Trend F: Relationship building and networking
One advantage of taking part in a professional, subject-specific event is the chance to build new relationships that can turn into new business or lay the groundwork for new collaborations and projects. This is something the industry must help facilitate and drive to a greater extent.
In line with Trend A, which underlined the need to create rewarding meetings and events, Trend F focuses on one of the means to that end: networking and relationship building. Participants expect more when it comes to physical meetings, and the opportunity to establish new contacts in particular is highly valued. First and foremost, this requires something of the organiser and the meeting planner, who must set aside the necessary time for networking. But the venues also play a role when it comes to creating the optimal setting for networking. This applies both to the more structured and formal networking and to ensuring that the facilities invite the chance, unplanned encounters. The venues can therefore play an important role in the design of the event, in collaboration with the meeting planner, so that the setting encourages relationship building.