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In a bygone era, a car dealership might have a jar for business cards and a sign reading, “Leave your card for a chance to win a year’s worth of free carwashes!”
The sales team then used those cards to A) Contact people who were presumably interested in the brand because they were physically at the dealership and B) Foster a personal relationship they could leverage into a future sale.
In 2024, we call that lead capture and journey nurturing. It’s getting people into the sales funnel and moving them further down it. Only now, marketers do that on a much larger scale using a number of engagement tactics, the most effective of which is events.
Doing that well in 2024 involves technology — or at least that’s how successful brands and agencies do it. Today, marketing at auto and trade shows, music festivals, sporting events, and the like is a well-oiled machine that relies on various types of software.
This article highlights eight tools for event lead capture and lead retrieval. We’ll review each tool and who it’s best for.
Why Is Event Lead Capture Important?
Since you’re reading this, you already know that lead capture is arguably the reason why event marketing exists. Wowing people with products and getting them interested in learning more and — the end goal — purchasing is the name of the game.
Lead capture at events is important for three main reasons:
- The overwhelming number of attendees: Simply put, if you’re running an activation at an event with thousands of people coming through, there’s no way to keep up with all that data.
- Bridging the gap between marketing and sales: Capturing ownable, accurate data on potential customers allows sales teams to follow up with personalized messages quickly. That speed-to-lead capability drives more conversions.
- Proving the value of experiences: With marketing budgets constantly scrutinized, event ROI needs to be quantified by more than anecdotes. Getting leads into the sales funnel is Step 1 in showing how an activation performed.
What's The Difference Between Lead Capture and Lead Retrieval?
The terms lead capture and lead retrieval can sometimes be confused. Both are a big part of generating leads at events. But the big difference is data ownership.
Here’s the difference between lead capture and lead retrieval.
Lead capture is the proactive process of getting attendees to provide ownable first-party data on the spot. That can be as simple as a form asking for name and contact info but is often more specific about preferences, purchase timelines, etc. It’s common at auto shows and test drive events.
Lead retrieval is the reactive process of matching attendees to the data they provided at registration using badge scanners and other hardware. It is common at exhibitions, conferences and trade shows.
Live marketers often use a combination of both capture and retrieval to maximize their qualification efforts.
8 Best Tools For Lead Capture
Here are 8 tools for lead capture that you can check out. In no particular order, we researched these different tools to help generate leads for your next event.
Social Tables
Social Tables automates event diagramming, promotes collaboration, and generates to-scale layouts and photo-realistic 3D walkthroughs. It also creates interactive websites for lead capture, provides check-in and badging services, and includes an app that tracks attendance and flow in real time.
Social Tables is great for event planners and venue managers who are designing and collaborating on floor plans with stakeholders.
Limelight Platform
Limelight Platform specializes in capturing, qualifying and engaging event leads. It is a single software system that connects the digital and physical aspects of any event or experiential activation.
Its highlights include digital forms that adapt to answers and work online or off, instant lead qualification, personalized follow-ups via email or SMS, real-time reports and retailer alerts, and CRM integration.
Limelight Platform is built for experiential marketers at brands or agencies looking to modernize activations, stop lead leakage and prove ROI with data.
iCapture
iCapture provides intelligent lead capture and retrieval software. It eliminates manual work like paper forms and uploading CSV files, segments and prioritizes leads for sales, quantifies ROI and connects with major CRMs.
iCapture is best suited to live marketers running activations at trade shows, exhibitions and conferences.
vCapture by Validar
vCapture by Validar is lead retrieval and management software offering a suite of lead products and services. It allows marketers to power on-site registration, badge printing, and ticketing services and integrate it into their tech stacks.
vCapture is best for B2B marketers who want to rank and categorize leads collected at trade shows and conventions.
HubSpot
HubSpot Business Card Scanner creates CRM leads out of business cards, which eliminates data inputting manual work. The app is free for iOS and Android devices. It links directly to HubSpot-powered CRMs to automate trade show lead follow-up emails.
The HubSpot Business Card Scanner is for marketers building lead databases at events without using forms.
vFairs
vFairs is a management system for virtual, hybrid and live marketing. It provides customizable tools that create cohesive experiences for trade shows, job fairs and events of all sizes. That includes immersive digital environments, webinars, matchmaking tools and gamification.
Although it also offers live event tools like registration and badge printing, vFairs is best suited to running virtual and hybrid events.
Eventmobi
Eventmobi is an all-in-one event-planning software solution. Users can create white labeled registration sites and digital invitations, and attendee badges and/or branded virtual experiences and apps. Its engagement tools power networking for in-person and virtual events and provide comprehensive data for easy sponsorship reporting.
Eventmobi is a tool built for event planners and managers.
Captello
Captello streamlines lead capture and bridges the gap between marketing and sales departments. Its app (for iOS and Android) allows marketers to drive engagement via branded lead capture forms, scan badges, personalize communications, book meetings, measure ROI and connect to CRMs.
Captello is a tool for event marketers and managers looking to drive lead acquisition.
Final Thoughts
Lead capture is the most important aspect of any marketing event. It’s the first step towards converting potential customers. In 2024, successful experiential marketers use various types of tools to capture, qualify and nurture leads because of its accuracy, efficiency, security and ability to provide insights and prove ROI with reliable data.
Selecting the right tools is key to achieving your business goals. It’s important that your KPIs match the capabilities of the software you choose. Marketers must understand items like features and limitations, whether it can grow with your needs and how easy it is to use.
It’s a big decision, but there’s no getting around the fact that low-tech lead capture like business cards in jars just doesn’t cut it anymore.
FAQs
1. How to collect leads at events?
It begins by putting on a good show. Whether that’s a product reveal, test drive, putting contest or karaoke experience, getting people pumped about your brand is key. Then you put technology to work with digital forms or scans to fill your sales funnel with (hopefully) hot leads and alert retailers to them.
2. What are the methods of event lead capture?
There are a few methods of event lead capture, such as traditional methods, including paper forms and business cards. Today, people use digital methods such as QR codes, lead capture apps, interactive displays, social media, gamification. By combining traditional and digital methods, you can effectively capture leads at your events and build your customer base.
3. What is the purpose of a lead capture form?
Forms can be as simple or complicated as needed. At their most basic, they are a means to capture contact info for leads. Dynamic forms adapt to answers and provide much richer data concerning preferences, habits, purchase journeys and more.
4. Why is lead capture important?
Trade shows are usually just that: shows. They’re not retail opportunities; they introduce people to products and create buzz. The hope is that an activation is engaging enough that it will turn people into sales leads. But a brand isn’t going to know that if they’re not capturing those leads and can’t prove the value of an event without knowing if it led to revenue.