Why is paperless the future of trade shows?

Each day, over 200,000 people are exposed to the hashtag on Twitter.

If this isn’t enough of a proof, the flow of discussion, both online and offline, coming from politics or other citizens about the future of the earth is enough of an indicator to know that “paperless” is a hot topic that concerns most.

But what does it mean going “paperless” at exhibitions and how does it benefit people?

The situation

Exhibitors participating in trade shows print paper for two major purposes – leads reports (taking paper notes about their conversation with visitors) and marketing collateral (brochures, pamphlets, catalogs, flyers, business cards, etc.).

Because of the fear of “not having enough” and running out of stock before the end of the show, exhibitors tend to print more than what they need and end up wasting tons of papers. Worse: all these leaflets that are distributed at trade shows often end-up in a trash bin.

Is there a better way to do and how can it benefit all the players of the trade show industry?

Going paperless helps the environment

That is a no-brainer.

Using alternative solutions to paper-printing saves paper that saves trees and ultimately saves the planet.

“Alright, that’s great, saving polar bears and all, I’m all for it. But I’m running a business and my primary objective is to make money, not to save the earth and I need to satisfy my customers!”.

What if I told you going paperless WILL satisfy your customers?

Going paperless satisfies your visitors

Have you noticed all these visitors walking the aisles of your events with arms full of bags, dragging a heavy luggage behind themselves?

Did you ever hear “could you please send it to me via email instead, I carry too many things already!” when trying to offer a catalog to a visitor?

Buyers and attendees in general do NOT want to receive more documents from you. As a matter of fact, most of the materials you provide them with will end up in a trash bin somewhere between your booth and the visitor’s hotel.

What attendees want is information AND convenience. Providing them with digital documents easy to access achieves both objectives perfectly.

But that’s not all! Going paperless is also great for you and your team.

Going paperless saves you money and efforts

Not even mentioning the cost of printing, preparing ready-to-print artworks, sending files to the printer, arranging pick-up and delivery, managing the stocks and distributing materials, all this has a toll on your team’s focus and energy level.

What if you could wave all this and improve your efficiency in the same time?

Going paperless means having less material to carry and manage. It also means improving the quality of data you collect (in terms of data capture forms) and receiving additional insights in terms of who reads and access your information. Indeed, when you share a digital file you can know how many people decided to access it (unlike flyers where you have little information as how many have been distributed and whether people wanted it or have been forced to take one).

But there is more!

Going paperless could bring you additional business

Going “paperless” is also a real marketing asset.

In a society where people are more and more sensitive to ecology and waste-control, having a “paperless” brand is something worth advertising. While it is rarely the major reason for a customer to choose your product, when hesitating between two brands, prospects are ore keen to pick the eco-friendly one.

Give up your paper strategy today and proudly communicate it – you are now a paperless brand!

How to do?

As mentioned earlier, there are mostly two aspects of booth management exhibitors should change to reduce significantly their paper wastage: leads capture and marketing material.

If you move to a digital lead capture tool, not only will you improve your efficiency at trade show but you will also no longer need paper. You might also save yourself a few hours of pain trying to read handwritten notes after the event!

Going with digital files hosted on the cloud that your visitors can freely access via QR codes or that you would send via email will also save you a lot of troubles and make your visitors happy.

myfairtool provides a solution for both problems and you should definitely look into it if you plan on going paperless before your next exhibition.