Expo Matching Program Drives B2B Deal Making at 1.3 Million Square Foot TUTTOFOOD
Jun 19
Last month’s huge agri-food exhibition in Milan, which had more than 50,000 attendees, implemented an Expo Matching Program (EMP) to set-up customized B2B meetings between exhibitors and buyers.
In addition to seeing more and more trade show organizers offering matchmaking programs like this, we are seeing a wide spectrum of executions due of course to the number of moving parts here. We liked the design of TUTTOFOOD’s online matchmaking platform so we want to share a little of what they did with you.
The first thing that caught our attention about the show’s EMP was that it was a two-way system… “it enabled searches – and scheduled meetings – in both directions” i.e. exhibitors could search for buyers and buyers could search for exhibitors.
TUTTOFOOD also offered granular, target-specific filters along with full-text search. Search functionality is a key value driver of matchmaking systems, so offering this type of rich filter set certainly enhances the experience – and potential results – for users.
Here is a look at the search filters taken directly from their web site…
In the case of an EXHIBITOR searching for BUYERS:
– Goods categories indicated by the buyer as of interest (macro and micro sectors)
– Country of origin
– Type of business conducted by the buyer (e.g. Importer, Wholesaler, Caterer, Supermarket, etc.)
– Buying ability of the buyer
– Option to conduct an unrestricted search for a specific buyer.
In the case of a BUYER searching for EXHIBITORS:
– The goods categories indicated by the exhibitor in the suitable form provided for the catalogue
– Type of company of the Exhibitor (Small Artisan, Industrial Manufacturer, Importer, Trader, Sole Agent, Consortium/Body, etc.)
– Production capacity of company
– Percentage of production destined for export
– Country
– Search page with full-text searching
– Option to conduct an unrestricted search for a specific exhibitor.
BOTTOM LINE: According to the organizer, “EMP permitted the arrangement of more than 6500 appointments with 1,143 top buyers from 80 countries.”
Posted on June 19, 2013
