As a full-service provider in the event industry, XFAIR offers its customers an all-round carefree package. One of the IT services most frequently used at trade fairs is lead management. In the following interview, XFAIR Sales Director René Knapp explains what this tool is all about.
Mr Knapp, what does the term lead management actually mean, and what opportunities does efficient handling create - particularly with regard to use at trade fairs?
Lead management has become very important at trade fairs over the last ten years. In the past, you went to a trade fair and approached networking in a very relaxed way. That no longer happens - everything has to be efficient, and it’s always about return on investment (ROI); it’s increasingly about numbers.
Trade fair appearances cost a lot of money, so lead management has emerged as a kind of “results measurement tool” for companies. That’s why it has been a major focus for a few years now. Hardly any trade fairs are done just to meet people anymore - instead, you want very specific figures: how many people did you meet, who was interested in what, and of course you ultimately want to generate business from that. That means: if visitors are invited to a trade fair, they are welcomed on site, receive food and drink via catering, are shown the latest products, and conversations take place. The outcome of these conversations is then recorded - and evaluated accordingly - using the Lead App, a tool from XFAIR.
Afterwards, it’s about sending appropriate thank-you emails to thank people for their visit - that should really be the beginning, so that at some point you can get a signature on the dotted line and close a contract for business that was initiated at the trade fair.
Where does XFAIR start with its lead management solutions, and what challenges does the team face in day-to-day business?
The thing is: what most people consider lead management is actually only a small part - and only the final consequence of the “big picture”. A lot more happens, both in the preparation phase and in the follow-up.
Lead management itself - meaning qualifying a visitor - is actually the end of a whole series of actions that have to happen beforehand. As an exhibitor, I first need to think about: who do I invite to this trade fair or event at all? If that person replies and accepts, I somehow need to make sure they receive a response and perhaps even an entry ticket. That means my lead management really starts much earlier.
From the moment of the invitation, you can already ensure that at some point the “hot lead” turns into a contract. And for me, as a passionate sales professional, it’s genuinely important to accompany this entire process. With XFAIR’s solutions, we offer options for our customers - usually larger exhibitors at major trade fairs. With our invitation and response management, all necessary steps can be handled that lead to arranging an appointment for invited visitors with the stand team responsible on site. This way, the invitee can show up at the information desk and be identified immediately, for example via a QR code from their invitation or confirmation letter. That could then, for instance, automatically send a message to the relevant sales representative that their appointment is now at the information desk, where they can pick them up. Or you can even call them automatically with a single click.
Ultimately, it’s always about looking after a visitor to one of our customers - i.e. an exhibitor - in the best possible way and providing them with the best possible service. This includes ensuring they can reach their contact person without any issues, that the atmosphere is relaxed but still professional so everything runs smoothly, and that in the end it turns into business at some point.
“Our goal is to create an optimal environment for the customer’s customer acquisition.”
How does lead capture work at the event? How can an outsider imagine the process?
To capture a lead, you first need to establish initial contact. There are two ways to do that: either interested parties come via the information desk, or they meet the sales rep directly. If they come via the information desk, you can - as mentioned earlier - capture them and then call the sales representative, of course fully automated. If they meet directly, that works too - perhaps they have already booked a meeting room using one of our tools, or a table in the catering area, where they sit down to have their conversation.
The actual lead capture then takes place via our app, where I record the data - whether via business card scan or manual input, a QR code scan, or an existing record that I can pull from the database. In the end, I can fill in a personalised questionnaire.
“Who is the visitor? Which industry are they from? Are they a decision-maker or not?”
In principle, it’s always structured in a similar way. It’s always about: “Who is the visitor? Which industry are they from? Are they a decision-maker or not?” Then interests are queried: “Which product are you interested in? Would you like further information sent to you - electronically or by post as a hard copy? What are the next steps; what should happen after the conversation?” That’s the typical structure of a lead form. But of course it’s customisable and looks different for each customer. Accordingly, the evaluations also look different - both daily and cumulative. With the reports provided by XFAIR, marketing departments can run their analyses and draw conclusions.
What if trade fair visitors who were not invited in advance start talking to staff at the stand and are interested in a particular product? In that case there is no existing record - can these people still be captured?
I actually believe that this is the group that is even more interesting for exhibitors, because these are all people who don’t know the exhibitor yet. We call this group “walk-ins”. Of course we can capture them as new records and add them to our system for our customers. Visitors are usually directed to an information desk, because these visitors often don’t know the name of their contact person yet. Then they ask for the appropriate contact person based on certain criteria. One example: “I’m looking for someone responsible for Switzerland - they should ideally speak Italian because it’s for Italian-speaking Switzerland - and they should be responsible for a certain type of machine.” We can store these responsibilities and skills in our system. Based on these search parameters, we get a search result and can identify the right people and contact them with a single click to connect the visitor with their contact person as quickly and efficiently as possible.
You can be as well prepared as you like, and have great products - but if customers always have different requirements for the tool, you have to be highly adaptable. How does that work at XFAIR?
We’re fortunate that, thanks to the large number of projects we’ve already delivered, we have a great deal of experience and have implemented many different requirements. It’s even in our claim: Flexibility through ability.
“There is genuinely nothing we can’t implement.”
This flexibility doesn’t just exist out of nowhere - it has grown through experience and, of course, knowledge. That enables us to be highly flexible for our customers. There really is nothing we can’t deliver, because with our standardised product we cover, I’d say, 95 per cent of requests. And if something isn’t covered, then we of course take it on and our in-house development department works out a suitable solution. That way we can deliver a fully individualised solution - even if something isn’t included yet, or if a customer approaches us with a completely new requirement. In that case, we develop it from scratch. Have we piqued your interest? If you would like to learn more about XFAIR solutions and how they can be used for your event, don’t hesitate to contact us. And if you’re curious how XFAIR came about in the first place, feel free to browse the blog articles listed!
