Enhance Sales with Data Capture Staff

Live events including trade shows, conferences and exhibitions are excellent opportunities to expand your business. And yet so often, brands attend a trade show or similar event with one thing in mind – more sales on the day. The truth is, most sales are made after the trade show.

In effect, taking a step back and hiring data capture staff could bring significant gains for your brands.

Why collecting data at an event is key

Networking, spreading your message, making friends – there are many ‘other’ reasons why your business chooses to attend a trade show or two. Sales are usually a prime objective. However, unless your brand is attending a trade show where you know buyers make purchasing decisions on the day, you need to consider the use of data capture staff and activities.

And here’s why: gathering and sharing critical information with others is the crux of building relationships with others, acting as the bridge to more sales in the future.

What data should you collect?

Before you can decide on the best way of collecting data, you first need to understand what data you are collecting.

It can be something as simple as names and email addresses, alongside which of your services you are interested in or anonymised surveys relating to your products and services. You may choose to widen this scope by canvassing opinion from buyers and clients about your industry, how they use products like you and how they make buying choices and so on.

Data is of important value, as well as commercially sensitive. Consumers and clients are increasingly wary of giving information way so be clear about what it is you need to know and more importantly, why you need to know it.

How will data capture staff gather this information?

There are many activities that data capture staff can utilise to gather the data and information you need at your next trade show;

• Collecting business cards is the most very basic level of information gathering
• Paper-based questionnaires and forms are common too. Staff don’t have to rely on technology or a secure internet connection to access the forms. However, on the downside, there is bound to be a further step of inputting the information on a database or similar.
• Technology also provides a range of data gathering options. Hired data staff may use your own devices including a PC or tablet to input the information directly onto your system or closed area online. With a strong and stable internet connection, this can be a simple and quick process.

Important considerations – privacy and security

We’ve already mentioned how consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the information they ‘give away’. For too long, we didn’t question why a brand needed our date of birth or other pieces of personal information.

There are also concerns about where and how their information is stored, what security measures are in place and so on. GDPR has had an impact and you will need to reassure people you value their information, even if it is ‘just’ a work email they are giving you.

Consider why you are asking for certain pieces of information and what the value of it is to your brand. A year of birth may be sufficient if you want data capture staff to track your customer demographic with anonymised returns – that is, no identifying features – can be just as useful as gathering names and phone numbers.

Adding value to your marketing

Data capture staff from a promotional staffing agency are trained professionals. They are not simply gathering information, they are engaging with people. They are conversing with your potential future customers, giving them valuable information on who you are and what you do.

But more than that, and just as important, they are creating a positive impression of your business. When you contact these potential customers in the future, they are more likely to interact if they have a memorable impression of your brand.

If you don’t data capture staff at your next live event, are you confident you will be getting as much out of the event as you can?