend to fly under the radar in most companies, and, until now, remained the last, uncharted territory for online procurement,” said Issa Jouaneh, vice president of strategic meeting management for American Express Business Travel.
Jouaneh added since meetings now are under extra scrutiny, Small Business eXpert is a viable solution for smaller meeting planners.
The tool will allow planners to have a real-time connection to browse content, as well as compare rates and book guest rooms, meeting space, catering and audiovisual equipment.
