A badge code scan
- One quick scan per visitor.
- Returns the registration data the organizer holds.
- Depends on the organizer's system and licence.
- May not include a direct phone number or email, depending on what the show shares.
Badge scanner app for trade shows: what it can read
A badge scanner records who visited your stand by reading the badge they wear. Whether an app can do that depends on what is printed on the badge and on the system the organizer uses. This guide explains the difference, and when reading a business card is the simpler route.
How an event badge scanner works
Most trade-show badges carry a barcode or a QR code that the organizer created when the visitor registered. Scanning it looks the code up in the organizer's registration system and returns the visitor's details. For that reason, badge scanning usually runs through the organizer's own scanner, or through a licensed app that is connected to its system.
The code on its own is often just a number, or it is protected. A general-purpose scanner app that is not connected to the organizer's system may show nothing useful.
Three ways to capture a visitor who wears a badge
- Scan the badge code
- Use the organizer's scanner or licensed app. You get the details the visitor gave at registration, and which fields you see depends on the show.
- Read the printed badge or the business card
- An app reads the name and company printed on the badge, or the whole business card, with AI. The contact details come from the visitor, and it works at shows with no lead retrieval.
- Let the visitor scan your QR code
- Print a QR code on the stand. The visitor opens a form or downloads your files and leaves their details, with consent.
Badge code or business card: which gives you more?
A business card scan
- Reads the email and phone number as the visitor printed them on the card.
- Works at every show, with or without lead retrieval.
- Needs a card from the visitor, or a badge with a printed name and company.
Where Followbooth fits
Followbooth is a badge scanner app in one sense: it reads the text printed on a name badge, and on a full business card, with the phone camera. It does not read the barcode or QR code on a badge, and it does not connect to organizers' systems.
After the scan it does what a code scan cannot. You say one sentence about the conversation, and the brochure goes to the visitor by WhatsApp or email, in their language, while they are still at the stand.
What Followbooth does not do today
No native CRM connectors yet (CSV export, an API, webhooks and Zapier instead), no badge barcode scanning, and the native apps are not in the stores yet: the iPhone app, which works without signal, is in testing, and the Android app is coming to Google Play. In the browser, reading a card needs a connection. WhatsApp messages go out from your team's own linked number; an official WhatsApp Business route is planned.
Prices
Start free with 10 business card scans, no card needed. Prices exclude VAT.
- Event Pass: €149 per show
- Up to 3 people and 300 leads, with access for 30 days after the show. For teams that exhibit a few times a year.
- Team Annual: €790 per year
- Up to 5 people, unlimited shows and 1,500 leads a year, then €0.30 per lead. Includes QR file groups for every show and a data processing agreement.
Questions about badge scanners
What is the best badge scanner app for trade shows?
It depends on the show. If you need the registration data behind the badge code, the organizer's system or its licensed app is the only route. If you want contacts at any show and a way to follow up, an app that reads cards and printed badges is simpler.
Can I scan a trade show badge with my phone camera?
A phone camera can read a QR code, but the result is usually a code or a link that means nothing without the organizer's system. An app that reads the printed text on the badge can capture the name and company.
Do I have to rent a badge scanner from the organizer?
Not always. Many organizers offer a rented scanner or an app licence, and their exhibitor service can tell you what your show has. You can also capture visitors without it, by reading business cards or with a QR code.
Does Followbooth scan badge barcodes?
No. Followbooth reads business cards and the text printed on a badge. It does not read barcodes or QR codes on badges.
Related pages
Try it at your next show
Start free: 10 business card scans, no card needed.