The existing trade fair app was expanded step by step into a more comprehensive sales app for the customer. Already established elements such as trade fair lead capture, the content area and customer satisfaction surveys were retained and supplemented with new modules.
As a fully-fledged CRM system was not yet available, active customers and contacts were loaded into the app. The field sales team could thereby access relevant data on mobile devices and capture new information in a structured way. This created a pragmatic interim solution that remained capable of connecting to CRM processes at a later stage.
Trade Fair Lead Capture and Content
The existing trade fair app continued to be used for the digital capture of trade fair leads. Contacts, conversation content, interests, product references and desired follow-up actions could be recorded directly at the stand.
In machinery and plant engineering in particular, trade fair conversations are often technically demanding. Alongside contact details, applications, production environments, investment timescales, service requirements or specific project approaches must be documented. Digital lead capture ensured that this information was recorded more completely and could be processed internally more quickly.
The content area additionally provided sales and marketing materials in a central location – including videos, brochures, technical information, trade fair invitations and other digital materials. Sales staff could show relevant content during conversations and work more confidently with current, approved materials.
Customer Satisfaction Survey
The app was also used for customer satisfaction surveys. Feedback could be captured in a structured way and made available for internal evaluation. The solution was thus used not only as a lead tool but also as an instrument for customer feedback and quality management.
Mobile Visit Report
A mobile visit report was introduced with the sales app. Sales staff could document customer appointments directly in the app. Items recorded included the reason for the visit, conversation content, interests, open points, follow-up actions and internal notes. Technical requirements, potential investment plans, modernisation interests or service notes could also be documented immediately.
Project Enquiry
A dedicated process was implemented for project-related enquiries. Sales staff could capture customer requirements directly during a conversation and hand them over to internal project management in a structured way.
Items recorded included, among others, the application context, industry, machine type, packaging task, production environment, technical requirements, project objective, time horizon, degree of automation, line integration and next steps. Internal project management could derive a project roadmap, technical pre-assessment or further clarification steps from this information.
Email Campaigns and Appointment Scheduling
Pre-configured email campaigns formed a further building block. Sales staff could choose from defined occasions, text modules and optional individual introductory texts. This made it possible to quickly send appropriate emails with information, documents, invitations or appointment offers following conversations or trade fair interactions.
A scheduling logic was additionally integrated via Microsoft Bookings. In principle, other appointment booking tools would also have been possible. Sales staff could select a person, trigger an appointment request and the contact could then book a suitable slot directly in the salesperson's calendar. This significantly reduced manual coordination loops.
Service Ticket, Service Report and Configurator
A form for the structured capture of service tickets was implemented for service cases. Sales staff could record a service case and forward it directly to the responsible service team.
Through rights and role logic, service technicians could also use the app, access relevant company and contact data, capture service information digitally and forward the service report internally.
A quotation configurator additionally supported the structured preparation of quotations and project enquiries. Sales staff could capture relevant parameters, requirements and selection options through a guided process. This meant quotation information was provided internally in a more complete and standardised form.
Result
The customer now has a significantly expanded mobile platform that originated from what was originally a pure trade fair app. The solution no longer merely supports the capture of trade fair leads but maps core sales, service and project processes on mobile devices.
The key results:
- Digital trade fair lead capture instead of paper-based contact forms
- Central content area for sales materials
- Mobile customer satisfaction surveys
- Structured visit reports for the field sales team
- Mobile provision of active customers and contacts
- Structured project enquiries for internal follow-on processes
- Pre-configured email campaigns with text modules
- Appointment scheduling via Microsoft Bookings
- Digital service tickets and service reports
- Role-based use by sales and service teams
- Quotation configurator for better pre-qualification
- Export capabilities as an interim solution prior to CRM introduction
