Big data got you feeling down? We totally get it. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. The days of not knowing what to do with your company’s data post-event are gone (hallelujah). Now, we’re speaking a different language—the intelligent use of data through real-time analytics—allowing event professionals to once and for all retire the notion that interaction has to end when an event ends.
As Gartner, the world’s leading technology research and advisory company states, “Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and/or high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing that enable enhanced insight, decision making, and process automation.” So, let’s think. Why are the three-V’s of big data (volume, velocity, variety) important to your company? And how can harnessing them help you determine event ROI?
Your Event and Big Data:
Reppin’
When you’re representing your company at an event or trade show, the sheer volume of attendees, not to mention their collective information, can feel overwhelming, right? Think about it. Each lead captured possesses a variety of likes, dislikes, interests, engagements, purchases, etc. Now, you can see the volume and potential overload of information if the ability to process this data is not in place.
Next-generation lead-retrieval platforms for trade shows take the guessing out of “what to do next?” with your customers. In fact, our friends over at Meetings & Conventions, a Northstar Travel Media Site, say, “The ability to get real-time data and take action on it during a trade show is a game changer.”
Now, you can start capturing valuable information from the very beginning of an event. Starting with a simple badge scan at your booth, you can begin tracking your visitors and their engagement with your brand materials. It sounds like rapid-fire data coming into us, and that’s the velocity at which big data works. Remember that MTV show True Life? Well, “You think you know, but you have no idea.” The same goes for the speed of data. It comes in faster and, in many cases, more complex than we ever thought possible.
And, since we all know that each customer has their own tailored needs and wants, no two people are the same, and that shows in the data, too. The variety of data available is exponential, and how to close the sale greatly depends on a company’s ability to constantly evolve its marketing tactics in a strategic, data-driven way.
Beyond the booth
Big data is an invaluable tool in terms of client relationship management and how a company tailors its marketing to offer the best solutions to a customer’s needs. Access to clean, transparent information affords your sales team the opportunity to build business relationships based on cold, hard facts – not guesses. The newest wave of lead-retrieval platforms, can now collect and process previously fragmented contact details to ensure you follow-up at the right moment with the right message.
Wouldn’t it be awesome to have clear-cut engagement metrics to assist your efforts, instead of a stack of business cards and cold-calls to make? Big data can seem daunting, as we know first-hand! But in all seriousness, big data can and will help you determine event ROI by letting you know if your best efforts were truly successful.
So…
Stop freaking out about big data! With the proper business intelligence tool, it doesn’t have to be that way any longer. Take control of the pesky three-V’s of big data. Start making calculated decisions for your business by implementing a lead retrieval platform, like momencio, that goes beyond the booth at your next event. You won’t regret it and your bottom-line won’t, either.
