Frequently Asked Questions


   LEARN MORE   
A Program consists of multiple sessions throughout the year. For instance, our Candy Program consists of the Halloween Candy Session, the Convenience Session, the Impulse, Front-end & Checklane Session, the Christmas & Halloween Session, and the European Snack & Confectionery Session, etc... When you participate in all three you participate in the Program. Participation in the full program allows you to stay connected year-round.
Anyone can set up their own meetings using any one of the typical meeting platforms available. However, ECRM enables you to do it at scale with a minimum time commitment on your part. Plus, ECRM Connect includes all of the buyer and seller-specific tools and functionality to maximize the success of your experience like meeting note documentation, product selections, and easy follow up. We do the leg work beforehand to source and qualify the right companies to ensure your categories and business capabilities align. We share supplier product and profile information, so every participant is prepared for each meeting.
From the moment you register you are assigned a Client Success Manager who guides you before, during, and after the session. You will complete a company profile and define your focus. This ensures you only meet with companies you can do business with. We promote your brand to our vast buyer audience and source the companies you will meet with. We facilitate the meetings for you. Follow up tools are also available to support your buying process.

Depending on your participation type your meeting length will change and if the session is in-person the space where you hold your meeting will also vary. Contact our team Right Arrow
The cost varies per session and participation type. Contact our team to learn more or visit the session details page. View listing Right Arrow
From day one you have visibility into which companies are approved to meet with you. These are the companies that align with your categories and capabilities. You also have visibility into which are pending, meaning we are still reviewing their compatibility with your company along with the businesses that do not align with your organization.
You will meet with all of the companies participating in the session that align with your categories and capabilities. At ECRM we are all about creating the most efficient experience possible, meaning, we only want you to meet with the companies where there is an opportunity to do business. Therefore, we diligently screen each participating company to ensure their capabilities and categories align with your organization.
For virtual sessions you can have the team members that are needed to enable conversations, however we do recommend smaller groups to avoid people talking over one another. We also suggest solidifying your participants as early as possible. This ensures the ECRM team has enough time to execute an ECRM Connect demo and ensure everyone is prepared for the session.For in-person sessions the number of people depends on your participation type. Discovery Hub accommodates one participant, Innovation Pipeline allows one participant, and Planning Session allows two participants. Contact our team to learn more.
ECRM Connect™ is our proprietary meeting technology platform that you will use to hold virtual meetings throughout the session. We have built this ourselves so you can view company profiles, take meeting notes and buyers can view product information. The video portion of the platform is sourced through a major telecommunications provider.
Of course. For virtual sessions, each buyer will indicate their sample preferences, and suppliers can ship to their location prior to the appointment or afterwards.
You can present on video just like you would during in-person meetings, share your screen to display presentations or sale slicks, or just speak with audio. For suppliers, we recommend a quick one or two minute overview of your company and products and then diving right into conversation with your buyers.
There are several ways for you to continue the conversation after your meetings:
  • Buyers can indicate follow up timelines which suppliers can reference on the follow up site after meetings

  • Use the star ranking feature in ECRM Connect to indicate which companies have potential to move forward

  • Buyers can use RangeMe to place sample requests

  • You will receive the contact information for the people you met with at which time you can provide any applicable information

  • Please note, buyers must consent to the privacy policy in order for this contact information to be available