Trade Show Badge Essentials

Most business sales and marketing, these days, takes place without any face-to-face interaction. One of the last stands of in-person business networking is the trade show. Of course, like everything else, even the face-to-face, in-person sales and marketing aspects of a trade show have been automated in recent years. The trade show transition online, however, is perhaps a little more subtle than in other areas of business. In fact, a lot of trade show modernization is found in an unlikely little place: the trade show badge. Trade show badges were once an afterthought of the trade show experience, a way to introduce oneself before getting on with the real business. Now, the trade show badge is a more integral part of the experience. This is because trade show badges can now be barcoded with vital data and information; they can then be scanned using a tradeshow badge scanner and have this vital data and information stored for later use and follow up. The value of data makes this data collection and follow-up process a more crucial aspect of a successful trade show than it has been in the past. So, exactly what are the key elements of a trade show badge that makes it such a great tool for businesses? Here is a look at the essentials.

 

tradeshow-scanner

 

Contact Information

 

Contact information relayed by trade show badges isn’t just limited to name and company. They also frequently display the wearer’s status at the event, whether they are an exhibitor, attendee, buyer, member of the press, speaker, student or have some other designation that can be useful for sales, marketing and/or networking purposes. Not only does this allow businesses to be more selective in speaking with their target audience on the day of the trade show, it also allows the follow-up process to be more efficient and effective as follow-up communication can be customized and tailored based on different groups of people engaged with at the show. Of course, the individual’s name and company are also displayed on the badge.  Attendance tracking, which is keeping track of names, titles, locations and company affiliation, also streamlines the follow-up process and helps businesses remember each interaction they had at the trade show and maximize its potential.

 

Barcode

 

What makes storing all of this information possible is the barcode on the badge. This may be a standard barcode but may also be a QR code. It is usually located in the center of a trade show badge. These barcoded badges are only possible at a well-organized event that pre-registers attendees, solicits their contact information and assigns it to a specific barcode. Often times, trade shows are businesses in and of themselves, so it behooves them to be as organized as possible to be more conducive to conducting business both at the show and in the future.

 

Equipment

 

The missing link between the barcoded badge at the event itself and the valuable data it stores that can be accessed and used later is the tradeshow badge scanner. A highly-organized event with lots of motivated buyers isn’t as useful as it could be if the vendor doesn’t have a scanner to collect the information on the barcoded badges. After it’s collected, trade show vendors also need the right software to store and transfer the information. Scanning a badge might seem like a silly process at first, but any vendor who has experienced a successful trade show follow-up campaign understands that the scans bring serious value.

 

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