The term ‘matchmaking’ is commonly associated with the notion of dating, when two single individuals meet each other through an intermediary, hoping to get into a relationship with a suitable partner. Similarly, the objective of business matchmaking, or business matching is for companies to meet and engage with one another via a business matching event, with the intention to partner up for potential business relationships.

What Defines Business Matching?

Business matching is the process of identifying businesses that stand to enjoy mutual benefits from prospective business relationships with one another. The aim is for businesses to establish meaningful connections, and uncover opportunities that could potentially benefit both businesses. Common identification markers include, but are not limited to, businesses with similar business strengths, interests, and can complement each other.

Business matching sessions are typically hosted by intermediaries, and can occur in various settings. Onsite sessions are commonly organised in the form of large-scale events such as conventions and exhibitions, or private sessions such as 1-to-1 meetings. Similarly, the size of online business matching sessions have flexible scalability, and are often hosted via online video-conferencing platforms. 

Differing from casual business networking, business matching sessions are usually more focused, structured and less time-consuming. This is due to the requirement that business matching participants will have to provide specific information, such as their business needs/objectives, and what kind of business offerings can they support, prior to the sessions in order to optimise time efficiency. Therefore, when the information provided by a business is more specific, there is higher success rate in matching up with more suitable businesses during the session.

The Role Of A Business Matchmaker

Much responsibility falls on the business matchmaker to ensure success in a business matching event or session. Therefore, it is vital for a business matchmaker to bring in people and businesses of similar interests and needs for higher success rates in matching businesses with one another. Innovative Hub helps you to lessen your workload by connecting businesses. We will look for other businesses that can be matched to you, whilst you work on the other aspects of your business.

How Does Our Business Matching Service Work?

Innovative Hub strives to help our clients find the perfect match to bring their businesses to greater heights. With excellent services and our vast network of resources, we constantly do our best to help facilitate our clients’ expand overseas seamlessly. As a client of our business matching service, here are the simple steps to identifying your perfect business match to kickstart your expansion overseas:

• • – Register your interest with us and fill up the interest form
  • – Browse and identify potential matching profiles provided to you
  • – With the help of our consultants, schedule meetings with identified prospects for strategic discussions
  • – Leverage on the scheduled meetings for in-depth business discussions with prospects to further assess their suitability
  • – Post-meeting, select your perfect business(s) to partner up with and follow up with them  to coordinate for your business expansion!

Right now, local SMEs can utilise the MRA Grant for up to 70% of financial support for your business matching expenses! Speak with us today to find out more on how the grant can help your business.

Useful Tips for Business Matching Events

Identify Specific Business Goals In Detail

To kick off the process of pairing suitable business candidates with your business needs, you will first need to complete the registration process by filling out our interest form. The form consists of a series of questions customised to guide you through identifying your desired business goals. It is best recommended to fill up your company profile in detail and provide specific details on your business targets in order for us to identify suitable partners as accurately as possible.

Conduct In-depth Research on Potential Matching Profiles

Conducting in-depth research of potential partners before setting up a meeting can go a long way in saving time and resources for your business. Upon receiving the list of potential matching profiles that we have identified according to your business goals, take some time to gather more information about these profiles, such as going through their company websites to better understand their market positions, logistical capabilities and corporate culture.

Keep The Conversation Professional

Leaving a good impression goes both ways. Therefore, when introducing your business,  always position it aggressively. The picture you paint about your company is important, as it holds the power to captivate more people and present more opportunities. When looking to do business with partner(s) from different countries, it is also important to keep in mind that it is likely to have cultural differences. This means that the prospect may not understand our local context, jokes, or lingos. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the conversation as technical as possible to avoid any possible conflicts. 

Maximise Productivity In The Meeting

During the business matching meeting, it is ideal to cover as much business grounds as possible to maximise productivity. As mentioned in the earlier paragraph, keeping the conversation technical will contribute to a highly productive meeting. Here are some tips to guide you along the discussion about business strategies during the session:

1. 1. – Define and align to a common business goal to be achieved
   2. -Discuss on pricing in the currency of the target country  
   3. – Set realistic production volumes
   4. – Establish and align the target consumer’s profile
   5. – Confirm on logistical overhead and processes  
   6. – Provide product samples, if applicable
   7. – Find out on the available payment methods

Conclusion

The objective of business matching events is for businesses to engage with fellow businesses, establish meaningful connections, and uncover opportunities that are mutually beneficial. Business matching events can occur in both online and onsite settings, from large-scale events to private, one-to-one meetings. At Innovative Hub, we aim to help our clients find the most suitable businesses from the target overseas market to match with. Our hands-on approach helps our clients ensure that the process of business matching is hassle-free and smooth. Contact us today if you’d like to explore bringing your business overseas through our services.