Smartphone App

Case Study: How the ExpoMatch Smartphone App Changes Your Exhibition

Contents
Exhibitor Blues
Investment
Leads, Sheets and Cards
Smartphone App
ExpoMatch

Exhibitor Blues

David is a dental product manufacturer. For the last two years he has been working on a new hi-tech instrument for the fast-developing field of implants. He aimed to launch the product at the biennial International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany. The total cost of the exhibition stand, hotel, flights, plus the cost of a week away from the office ran to thousands of dollars. It’s been a nail-biting time. Over the last few months there have been moments of doubt. For example, a series of technical setbacks caused delays in product development and certification. David and his team did not even know if the instrument would be ready on time.
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Investment

Meanwhile, David invested many more thousands of dollars preparing graphics, packaging and flyers for the new product. He invited potential clients to meetings at the show to see a demonstration of the new instrument. And David worked hard to generate media interest. He had booked a flight to the exhibition for 5 am on Friday morning. At 2 pm on Thursday afternoon he still hadn’t received the new instruments from production. Deadlines passed by. The tension was almost unbearable. Clearly there would not be time for the instruments to be packed in their new boxes as planned. But David never gave up hope, and just after 6 pm he had the instruments in hand.
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Leads, Sheets and Cards

Being a new concept, the instrument did not fit into any of the existing categories in the show catalogue. He selected the closest equivalent, even though it was misleading for some. At the show there was tremendous interest in the new product. The team on the stand was busy writing lead sheets, stapling business cards and giving out flyers with David’s business card attached. Many visitors didn’t have business cards, so they wrote down contact details by hand, not always legibly. This all took a lot of time, leaving less time for demonstrating the new instrument. David’s team missed potential clients who didn’t wait until one of the team was available to talk to them.

David and his team wished they had a solution which would give them more free time for demonstrations and order-taking, so they could spread the word more efficiently about their new product. For them, the top priority was Return on investment (ROI).
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Smartphone App

David had exhibited at the international dental show in Tel Aviv last year where a new smartphone app was used – ExpoMatch. The app saved a lot of time and paperwork because it captured contact data when the visitor scanned the QR code on his stand, and indicated the products which interested him. It meant that David did not miss a single potential client, even if he hadn’t had time to speak to them in person. He realised that while everything at the big show in Cologne was organised with great attention to detail, it was a pity they did not use that smartphone app. He’d heard that now the ExpoMatch app works by simply keying the stand number into the app. At the show in Tel Aviv it had improved his ROI, and made follow-up much easier.
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ExpoMatch

ExpoMatch is a smartphone app downloaded by all exhibitors and visitors during registration for a trade show. It records detailed product information, and accurate contact details for all participants. The app works by keying in a stand number or scanning a printed QR code on the stand. This simple action enables the visitor to access a list of products featured by that exhibitor. When a visitor sees a product on display which interests them, they simply tick that product on their smartphone app.

During the show David and his team were often too busy to talk to everyone who showed interest in their new product. If the visitor had been able to key the stand number or scan a QR code using the ExpoMatch smartphone app, it would have captured their contact details, and would have given the potential customer David’s contact details, even though they hadn’t spoken. The smart matchmaking system could also suggest potential leads to David: visitors who showed interest in similar products on other stands at the show.

The app would help David to reach many more potential clients for his interesting new product, bringing faster return on investment, and generating more new business with less sales effort. Is it too much to hope that the new ExpoMatch smart exhibition matchmaking system will be available for use at the next International Dental Show? David certainly hopes so.
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