Lead retrieval, badge scanner or business cards
Three things get called lead capture at a trade show. What each one captures, who sells it, what you get afterwards, and when to use more than one.
Three different things are called lead capture at a trade show, and exhibitors often compare them as if they were one product. They answer different questions.
- A lead retrieval system is the organizer’s whole service: a code on every badge, a way to read it, and a portal where you download your leads.
- A badge scanner is the device or app that reads the code on a badge.
- Business card scanning reads what a visitor hands you.
Side by side
| Lead retrieval system | Badge scanner | Business card scanning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it captures | The registration data the organizer holds for the badge | The code on the badge, which the system looks up | Name, company, email and phone printed on the card |
| Who provides it | The organizer or its contractor, at shows that offer it | The organizer, its contractor, or a rental company | You choose the tool |
| How it is usually sold | Often per device or licence for one show | Often a rented handheld or an app licence | The vendor decides: per show, per year or per user |
| Works at a show with no lead retrieval | No | Only if you bring a system that can read the codes | Yes |
| After the scan | Export from the organizer’s portal | The same, or a CRM sync if the vendor offers it | Depends on the tool |
Lead retrieval systems and devices
The reader is often a rented handheld device, or an app on your own phone with a licence for the show. This makes sense when you want the registration data of every visitor you scan, when the show offers it at a fair price, and when your team scans many badges quickly.
It does not help at shows without such a system, and what you get depends on what the organizer chooses to share. A code scan may not give you a direct phone number or email.
Badge scanner apps
An app that reads the barcode or QR code on a badge only tells you something if it is connected to the organizer’s system. The code on its own is often just a number, or it is protected. So most badge scanner apps work only for the shows that connect them to the organizer’s data.
An app that reads the printed text on a badge, instead of the code, works anywhere. It gets only what is printed, usually a name and a company.
Business card scanning
You get the email and phone number the visitor chose to share. It works at any show and does not depend on the organizer. It needs a card, or a visitor willing to give their details.
Which fits which exhibitor
The organizer’s system or a rented device fits when:
- you need the registration data behind the badge;
- you expect many visitors per hour and need one quick scan per person;
- the show gives you the licence at a price that is fine for you.
Your own business card tool fits when:
- the show has no lead retrieval, or you do not want a licence for every phone;
- you want the visitor to leave with your brochure, in their language;
- you exhibit at several shows and want one tool, one list and one price.
The two do not exclude each other. Many teams scan badges with the organizer’s system and use a card scan for the conversations that matter.
When Followbooth is not the better choice
Followbooth is a business card tool. It reads the text on a card or a printed badge with the phone camera. It does not read the barcode or QR code on a badge and does not connect to organizers’ systems. So:
- If you need the registration data attached to the badge, use the organizer’s system or its licensed app.
- If you need a native, one-click CRM connector, know that Followbooth sends leads through CSV, an API, webhooks and Zapier instead.
- If you must scan without signal on a phone that is not an iPhone, know that only the iPhone app, which is on the App Store, is built to work without a connection. In the browser, reading a card needs one.
- If you expect hundreds of visitors an hour, a badge scan is faster than a card scan.
In those cases use the other method, and add Followbooth where the stand has time for a conversation.
If you want to see how it works on a show without lead retrieval, create an account and scan ten cards.