A new channel for organizing and distributing business events within B2B : On the prospects for a business event application of mutual value to attendees and organizers

Abstract: In this networked society, where social media becomes a natural meeting place, the need for physical encounters is greater than ever. In the business world, business events are a way for people to satisfy this need while they at the same time get the opportunity to exchange skills, information and experiences with other colleagues, thus expanding their and their company’s competencies. This report looks at how business events are distributed today and investigates the interest for a new channel where business events are collected which is of mutual value for business event organizers and attendees. In order to understand the needs of event organizers and attendees a survey has been conducted consisting of a questionnaire, interviews and a focus group, which helped pinpoint three relevant themes: discover, organize and connect. The themes were based on wishes left by the respondents, declaring that finding information about events were a difficult and time consuming procedure. They wanted an easier way to find interesting events and sorting out those that were of relevance to their jobs and surrounding areas. Similarly the organizers had noticed an increasingly competitive market making it difficult to reach customers. It was also observed by the organizers that people go to events to network, leading to the conclusion that one element of the service should be about connecting with colleagues, possible business partners and other interesting people. As a result, a design proposal was presented in the form of a mockup of a mobile application interface where the themes were present as sections of a quick access menu. To conclude, the report discusses suggestions on how to proceed with the design proposal and makes recommendations on future research on the development of an app for business events.