5 Ideas to Capture and Qualify Trade Show Contact Data
Austin, Texas: Everybody who attends trade shows loves stopping by booths that have give-aways.
Promotional Products. Swag. Tchotchkes. Gimmes. Ad Specialties.
Call it what you wish, but I have seen C-Level employees wait in line for the newest, neatest, coolest imprinted gifts.
Choosing the right item can definitely improve traffic counts at your booth, giving your sales force an opportunity to demonstrate, answer questions, qualify leads, prospect and sell.
However, are you getting the maximum bang for your promotional dollar?
When you hand out your imprinted item, are you capturing the recipient’s contact information and other data?
Surely, most people will not give you their contact information for a tote bag, basic pen or keyring. But how can you capture this important data?
1) Insert Card: How about inserting a self-addressed postcard inside your sports bottle asking for this contact information in return for a second bottle–or other gift?
2) Hang Tag: Why not attach a simple hang tag with a QR code printed on it, which takes customer to a landing page that requires the completion of some questions in order to receive a free gift. Digital rewards, such as music downloads, free magazine subscriptions and even restaurant gift cards are the ideal premium for this–as the cards can be mailed out for just the cost of a first class letter–or sent to their email using unique identification code.
3) Enter to Win Contests: These are the most common data capture forms–but many times customers will not fill out the cards completely if someone isn’t watching over their shoulder when they deposit their card.
4) Digital Reward Cards: Many companies choose to make the digital download card the trade show gift in itself– as the recipient has to log in to a landing page and complete a questionnaire in order to be able to redeem their card. (see number 2). This can be for 5 songs, a free magazine subscription, a branded personal concierge card, etc.
5) Questionnaire/Survey Before Prize Giveaway: Unless the value of the gift is $5-$10 (this may need to be more, depending on the audience), many people will not answer more than a few questions in order to get the free gift. Many times model are hired for this duty, as sex appeal may play a part in capturing this important data.
Trade show success should not be based on how many name badges your staff has scanned, how many business cards are collected nor how many imprinted tote bags are given away.
Getting qualified leads should be the ultimate goal.
If you budget another thousand dollars or so for data capture premiums, you can ensure a better chance for a successful show and help to maximze your show ROI.
How are you capturing your trade show attendees’ data?
