User:Mkempken/Meeting Expectations

About
Meeting Expectations is a privately held, certified, full-service conference and association management company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

History
Founded in 1992 by Jalene Bermudez, and currently employing 60+ individuals, Meeting Expectations originally began as a meeting planning company for the technical sector and gradually expanded to include six business units, including meeting management, association management, technology, site selection, registration and creative services. In 2007 and 2008, Corporate Meetings and Incentives magazine named Meeting Expectations to its list of the top 25 meeting and incentive companies in North America.

Business Units
Meeting Management

The meeting management business unit is responsible for managing meetings and conferences ranging in size from less than 100 people to over 8,000 attendees. Comprised of around 50 employees, including several certified meeting professionals, services provided include site selection, conference program content management, general session and special event planning, marketing and communications, registration, exhibitor and sponsorship management and fulfillment, food and beverage planning, management of suppliers and contractors, logistics management, revenue and accounting management and conference reporting and evaluation.

•Conference program content management is the planning, management and execution of any content relevant to a meeting or conference, including calls for presentations or papers, solicitation of top-level executives or other notables for keynote and guest speaker presentations and the scheduling of accepted presentations into a conference program schedule.

•General session and special event planning is the planning, management and execution of a conference or meeting’s general session (the main meeting at a conference where all attendees gather for a specific purpose) or other special events, which may include activities of interest to the attendees such as golf, receptions, excursions or spa treatments. This can also include the management of any general contractors or audio-visual professionals needed to set up the session or event.

•Marketing and communications for meeting management includes the planning, management and execution of a marketing plan that targets potential attendees of a meeting or conference, including brand development, graphic design, copywriting, e-marketing campaigns, advertising, invitations, collateral [link to marketing collateral on wikipedia], print management, development of conference materials, premium and promotional items and exhibitor and sponsor prospectus’.

•Exhibitor and sponsorship management and fulfillment is the planning and management of a conference or meetings’ agreements with outside companies or vendors to provide support, usually monetary, to a conference or meeting, in exchange for the right to a) sell products or services on-site to conference or meeting attendees and/or b) market products or services in other ways to conference or meeting attendees. Management services include prospectus development, exhibition and sponsorship sales, event policy and guideline manuals, project and milestone management, brand management, floor plan development, exhibit floor management on-site and general contractor management. •Food and beverage management is the management of all aspects of the catering of meals, snacks and receptions at a conference or meeting. This can include menu selections, quantity guarantees and food inspections. Food and beverage can be provided by a meeting venue or hotel or an outside catering company. •Suppliers and contractors are the third-party vendors that provide any needed services necessary to running a conference or meeting. Examples of this include audio-visual technicians, catering companies, general contractors and performers for special events. •Logistics management is the management of all details related to running a conference or meeting. Examples of this include travel arrangements for meeting staff, transportation services for conference attendees and on-site communication between conference staff. •Revenue and accounting management is the management of the financials associated with running a conference or meeting, including budget development and management, banking and merchant services management, the reporting of projections and variances, long-term financial planning, revenue growth strategies and revenue diversification.

•Conference reporting and evaluation involves taking actual data from the conference or meeting, including financial data, number of attendees and user surveys and compiling reports that identify actual results and attendee perceptions to aid in the planning of future conferences or meetings.

Association Management

The association management business unit is responsible for managing association clients with both individual and corporate memberships ranging in size from 200 to over 100,000. Meeting Expectations is accredited as an Association Management Company (AMC) by the American Society of Association Executives, and several employees are Certified Association Executives. Association management includes strategic business management, headquarters infrastructure, financial management, member recruitment and retention, marketing and communications, chapter management, education and programs, conference planning and management and information technology.

•Strategic business management for associations includes executive management, stragetic plan generation/implementation, governance, mergers, revenue diversification, benchmark studies, board communication and facilitation, committee management and reporting, leadership development, policy manual development, policy enforcement, press/analyst program management, ROI analysis, supplier management and volunteer management. •Headquarters infrastructure is the establishment of a physical address in order to facilitate the management of an association.

•Financial management involves the planning and management of all financial matters related to running an association, including financial planning, accounts payable, accounts receivable and budgeting. •Member recruitment and retention refers to the planning and management of programs or strategies designed to attract new members to an association and to retain existing members through benefits administration and customer care, trend reporting and analysis, marketing and communications, dues, invoicing and collection and ROI analysis. •Marketing and communications for association management includes the planning, management and execution of a marketing plan for the purposes of furthering association objectives. •Chapter management is the planning and management of sub-groups within an association, often based on size, geographical location or membership type. Chapter management can include governance, elections support, accounting and financial support, membership management and recruitment, chapter event management, on-line community tools and national/international relationship management. •Education and programs for an association includes any event or program designed to further the continuing education of association members within the association’s industry or field. Examples include continuing professional education management, conference agenda development, presentation selection for association events, solictation of content for programs, e-learning programs and planning and implementation of training sessions. •Conference planning and management [see Meeting Management Business Unit]

•Information technology used in the running of associations includes online association management systems, website design and development, e-communications and marketing, electronic ballot processing, database management, association extranets and intranets, e-commerce, on-line membership directories and membership processing, job boards, video e-mail campaigns, web-casting, tele- and web-based conferencing and content management systems.