COLUMN: SALES TALK
Tech that proves ROI
Peter Gillett, CEO of Zuant, examines how mobile lead capture can
change the game for exhibitors
T
he mobile tools currently available
to the road warrior sales executive
are ideally suited for the events
industry.
Surprisingly, in the UK and US, the use
of the barcode scanners has continued for
decades, despite being largely based on
the supermarket-style 1D. These barcodes
capture data from visitors to a stand and
send a simple spreadsheet of contacts
after a post-show match-up. Sounds great,
except it’s now illegal to capture data
without individual consent.
GDPR fuels innovation
Although it hasn’t happened yet, GDPR
will soon render these clunky old devices
obsolete without an opt-in capability. To
eliminate steep fines and potential shut
down from non-compliance, these devices
need to be put out to pasture, sooner
rather than later.
I am constantly astounded by the
number of people who come into our
booth at a show and admit they are
still using pen and paper for capturing
leads. On the flip side, I see advanced
technologies such as digital displays
through to AR and VR dramatically
enhancing the trade show experience for
attendees. The contrast between what the
exhibitor experiences via technology vs.
the visitor is startling.
Driving ROI
In today’s digital economy, trade shows
remain a viable marketing channel because
“It always amazes me that
it may take over a month
for companies to send me
a generic email”
they afford sales and marketing reps the
unique opportunity to meet face-to-face
with prospects and customers. Like the
advanced technologies mentioned above,
event participation comes with a price tag.
Understandably, top management expects
to see a ROI from these investments.
Ensuring a positive ROI should be a top
priority for event marketers and sales
warriors who want to remain employed
and advance their careers.
One of the smartest ways for exhibitors
to measure and demonstrate ROI is to
invest in a mobile lead capture system. For
the sales executive, mobile lead capture is
now the Swiss Army knife – a full digital
platform with all of the tools required for
use at shows and on the road.
The power of these systems to facilitate
the sales process are well documented –
first, they are able to adapt to business
cards in different languages. They also
readily accommodate different types of 2D
barcodes. And now that Apple has opened
up access to its Apple Pay technology, these
powerful mobile apps can scan the NFC
cards at tech events.
Not long ago, beacon technology seemed
to be developing interesting ways for
tracking visitors at shows, but it has not
really taken off. On the other hand, facial
recognition is becoming more mainstream
as the technology is being ironed out and
fears around privacy are being laid to rest.
High speed capture
Some of our clients such as Tesla and
the Boring Company produce events with
thousands of attendees, and demand
high-speed scanning. Because of the
volume of attendees at these events, there
are literally thousands of people to fast
scan on a mobile device, which then has to
recognise groups of invited guests and scan
them in quickly to avoid queues building
up.
Lead quality, connectivity and person-
alisation
Lead qualification is key. Once someone
has been scanned in at the reception desk
of a booth, the exhibitor may want to have
detailed screening questionnaires that are
specific to these individuals at different
workstations around the booth.
What about content? As we all know
Internet connectivity and Wi-Fi access
can be patchy at shows, so mobile capture
needs to be something that continues to
run happily off-line. And that includes all
of the content exhibitors have available in
their library such as brochures, spec sheets
and videos, which must be able to run
without any delay or buffering issues.
Next up is the message centre. It always
amazes me, after having attended a
show, that it may take over a month for
companies I visited to send me a generic
email – sadly there is often zero attempt of
personalisation to respond to my original
enquiry that we discussed at the show. It
is imperative that post event follow-up is
personalised based on the conversation had
with the prospect in the booth.
CRM/MA integration
Last but not least is the ability for
exhibitor systems to integrate with a
variety of marketing automation and CRM
systems. Visitor conversation at the booth
is the start of a journey, with just the
right amount of relevant content delivered
through a marketing automation system.
The best conversation in the world can be
completely lost without a system for world-
class follow-up.
Exhibitors can bust their quotas in 2019
by committing to quick and personal
contact with every prospective client. In
so doing, they will differentiate themselves
from their competitors, earning trust and
credibility before eventually closing the
sale.
exhibitionnews.co.uk | February 2019
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