My colleague Kari Schroeder-Bigot was recently interviewed for a feature article in the June issue of Corporate Incentive & Travel magazine. Kari provided her insight on the current state of strategic meetings management (SMM).
In the nearly ten years since the National Busiess Travel Association (NBTA) introduced it, the concept of strategic meetings management has yet to achieve widespread implementation. But SMM is an idea whose time has come. The article documents two important ways in which the NBTA is moving to increase its support for SMM. First is the roll out of a new online toolkit. And second is the continued development of the SMM certification process.
Increased industry support for SMM will be crucial. Potential clients will need to be educated on the reasons why SMM is in their best interest. That requires the development of a high level of expertise. As the travel and meetings industries build out programs for their members, knowledge and understanding of key concepts will grow both deeper and wider in scope. This kind of support is crucial in the development of new disciplines. Of course, it still takes talented individuals to communicate the benefits to their clients.
People like Kari Schroeder-Bigot are in a unique position to advise clients, based on their understanding of the SMM concept and their knowledge of clients’ meeting and travel patterns and policies. Once clients “get it,” the adoption of strategic meetings management programs can move to the next level.
There’s nothing like an educated client to take an idea and put it into action.
