There is a lot of movement in the event tech solutions market. Event platforms in particular are the focus of attention, as they clearly strike a chord with many event organizers with their holistic “all-in-one” approach. The promise: One system for everything relating to the digital appearance of the event. From a digital platform for participants, to various administrative functions for exhibitors and the organizer itself, to the corresponding event app with the look and feel of the respective event. This is well received in the market. We at adventics also see event platforms as an important technology partner when it comes to the “digital extension” of an event. We have been involved in the introduction of platforms in several projects. In this article, we look at what you should consider when choosing one.
The following article is about lead tracking and how it fits into the current market situation. For many, it may be a niche topic of rather minor importance – but what is often overlooked is that, as an organizer, you can generate considerable additional income from exhibitors with a professional lead tracking service. If you do it cleverly as an organizer, you can even do it completely without using your own resources. In addition, the demand for professional lead tracking solutions on the part of exhibitors is increasing significantly. They have long since recognized that these solutions not only make a valuable contribution to trade fair success, but also ultimately make this success measurable and verifiable.
Brief classification: Lead tracking
By lead tracking, we mean the recording of a contact or prospective customer, usually in the form of a business card or badge scan, and the subsequent (pre-)qualification of this contact as a “lead”, for example by answering several questions – and all of this within the lead tracking solution. This process also includes the full documentation of a lead, for example what “value” or sales volume is assumed for the respective lead. Ideally, the person has already expressed a concrete interest in the product, which could also be described as a sales qualified lead – the sales department can therefore “continue” directly after the event and arrange a follow-up appointment or even send out an offer. All in all: from the exhibitor’s perspective, lead tracking is crucial for the success of a trade fair presence and its measurability.
Professional lead tracking
If an event organizer relies on a provider of a professional lead tracking solution, such as Scan2Lead from adventics, additional revenue is guaranteed. Together with the organizer, we independently market the Scan2Lead product portfolio – an entire ecosystem of lead tracking solutions – with our own sales department: From a lead tracking app, a portal solution for contact/lead management (for the desktop), to various hardware solutions that can be used by stand personnel even without a company device at all. In addition, our Customer Success Managers support exhibitors in the run-up to the event, including with advice and training, and we also provide on-site support during the event.
Lead tracking within the event app?
Individual event organizers are increasingly pursuing the approach that the lead tracking functionality should be a component of the respective event app – and no longer exist in parallel as a “separate” solution. The associated assumption is that lead tracking integrated into the event app will create a “more rounded user journey“. As a result, you would no longer need a separate “lead app”, but only one app – the official event app.
What is overlooked:
- A lead tracking function integrated into the event app is far less valuable than a stand-alone lead tracking product. So, as an event organizer, would you like to continue generating revenue with lead tracking solutions? Then think carefully about whether integration is the right step, as we have not yet seen a successful proof of concept.
- The assumed improvement in the user journey often does not materialize, as the event app only seems more confusing than before. Stand personnel and all sales-oriented employees want to capture contacts and generate leads quickly and easily: One click in our SMART app and off you go. In comparison: with the usual event apps, you need at least 3-5 clicks. Try it out for yourself! Most event apps are already very overloaded and navigation is becoming increasingly difficult. Accordingly, we do not see any optimization of the user journey in an integration.
- All event platform providers pursue a no-hardware strategy. We can prove from hundreds of customers that the use of hardware in a lead tracking context is still of great importance. Handheld scanners such as our STATION or COLLECT and other devices must therefore be part of a professional lead tracking offering. In other words, “software only” does not meet the needs of many exhibitors. If an organizer does not offer any lead tracking devices in its portfolio, it forgoes a significant share of sales.
- Event platform providers have many other construction sites in their (supposed) all-in-one solutions, i.e. lead tracking is not a particularly high priority and will probably continue to be neglected, even if some providers suggest otherwise. Based on our project experience, we can say that basic functionalities are still in focus – and lead tracking is not one of them. Here, too, there is a comparison with us: we have been working on the Scan2Lead ecosystem for over 15 years.
- Exhibitors need advice and support when it comes to lead tracking. At adventics, we have an entire team, from customer success managers to support staff, who are available before/during/after the event. Event platform providers do not have dedicated consulting or support staff for lead tracking.
- It also plays a major role for many exhibitors that the leads collected end up directly in the company’s own CRM system. Professional lead tracking providers address this need with various interface and integration options.
Conclusion
In summary, it can be said that professional providers of lead tracking solutions have well thought-out and coordinated products (software + hardware) and suitable services (sales, consulting, support). They “live” the topic of lead tracking like no other market companion and thus ensure additional income for the organizer as well as an all-round carefree package from the exhibitor’s point of view. We do not believe that fully integrating lead tracking into event apps is the right approach. We fear that the organizer will lose revenue and that the user journey will be impaired. Instead, smart links should be considered so that users can quickly and seamlessly access the professional lead tracking app from the event app and are already logged in there (keyword: deep linking). We are available to you as a partner for this.
