Love the idea of the Marketo app... just curious on people's experience using it on a busy tradeshow floor to collect new data, vs. checking in folks to an event where the guests are mainly pre-registered and already part of a program or attendee list? I haven't used the app yet (and looks like the demo link on that page takes you to a Marketo overview demo - not a demo of the app itself). Seems like use at a pre-populated event would make check-in and updating program status a cinch... but at a tradeshow, you may be checking people in for pre-set appointments, but you also have new, walk-up leads to contend with, requiring form fill-outs to capture info on the fly (taking the place of scanning a badge and collecting info which is generally deeper than a short form fill can provide).
My biggest concerns with ANY lead collection process at tradeshows are:
- dependability of gathering and saving the data whether or not there's connectivity
- being able to quickly and non-invasively collect data to keep the limited time you have with someone focused on serving their needs, and being able to qualify them so your follow-up is as relevant as possible
- Does the app work in offline mode? Meaning, if there's spotty/no wifi, etc. in the expo hall (or amssive interference making connectivity difficult), will it collect and save data without fail, then sync to Marketo automatically once a dependable connection is available?
- Can you use hidden fields, to auto-populate pre-specified data (or would you have to do this on the back-end through trigger campaigns?)
- With any new data capture, form fields would have to be short... in a busy expo floor environment, you might get a group of 5+ people from one company show up at the same time, want to gather information and depart. You sometimes don't have time to stop each individual in a group and collect deep data - and the process/interruption of data collection can be awkward (this is where asking if you can quickly scan their badges generally works best, allowing them to carry-on a conversation while you simultaneously get all of their info.) Of course, a short form fill can absolutely work... you just have to rely on progressive profiling forms on the back-end to collect deeper data.
if you've had good success with this at tradeshows, I'd love to hear and learn from your experience! - Jen
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