In a recent conversation with Lew Hoff, President & CEO of Bartizan, we were discussing how some exhibitors cling to the business card as a lead tool when there are other more advance and possibly superior options.
Exchanging business cards is a long held tradition as we introduce ourselves. I believe I hear Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof sing – Tradition!! This ritual will be among us for years to come, even though the smartphones have features that can capture a business card. Our human natures are s-l-o-w to change. In fact, I have the old fashion Rolodex for my business cards when they get placed on a card. But before then, they are either in a drawer on in a box or scattered around my office like the picture below.
In a newsletter from Lyris, they outlined the pros and cons of various lead capture options for trade shows. Below is what they had to say about business cards.
Business Cards
Collecting business cards from exhibit booth guests, when they stop to ask questions or enter a contest, is a fairly common method to gather names at trade shows.
Pros
- A fast and easy way to capture all contact information
- Fewer errors (business cards are usually legible) or fraudulent information
- A large number of names can be collected
Cons
- Doesn’t provide a way to ask qualifying questions, per business requirements
- Time-consuming to enter data into a CRM system, making lead distribution to your sales team slow
- People cannot legally be contacted via email because they did not opt-in
- Despite the large quantity of names that can be collected, the quality is usually low (i.e. business cards may be collected from everyone without pre-qualifying people for their level of interest in your product/service
My concerns about the business cards:
How much information can you squeeze on the back of a business card?
Will I remember what the abbreviations mean when I get back to the office?
How do I keep the cards from my dog who thinks they are “treats” for her? Check this one out:
Can I actually find one card amidst the countless ones scattered around my office? [I have wasted so much time because I have not been organized – help!!]
Stop Taking Notes on Business Cards!
The business card method for trade show lead follow-up must be changed!!! Barry Siskind, a trade show consultant has an article titled, “Stop Taking Notes on Business Cards!
The following is from an article:
This is a typical answer and one that is filled with problems. Business cards belong in a Rolodex but as a follow-up tool they leave much to be desired. Business cards do not give you any clues to important bits of information the prospect may have shared with you at the show.
“Yes, but,” you are probably saying as you read this, “I can record their bits of information on the back of the card.” There are many problems with taking notes on the back of business cards. First, you will collect inconsistent data from prospect to prospect from the bits and pieces of information you hear.
Another very practical challenge are the cards printed on both sides leaving no space for notes – now you are really stuck.
A further problem is culture. Many cultures take considerable pride in their business cards. Taking a properly presented, pristine business card and scratching notes on the back is as bad as writing on their forehead – it is a real insult.
When Barry was talking about how both sides of a card have printing on them, I check out mine and 40% fall into that category.
So what is a solution?
One proven option is from Bartizan. Please note, that Bartizan is a current client and I was involved in the product validation research of the iLeads app so there is some bias as I write this section.
The Bartizan collection of lead retrieval devices and apps offer the user considerable flexibility in capturing, storing and using the valuable information collected on the show floor. And if you have the mobile app, you can collect information at any point in the show cycle [i.e. the food court, conference sessions, riding the bus, cocktails, receptions, luncheons, etc.].
Here are quotes from happy iLeads customers:
The Exhibitors
This is the second event we’ve used iLeads for and we love it. Everyone is fascinated that there is an app on the iPad that you can get the leads from. It’s a lot easier to use than using the difficult scanners, and it turns out to be a lot cheaper too. We’ve used it for several shows and it’s come in very handy, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Casey Keller, Exhibitor ASAE Annual Meeting
Marketing Coordinator
ThePort Network
Using the iLeads lead retrieval was so easy. It was nice not to have to bother the attendees by scanning them. It was great to be able to have a co-worker have a discussion with the attendee and one of us could just type in the assigned number of the attendee and without bothering that person on trying to scan a couple of times. I have been doing events for 20 years and this has to be one of the best systems I have ever used. Most of the lead retrieval systems are bar code scans or magnetic stripe and most of the times it takes 2 – 3 attempts to get the lead information. It would be so easy if all events large or small would go to this type of lead retrieval system, I am sure that 90% of the exhibitors and attendees would also like to see this. I look forward to seeing your iLeads system at future shows.
Brian Rufiange
Events Manager
Stratus Computer Inc.
A Show Organizer
We chose to use Bartizan’s lead retrieval app because it’s very easy to use, did not require bar-coding, there are no minimum on app purchases, no fees, did not require us to coordinate the rentals, and Bartizan’s great customer service!
Our goal was to give our exhibitors a lead retrieval system that was easy and affordable.
This was our first time using any lead retrieval system for our meeting and Bartizan allowed us to incorporate our current registrant database, without any special requirements. We simply sent them our registrant list and they took care of the rest! The only thing we had to do was pass out iPod touch rentals on-site and they provided a technical support number for any on-site issues.
We did not pay anything out of pocket. All we did was send them our registrant list and they took care of the promotions, uploads, and everything! Our exhibitors loved having the ability to use the system and gather member information without taking home a pile business cards to sort through.
Megan Blackwell
Director of Membership and Marketing
California Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Call to Action
The action I would like you to take, check into the resources Bartizan has for you to make life easier around collecting your lead information.
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