Metz, The Social Concept

Why 1200 Meeting Planners Want To Dance On A Volcano

January 25, 2010

Last Thursday, I gave my first double-Keynote, ever. I’ll spoke at Moscone West in San Francisco at Meeting Planners International’s (MPINCC) Annual Conference, Do The Hustle. I’m giving two talks, “Socializing the Sale: How to Never Cold-Call Again” and “Dance on a Volcano: How to Drive Millions in Revenue from the Social Web”.

As I was preparing each of these talks, I was sort of struck by a few of the key reasons that these meeting planners came from all over California, to spend two days strategizing on how to enrich their business in what is likely the lowest point in the meeting-planning industry in nine years, and possibly in seventy years.

They’re fighting off internet technology (like GoToMeeting and vCall, which I use nearly every day), high travel costs, and a changing notion of why people have meetings. So, they have to sell and market differently, fast.

“Basically, this was an industry that was behind the times for quite a while, but they’ve really caught up in the last two or three years,” Ruth A. Hill , contributing editor at Meetings Media, said.

Combine the environmental factors with the rapid decline of print media (one of the key ways meetings were publicized, until about ten years ago), and you’ve got an industry with a sales and marketing model that’s entirely in flux. I was really impressed by the smart questions that came up in the two sessions, especially from brands like Hilton, Symantec, Embassy Suites, and the numerous destination marketing organizations (San Diego, Fairfield, etc.) and boutique hotels that attended the event. I’d happily speak at another MPI event – it’s a smart audience that’s looking to adapt and grow with changing technology and best business practices.

Email this • Save to del.icio.us • Share on Facebook • Digg This! • Tweet This!