5 iPad Apps You Should Consider at your Tradeshow
Earlier this year, I shared a few iPhone Apps that would be perfect for the tradeshow environment. With the introduction of the iPad, many immediately saw the value of this niche product for the event world. With a few months for a library of exclusively design apps to accumulate, I’ve decided to follow up with a list of my favorite applications.
Why the iPad is perfect for tradeshows:
The iPad goes where your laptop can’t and it’s size is advantageous over the iPhone. It’s the perfect “in-between” device for both attendees and exhibitors to be productive and share information with each other. The brilliant and beautiful screen display is perfect for demos and presentations and it’s speed and integration with other progressive products and software makes it an impossible display to ignore.
bCards Pro ($1.99)
Most business cards are thrown away within the first 24 hours of exchange. Many of those are due to the inconvenience of manual data transfer. Business cards scanners are great for obtaining your attendee info, but nearly as important is ensuring YOUR info lands in your attendee’s address book.
bCards Pro will send your contact info, in a vCard format, via email or Wifi transfer directly to your attendees smartphone – instantly. Be creative – leave a personalized note in your contact details or a friendly ‘thank you’ for the time they spent with you.
(also available for iPhone)
Simple Job Proposal ($4.99)
So you’re nearing that deal on the tradeshow floor. Using Simple Job Proposal, you can create a customized proposal for your customer, on the spot. Using an iPad stylus, you can even pull signatures into your proposal. No need to print documents. No need to fax a copy. Simply email the document to your customer and end the paper trail before they leave your exhibit.
Dropbox (Free)
One of my personal favorites, Dropbox is leading the way in cloud based storage and document management. With your free account, you can view and manage photos, videos, documents and presentations from your iPad. Furthermore, your Dropbox account allows you to synchronize between your computer and other mobile devices.
Developing a directory of tradeshow collateral with Dropbox makes sharing brochures, product specification sheets, presentations, photos, demos, videos, etc. extremely convenient. You’ll also free yourself from the expenses of printing and shipping materials, which can be easily shared with anyone right from within the app.
(also available for iPhone)
Conference Pad ($4.99)
A large advantage with the iPad is the high versatility with a fairly competitive cost. If you’re giving a presentation at a tradeshow, you can simultaneously control your demo on any number of iPads, iPhone or iPod touches. By passing out devices to attendees or strategically placing them throughout your exhibit or conference, you can deconstruct the projection screen and customize your presentation around your environment. All devices respond as you do – slide changing, pinching and zooming, even a laser pointer function – all adds a touch of user interaction.
Popplet ($8.99)
Add an interest and level of interaction with your attendees with creativity from Popplet. This app is a visual idea sharing organizer. Create an idea board based on a topic or question and let your attendees add their own responses to the board. Incorporate photos of attendees or their experiences throughout the event.
(a Lite version is also available)
Are you using the iPad at your tradeshow at events? What creative apps or uses have you come across to utilize this new piece of technology? How do you think it will effect the tradeshow industry in the future?
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We agree with you that the iPad is perfect for the trade show environment. In fact I am the president of a company that is betting its future on it. After forty years of success, it can be a challenge to see your business change. We realized the future of any company boils down to innovation and differentiation…in our case that meant imploding on purpose.
After conducting extensive focus groups and surveying show managers, exhibitors and attendees, we took a good, hard look at what the iPad could mean to our business and we set out to offer the next generation of lead retrieval. The result was the development of a first-of-its-kind iPhone, iPad and iPod touch App for trade show lead retrieval.
As an app, iLeads allows businesses to confront a huge problem they face each time they exhibit: lead follow up. iLeads lets you do it instantly.
Also by using the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch in conjunction with cloud computing, iLeads also eliminates the friction (shipping costs, staffing, capital investment, maintenance and availability) generated by dedicated lead retrieval terminals – the core of our business for nearly two decades.
The iPad is ideal for business. For ours, it is the necessity we’ve been waiting for.
We just finished a show last week and still have not bought an ipad. My boss wants to know what are some apps that would help us gain more leads or at least be able to get them into or database. We currently use a program called ACT to manage our leads. But I wanted to know if there was a good app that I could use to just enter email address of people who visited my booth? Something, simple, quick and easy for eveyone.
Thanks
Kyle
have a look @ http://www.floktu.com…all this functionality and more
What is a good iPad program for not only gathering leads, but to host your products sales sheets and catalogs, for going Green at shows and lessening the print / ship cost. something that the consumer / dealer / distributor can put their contact info in and slect the product they want to hear about and BLAM the PDF’s are sent their way. thanks for any help!
Brett
I am looking for an ipad app that I can use at tradeshows instead of a paper sign up sheet/mailing list to capture the names, contact info and emails of folks who would like to be on our email list. it would need to be able to export the file to .xlsx format, or something similar for uploading to constant contact.
thanks!
I am looking for an application for iPad that is a sales pad book, I go to jewelry trade shows and always carry a big sales pad (from Staples)but it doesn’t have pictures or specs of my products so my customers are always asking details of their purchase or even for me sometimes is useful to have both together. Any suggestions?
We really like ExpoStrut.
We use it as a catalog/sales reference, but also as a self-serve kiosk for attendees to look at what we have to offer.
They can search, and see products, descriptions, and even video about our products.
last summer we launched iPrizeWheel for iPad, a virtual prize wheel with data collection tools. Check it out at http://www.iprizewheel.com. Great for any booth!