migurus

PC and Pocket PC Lead Retrieval with Integration into Sales Management Systems

By Corbin Ball

This is the fifth in this week’s blog series on new and interesting meetings technologies. I am covering the winner and the four finalists of the EIBTM 2006 Worldwide Watch for Technology Innovation (WWTW --see the first blog for this week – September 24 - for more details).

On average only 20% of tradeshow leads are followed up on.  After all of the investment in booth rental/setup, in shipping, in time away from the office, in promotion… and only 20% of the leads collected at a show are contacted after the show!!!

The problem here lies not with the exhibitor. I believe the key problem is with the inconsistent methods used for data collection. There are about six major tradeshow registration companies that provide lead retrieval for about 90% of all the tradeshows in the U.S. – most with different methods of lead retrieval – bar codes of different types, magnetic stripes, RFID (radio frequency identification) systems and more.

Although there have been efforts to be able to export the lead data collected from these different systems into exhibitors databases, the reality is that there is not a consistent method to do so.

When lead data management becomes a difficult task, it doesn’t get done. That is the reason why there is such a low percentage of follow up.

Validar Corporation (www.modernmindsoftware.com), a finalist in the WWTW’06 award focuses on this issue.

Validar has mapped many of the tradeshow lead systems in use today so that they can be consistently scanned using their system. The benefit is that the same system can be used from show to show regardless of the registration providers. They have integrated the system into a suite of PC and Pocket PC tools to help exhibitors rank and categorize leads.

Although there are other companies providing these services, Validar stands out in that it has automated many of the steps. Leads can be loaded directly into salesforce.com or other CRM application directly from the show floor, and several return on investment (ROI) tools have been added to analyze and improve tradeshow sales effectiveness.

This application helps to digitize the business process and saves time/effort for tradeshow lead management.

When the huge investment in the tradeshow is considered, a small additional investment to manage and improve the lead response is probably well worth it.

What’s New with Meetings Technology? Advanced Teleconferencing

By Corbin Ball

This is the fourth in this week’s blog series on new and interesting meetings technologies. I am covering the winner and the four finalists of the EIBTM 2006 Worldwide Watch for Technology Innovation (WWTW --see the first blog for this week – September 24 - for more details).

Videoconferencing has not really hit the mark over the years. Yes, the costs have plummeted by using the internet instead of satellites. Yes, the reliability, quality and access have vastly improved. Yes, you can take a $40 webcam and be up and running on your computer in a few minutes.

But why isn’t everyone using videoconference technology?

Part of the reason, I believe, is that it is such a pale match to face-to-face meetings. We look at each other on postage stamp sized images simultaneously watching disembodied heads on a TV. There is not eye-contact; there is not sense of really being there.

This is where telepresence can help. Telepresence is the virtual recreation of a person’s image, full size, full color, full motion, eye-to-eye as if the person were sitting across the table from you or standing behind a lectern on the dais before a group.

Teleportec (www.teleportec.com) a finalist in this WWTW’06 award is a telepresence application. Teleportec enables a speaker from anywhere in the world to appear before an audience anywhere else in the world—life-size, life-like, real-time, face-to-face and totally natural in apparent 3-D. The speaker and the audience see each other as if the speaker were physically present at the event.

It uses standard high-end videoconference equipment and high-speed data lines. The speaker is in a darkened booth with a "teleprompter" like viewing screen and can see the audience in many ways better that if he or she were on the stage live. If a person asks a question from the audience, a camera providing the feed to the teleprompter can be zoomed in providing a much better view than in a live situation.

This product takes teleconferencing to a new level using a novel way to use existing technology. As broadband, Internet 2, and high-definition television work their way into mainstream society, the video conference experience will improve dramatically. Teleportec provides and interface to make the experience even more realistic.