Lead capture at events: forms, QR codes and badge scans
Good event lead capture means every conversation at your stand ends as one row in one shared list: a name, a phone number, a one-line note, a rating and consent to message. A short form on a phone or tablet does that best. Add a QR code for busy moments, and treat badge scans as a backup that needs a note typed beside each one.
What a lead needs before you can follow it up
A name and an email address are a contact. A lead you can act on tonight has seven things:
- Name and role. Whether they decide, influence or research.
- Company.
- Mobile number in international format (starting +234, +44, +254 and so on).
- Email address.
- What they asked about, in one line.
- A rating: hot, warm or cold.
- Consent to message them, and the channel they prefer.
Record who had the conversation and the time as well. The test is simple: a colleague who was not at the stand should be able to write a useful first message from the row alone.
Forms, QR codes and badge scans compared
| Method | How it works | Strong at | Weak at | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form on a phone or tablet | The rep fills it in during or straight after the conversation | Note, rating and consent in one step, with your own fields | Needs a device per rep and under a minute of attention | Every proper conversation |
| QR code to the form | The visitor scans and types their own details | Busy periods. Names and numbers are spelled correctly | No rep note unless someone adds it later | Queues, talks and demos |
| QR code to WhatsApp | The visitor scans and sends you a message | You get the number and a written first message | Only suits visitors who use WhatsApp for work | Markets where WhatsApp is the usual business channel |
| Badge scan | The organiser’s scanner or app reads the visitor’s badge | Speed. Details come from registration | No note or rating by default. The file may reach you after the show | Backup when the stand is crowded |
| Paper and business cards | Write it down or staple the card to a slip | No power or signal needed | Must be typed up. Handwriting gets misread | Fallback only |
Most stands need two of these: the form as the main method and one QR code for the moments when every rep is busy.
Forms: one screen, filled in before the visitor leaves
A free form tool that writes to Google Sheets or Excel is enough. What matters is the design.
- Keep it to one screen. Ask only for the seven items above. Use a dropdown for the rating and for the product or service they asked about.
- Leave one free-text box for the note. “Wants weekly chilled deliveries from January, comparing two suppliers” is worth more than five tick boxes.
- Add the event name and the rep’s name as pre-set fields, so nobody types them 80 times.
- Leave the consent box unticked. The visitor says yes, then you tick it.
- Read the phone number back. One wrong digit loses the lead.
- Test it without a signal. Exhibition halls can be hard on mobile data. Check whether your form saves entries offline. If it does not, keep a printed version of the same fields at the stand.
Save the form link to the home screen of every rep’s phone the day before.
QR codes: let the visitor do the typing
There are two useful kinds. One opens your lead form. The other opens a WhatsApp chat with your business number.
Print each code at A5 size or larger, place it where people wait, and write one line underneath that says what happens: “Scan to get our price list on WhatsApp”. Scan the printed version yourself before the doors open.
The WhatsApp QR code
Meta’s documentation on QR codes and short links says (as of October 2026) that scanning the code opens a chat with your business without the person entering your number, and that the code can carry a pre-filled message of up to 140 characters that you can edit later. Check the linked page for the current limits.
A pre-filled message for a sample exhibitor could read:
Hi Delta Freight, I am at your stand at [event]. Please send me your price list.
When the visitor presses send, you have their number and a written record of what they asked for. WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy says (as of October 2026) that you can reply in your own words for 24 hours after a person’s last message, and that after that a business needs an approved message template. So answer the same day. Our guide to the WhatsApp 24-hour rule has the detail.
A request for a price list is a request for a price list. If you want to send later updates as well, ask in the chat and record the answer.
Badge scans: fast, so add the note yourself
What a badge scan gives you depends on the organiser. Ask four questions before the event:
- Which fields does a scan return (name, company, email, phone)?
- When do we receive the file, and in what format?
- What were visitors told about exhibitors receiving their details?
- Can we add a note and a rating in the scanning app?
Then set one habit for the stand: scan, type one line and a rating, and only then start the next conversation. If the app has no note field, keep a running sheet with the badge name and the note side by side.
If the organiser’s file arrives days after the show, do not wait for it. Put every hot lead through your own form as well, so the follow-up can start that evening.
Not sure where leads drop out between the stand and the first message? The Leak Score quiz takes 2 minutes and shows the weak points.
Consent and data protection basics
Two sets of rules apply: the platform’s and the law’s.
WhatsApp. The Business Messaging Policy says a business may only contact people who gave their number and opted in. Meta’s opt-in guidance says the opt-in must name your business and make clear the person is agreeing to WhatsApp messages, and that an opt-in given in person or on paper is acceptable (both as of October 2026).
A tick box with wording like this fits that guidance: “Yes, Delta Freight can message me on WhatsApp about my enquiry.” Add a second, separate box if you also want to send offers and updates.
