Partner Content
Badge scanners, what are they good for?
Badge scanners used to be at the cutting-edge of event tech. They eliminated the need to manage reams of paper, hastily scribbled contact details, and piles of business cards. Reps no longer had to try to match the conversations they had on the show floor with all the details on all that paper. Instead, they could scan barcodes on badges, and capture visitors’ details in a quick and unobtrusive way.
Perfect, right?
Not exactly.
The Problem with Event Badge Scanners
Consider the data you got back from the last badge scanner you used. It arrived several days after the event. When you opened the file, it was probably full of holes: missing fields, mistyped names, and fake, generic, or personal email addresses.
To make such data useful, your reps can spend hours weeding out duplicates and unusable entries while attempting to recall names and faces. Unfortunately, that process is ineffective and difficult. Inevitably, your company sends out a generic follow-up message such as:
“Hey Brian, great to meet you at the event a couple of weeks ago. Hope you enjoyed learning about our company; let me know if there’s anything I can help you with going forward.”
After all the hard work reps put into an event, they deserve better follow-up. The problem is, ending dependence on badge scanners can be a real challenge.
How They Work (or Don’t Work)
At an event in London, one company I spoke with had hired a couple of badge scanners, adding several hundred pounds to its costs.
However, the scanners didn’t do what they were supposed to do. The company’s reps ended up supplementing badge scanning with a notepad and pen, scribbling notes or reminders about conversations they’d had with attendees.
The lesson was clear: When it comes to capturing leads at an event, context is king. If the reps had relied on the badge scanners, all they’d come away with was a list of names.
What Badge Scanners Can Do
Badge scanners are good at one thing: scanning badges. If you previously relied on pen and paper to capture contact details at events, they represent a step forward in terms of how quickly and easily you collect that information.
The problems occur after the event, when it’s time to follow up. The scanned data lacks the additional information your inside sales team needs. Without added context, all the badges you scanned are equal, regardless of whether they’re event qualified leads or bad fit contacts.
There’s a better way.
If you’ve been using badge scanners to capture leads at events, chances are you don’t want to go back to pen and paper. That would be too time-consuming and arduous for your team.
The good news is, you can still scan badges and business cards while capturing the added context and comments you need.
Integrate’s Precision Events is an event leads capture solution that combines your events team’s activity on the show floor with your CRM and marketing automation systems, for speedy and personal follow-up conversations and omnichannel nurturing. With it, you can collect the contact details of each person you talk to at an event and customise your lead capture forms. This allows you to collect all the relevant information your sales team needs to personalise follow-ups and to capture explicit opt-in consent, ensuring compliance with the GDPR.
Make every event a success. Download our guide to learn how you can capture high-quality leads at trade shows and events.