In the world of business, sales are most often the main indicator of a successful business. Many businesses may not, however, collect data about sales cycles, the products they sell and the success rates of their sales teams. Sales can mean so much more than just bottom line revenue when they are mixed with sales data. For example, how did your client hear about your brand and would they refer your brand or business to a friend?

During the lifecycle of many businesses you or your brand may consider an event or launch party to invite a list of your most valued or repeat customers to see and try your new products. However, you have to know who these customers are by using data extracted from your CRM system or another tool to help you identify those customers who purchase most frequently or the customers who commit large purchases.

If data is king then contacts are queen. And when it comes to running an event, the most important things to capture on the day are:

  • Sales - who has and who will purchase your product because of the event
  • Data about who attended
  • Which guests are viewing and trying your products
  • Data about their purchase behavior
  • Their willingness to repurchase a product by your brand
  • Capturing information about whether they are willing to refer your brand onto a friend.

One of the easiest ways to gather this data is directly after a product launch or sales event. We have tried and tested three of the best to help you gather contact information quickly so that your guests can return to trying and hopefully buying your products.

iCapture
iCapture is available on multiple devices (iPad, iPhone, Android devices) and adds all the data into a single complete list. This is great for expos, trade shows or larger events where you have multiple sales people gathering contact information to add to your database.

iCapture works best for events where you don’t have an established or confirmed guest list. It’s a simple and quick way to gather contact information for any walk in customers and add them to your database. You can customise questions or just add a name and email address for simple data collection.
Price: $10-25 (USD, per year).

Zkipster
This one is super simple to use and their tutorial video ensures you don’t waste time guessing how to best use the system. The user interface looks great and helps make good use of your time.

Zkipster is best for events where you have an established guest list. This list is easily added by downloading the Zkipster CSV template, completing the fields and re uploading into the system.
Price: $99 per event with seasonal plans available.

Event Farm
Event Farm was one of the first iPad check-in apps launched for the events industry. Event Farm’s key feature is that you can have a landing page that is branded in conjunction to the check-in service app. Entering your guests list is as easy as downloading the CSV template (or one you create yourself) and re-uploading the list into their system. Alternatively, you can add all guests manually.
Price: Free for up to 100 guests or $75 per event for up to 3500 guests.