UK. The ICO’s guidance on consent says consent needs a clear positive action, so pre-ticked boxes and silence do not count. It must name your organisation, and people must be able to withdraw it easily at any time. The ICO’s page on recording consent says to keep a record of who agreed, when, how and what they were told. Both pages were under review as of October 2026, so check them.
The ICO’s guidance on the right to be informed says (as of October 2026, on a page marked as under review) that you must tell people what you will do with their details at the time you collect them. If the details came from someone else, such as an organiser’s badge file, you must tell them when you first contact them, and within a month at the latest. A link to your privacy notice on the form and a small sign on the stand cover the first case.
Nigeria. The Nigeria Data Protection Commission says (as of October 2026) that the Nigeria Data Protection Act covers organisations operating in Nigeria and anyone processing the data of people there, and that consent can be given in writing, orally or electronically. The Commission’s 2025 General Application and Implementation Directive lists consent as needed for direct marketing (as of October 2026), and we found no business-to-business exception in it. So do not assume Nigerian business contacts can be marketed to without consent, and check the linked page.
Other countries have their own rules, so check the law where you exhibit. Collect only the fields you will use. This is general information, not legal advice.
Get every lead into one list the same day
Capture is finished when the lead has an owner. Do this at the close of each day:
- Collect everything. Form entries, WhatsApp chats from the QR code, badge scans and any paper slips.
- Put it in one list with the same columns. A shared sheet or a pipeline both work. If you are moving a sheet into a CRM, see how to import contacts from Excel without a mess.
- Merge duplicates. The same person may have been scanned, filled in the form and messaged you.
- Check the numbers. International format, no spaces missing, no leading zero after the country code.
- Assign an owner and a next step with a date to every hot and warm lead.
- Send the first message tonight to hot leads. Our trade show follow-up templates for email and WhatsApp give you the wording.
Here is an example. Say Tolu from Baobab Foods fills in your form at 11:20 and is rated hot. By 18:30 the row is in the shared list with Amaka as owner. By 19:00 Tolu has a WhatsApp message that mentions the weekly deliveries discussed at the stand, with two call times for tomorrow.
For why the same evening matters, see how fast you should respond to a lead. The full plan for the two days after the show is in how to follow up leads after a trade show in 48 hours.
A stand checklist
| When | Check |
|---|---|
| The day before | Form tested on every phone, with and without a signal. QR codes printed and scanned. Privacy notice link working. Business WhatsApp number tested. Phones charged and power banks packed. |
| Each morning | Rating rules agreed (what counts as hot). One person named to collect paper slips. Organiser’s scanner app logged in. |
| During the show | Note and rating added before the next conversation. Phone number read back. Consent box ticked only after a yes. |
| At close | Everything in one list. Duplicates merged. Owners and next steps set. First messages sent to hot leads. |
Take the follow-up plan to the stand
Capture is half the job. The 48-Hour Event Follow-Up Playbook is a free download from Socianet’s free tools, for the next step once the list is clean.
Socianet manages more than 20,000 contacts for the Global Entrepreneurship Festival (GEF).
Frequently asked questions
What is event lead capture?
Event lead capture is the way you record the people you speak to at an exhibition, conference or trade show so that your team can contact them afterwards. It covers the method (form, QR code, badge scan), the fields you record and the consent you collect.
What is the best way to capture leads at a trade show?
A short form on the rep’s phone, filled in before the visitor leaves the stand, because it records the note, the rating and the consent together. Add a QR code for busy periods and use badge scans as a backup.
How do you capture leads without a badge scanner?
Use your own form and a QR code. You own the fields, you get the data at once, and you do not depend on the organiser’s file.
What information should you collect from event leads?
Name, role, company, mobile number in international format, email, a one-line note on what they asked about, a hot, warm or cold rating, and consent with their preferred channel. Leave out anything you will not use.
Do I need consent to follow up people I met at an event?
For WhatsApp, yes: WhatsApp’s policy requires an opt-in that names your business. For email and SMS the answer depends on the country, and in some countries on whether the person is a company or a private individual. Nigeria’s regulator lists consent as needed for direct marketing (as of October 2026), so check the regulator’s guidance where you exhibit.
Does lead capture work when the Wi-Fi is down?
Only if you planned for it. Check that your form saves entries offline, use mobile data as a second route, and keep a printed copy of the form fields at the stand. Type up paper slips the same evening.
Sources
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (checked 2 October 2026)
- Meta for Developers: get opt-in for WhatsApp (checked 2 October 2026)
- Meta for Developers: QR codes and short links (checked 2 October 2026)
- ICO: what is valid consent? (checked 2 October 2026)
- ICO: how should we obtain, record and manage consent? (checked 2 October 2026)
- ICO: right to be informed (checked 2 October 2026)
- Nigeria Data Protection Commission: FAQs (checked 2 October 2026)
- Nigeria Data Protection Commission: General Application and Implementation Directive 2025 (checked 2 October 2026)
