Have you ever found yourself stressed out, stretched thin, and seriously feeling the pressure of planning a meeting that checks all the right boxes? If so, you certainly aren’t alone – and you’ve probably thought to yourself, “There has to be a better way.”
And there is.
Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) is the solution that an increasing number of organizations are relying on to overcome the pain points of corporate event planning, and it could be the answer you’ve been searching for.
What Is Strategic Meetings Management?
Strategic Meetings Management is a corporate event planning approach that is focused on achieving measurable results through the effective management of an event’s processes, metrics, standards, activities, suppliers, and data. Generally, Strategic Meetings Management utilizes a comprehensive platform to automate many of the processes involved in planning, executing, and assessing an event.
According to information from the Global Business Travel Association, SMM is designed to help organizations:
- Accomplish specific objectives that are in line with their unique strategic vision;
- Reduce costs;
- Improve the overall service/event quality provided to event attendees; and
- Prioritize risk mitigation.
Who Uses Strategic Meetings Management?
SMM is specifically crafted for large companies that regularly plan complex, enterprise-wide events. However, SMM can offer benefits for virtually all companies, including small, mid-sized, and large organizations.
Benefits of the Strategic Meetings Management Approach
Without a strategic approach to planning and management of events, it’s not unusual for an organization’s planning teams to end up working in silos. A lack of visibility results in unnecessary amounts of time and money being spent on the event, as well as missed opportunities to craft a cost-effective, high-quality event experience.
Your organization could benefit from SMM if:
- Reducing event costs without sacrificing quality sounds appealing;
- You want to ensure that attendees get the most out of a meeting/event;
- You’ve struggled with minimizing the risks associated with event planning/management;
- You’re interested in seeing measurable results and using data-driven insights; and
- There is a need to reorganize and centralize the planning process.
SMM in Action
An organization is planning to have a presence at an upcoming conference, one in which many of their customers will be attending. A strategic plan is needed in order to make the most of this opportunity.
By having a Strategic Meeting Management Plan in place, the organization can begin planning months in advance to accomplish specified goals and outcome deliverables, such as a communication plan with customized products and brand guidance; a detailed strategic blueprint including best practices and strategies to maximize and manage key deliverables and data integration; oversight and management strategy of the planned meetings and events while on-site; and post event/s debriefs. This proactive approach to meeting management ensures a path to success.
Even in this brief example, you can see how Strategic Meetings Management benefits organizations in a multitude of ways. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most useful advantages of using SMM, illustrated by a report from the Aberdeen Group.
Improved ROI Measurement
Are you able to offer up quantitative evidence of an event’s success? With SMM, organizations have been shown to improve their ROI measurement by more than 60%, whether their key performance indicators focused on employee productivity, profits, sales, or another metric.
Significant Savings
Regardless of your organization’s business objectives, decreasing events expenses will always be considered a win. But cutting corners isn’t the right way to save money – especially because reducing event quality will have more than a few negative effects. SMM empowers organizations to save 10-25% via standardized procurement procedures, the selection of preferred vendors, and improved visibility.
Higher Compliance
Regulatory and internal policies are an oft-neglected aspect of event planning and management, and the repercussions can be severe. An SMM program can make it possible to achieve nearly 50% higher compliance, with upwards of 78% higher compliance within reach for companies with well-established SMM programs.
Modernize Meeting Planning and Management with Miller Tanner Associates
Discover the ways in which SMM and other expertly-developed event management tactics can benefit your team when you connect with the professionals at Miller Tanner Associates.
MTA approaches SMM development through a deeply collaborative process with our customers. Following an initial discovery phase, MTA will develop key deliverables, including best practices, communication plans, and overall execution, to provide a cohesive and consistent strategy for overall success.
We are an industry-leading provider of event planning and management services with over 25 years of experience worldwide. We would love to chat about how we can help you create outstanding events with measurable results. Contact us now to get started!
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