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The Cellular Solution
June 27, 2008

In the last week, three different people have approached me regarding an idea related to tradeshow tools enabled through a cellular phone.  This recurring topic offered enough evidence of market interest to warrant further exploration.

The availability of these new solutions is directly related to the advancements of cellular features and bandwidth.  Given the increased opportunity for sending and receiving more information at a faster speed, cell phones are becoming the ubiquitous platform that everyone can use to access information.   Exhibitors would rather spend money on software that captures data from their own cell phone, removing the additional cost of renting a proprietary device.  Attendees almost always carry a cell phone to an event (one recent research study indicated that 97% of attendees carry their cell phone).  The marriage of these trends results in a inexpensive but reliable tool for connecting people.

Is this the beginning of the end for the lead retrieval devices that registration companies have invested into heavily?  Yes!

It never made sense to create an entire data system that only allowed access from a single vendor solution.  Our industry propelled the growth of third party suppliers who get paid to capture data for large corporations and translate back into their CRM systems due to the barriers created by the proprietary lead retrieval devices.

With GPS features, SMS texting, and a variety of other social media tools becoming standard on cell phones, it is only a matter of time before the innovators of this industry would latch onto the cresting wave and harness the oncoming flood.  Innovation has always found ways to circumvent the communication barriers created by business.  With the advent of the 3G phones and the increased data pipe bandwidth, we will soon see some exciting changes in the way the show community connects audiences and exhibitors.

I welcome the launch of a new methodology to capture leads on a trade show floor.  Besides, I need to justify the purchase of my new 3G Apple iPhone as a legitimate business expense.

Posted by Stephen Nold on June 27, 2008 | Comments (4)