Collecting leads at trade shows is the reason why companies invest time and effort into exhibiting at events. However, capturing attendee data using only pen and paper or even a spreadsheet can be stressful, and lead to lost or incorrect contact details being taken. That’s where lead capture apps come in – they let exhibitors gather all the most important information about attendees using digital tools, while increasing lead quality and promoting a legally compliant event data.
What’s lead retrieval and lead capture?
In fact, there’s a huge difference between exhibitor lead capture and lead retrieval, aside from the name – which lies in who manages the event data. With lead retrieval, exhibitors receive contact information second-hand via the event organizer or the event technology provider. They don’t have control over what data they receive – only whose data they retrieve.
In contrast, with lead capture solutions, they become more autonomous collecting event lead data. They control exactly what data event attendees share and have access to their personal data immediately, rather than waiting on a third party’s agenda.
So when looking for reasons why your event needs new lead capture tactics, you must understand that they are an important source of income for business growth, making it crucial to consider who will have control over the generated leads – will it be the exhibitors, the event organizer, or the event tech partner who provides the lead scanners?
How can exhibitors and sponsors benefit with the right lead capture tool?
In a couple of words, a powerful lead capture software will allow exhibitors and brands to feed sales pipelines and drive event revenue as they interact with attendees. What’s more, if they use contactless solutions for that purpose, they can still ensure the ease of lead collection even for booths welcoming hundreds (or thousands) of attendees in the course of a busy trade show. It’s like a “tap to share” move that happens in a matter of seconds, but without contact.
Imagine collecting attendee data at scale with NFC-badges or event badges with QR codes, without the need to write everything down manually or exchange easily losable paper business cards. Also, sales reps will be able to instantly view leads the moment they are captured by way of fully integrated event management software, meaning someone will save valuable time inputting event leads into a CRM database. Thereby, they can quickly follow up with event leads, apply filter leads by job title, company name and other demographics to help them highly targeted sales follow-up actions.
See what’s best for your event: QR Code vs. Smart badge
Can it improve attendee experience?
The answer is yes! If you think of it, the large-scale advent of virtual events has naturally led to an ever-increasing audience expectation for digital tools during in-person events – with 61% of consumers willing to pay more for a better brand experience, according to the 2022 CX Trilemma Report. More than ever, people are looking for resourceful ways to interact and leave their mark.
Find out new features that will help you create a great event experience for attendees.
From pre-event to on location to after event
What you need for a successful event
To organize successful events you’ll need a modular solution that covers the entire event lifecycle, from managing guests in the first place to providing a networked environment propitious to effective lead capture. That said, these are the top qualities you should look for when choosing the right event management software:
- Digital event registration forms;
- Ticketing solution with add-ons and promo codes;
- Electronic onsite check-in;
- Access and capacity control tool;
- Custom event website with sponsor exposure;
- Custom branding options for white-labeled events;
- QR code-free lead capture solution (check here why contactless will drive your event to succeed);
- Real-time analytics and customized dashboards.
How to choose the right solution for your trade show
Key features you should look for
You’ve probably come across some of the most common questions to answer after a trade fair or exhibition. For instance:
- How many meetings did each sales rep have at the event?
- How many of them were C-level?
- How much did the show impact new and existing business within the sales pipeline?
While events offer many unique networking opportunities, most companies are just scratching the surface when it comes to measure exhibition stand ROI. So there it’s worthwhile to go for unique lead retrieval scanners that enable them to capture 40x more qualified leads. With beamian, you can take your events to a new level of interactivity, providing contactless smart badges to make any interaction measurable and deliver more value to exhibitors.
