1. Switch on Trade Fair Mode
The stand tablet shows the registration screen with your company's logo and colours: the same visual polish as your reception desk, brought to the show floor.
Trade Fair Mode
Register stand visitors quickly with Trade Fair Mode
At a trade fair every second counts: a visitor stops at your stand, asks a few questions, leaves their details and moves on. Trade Fair Mode in IRIGuest Cloud is built for exactly that moment — fast, essential visitor registration for trade fairs, with no check-out and none of the steps designed for a different setting.
In short
Trade Fair Mode is the IRIGuest Cloud mode built for trade fair stands: check-in and essential data collection only, no check-out. Every visitor who stops at your stand becomes a registered, tidy contact you can review after the show.
It is available in the Cloud version of IRIGuest and sits alongside Company Mode, the one built for managing visitors on your own premises.
Anyone who has staffed a stand knows the routine: contacts collected on stray sheets of paper, business cards stuffed in a pocket, an Excel file filled in hastily the following Monday. Some of it gets lost, some arrives incomplete, and follow-up starts late — right when the visitor's interest was still warm.
This page explains how Trade Fair Mode works, how it differs from Company Mode, and why it keeps your sales team's work organised, before and after the show.
Why trade fairs need a dedicated mode
At your own premises, registering a visitor goes along with an actual visit: the person arrives, is welcomed, comes in, and leaves once the visit is over. It makes sense to log entry and exit, notify the host, and keep a history of access. That is exactly what IRIGuest's Company Mode is built for.
A trade fair works differently. The visitor is not entering your company — they stop at your stand for a few minutes, ask a question, and move on to the next one. There is no exit to track — there is a contact you cannot afford to lose. And because peak moments at a stand are crowded and fast, every extra step in the registration process is friction that puts visitors off or slows down whoever is staffing the stand.
That is why Trade Fair Mode trims the flow down to the essentials: check-in and data collection only, so registration takes seconds and the data comes in tidy and consistent, ready to review once the show is over.
How Trade Fair Mode works
The process is deliberately simple. On the stand's tablet — iPad or Android — the operator switches on Trade Fair Mode, and from that moment the device is ready to register visitors, one after another.
2. The visitor checks in
Anyone who stops at the stand enters their details in a few steps. Check-in only: no exit to register, no unnecessary steps.
3. You collect the data you need
Registration questions are customisable to your own process: from contact details to the visitor's stated interest.
4. Contacts stay available
Registrations flow into the Cloud environment: after the show, your sales team finds contacts tidy, complete and ready for follow-up.
No chasing loose sheets or typing up business cards: the show ends, the contacts stay. And if several people are staffing the stand, the process stays the same for everyone.
What data to collect at the stand
There is no one-size-fits-all list: what to collect depends on what your sales team needs to do with it after the show. Registration questions are customisable, so you can ask only what genuinely matters — fewer fields mean faster, more complete registrations. Some typical examples:
| Data | What it's for | How typical |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | The basis of any contact: knowing who stopped at your stand | Essential |
| Company | Qualifying the contact and preparing follow-up | Essential |
| Email or phone | The channel to reach the visitor again after the show | Essential |
| Role | Knowing whether you are talking to a decision-maker, a user or an evaluator | Common |
| Interest or product requested | Prioritising contacts and tailoring follow-up | Common |
| Sales notes | The detail nobody remembers a week later | Common |
| Consent or privacy notice | If required by your process, collected as part of registration | Evaluate case by case |
Defining your fields before the show is also an organisational win: everyone staffing the stand collects the same information, in the same format — no handwriting to decipher, no forgotten fields.
Company Mode vs Trade Fair Mode, compared
The two modes are not in competition: they cover two different moments in a company's life. Company Mode manages on-site visits — the full flow is described in our guide on how visitor registration works — while Trade Fair Mode is built for the stand.
| Aspect | Company Mode | Trade Fair Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Reception, offices, sites, factories | Trade fair stand |
| Goal | Welcome the visitor and track access | Turn a stand visit into a registered contact |
| Flow | Full: welcome, stay, exit | Essential: register and move on |
| Check-in | Yes | Yes |
| Check-out | Yes, to know who is on-site | No: there is no exit to track |
| Visitor type | Guests, suppliers, technicians, consultants | Stand visitors, potential customers |
| Speed | Suited to an on-site visit | A priority: seconds per registration |
| Main use | Managing and tracking company visitors | Tidy, organised contact collection at the show |
Same platform, same attention to detail, two different tools: anyone using IRIGuest at reception finds the same environment and the same way of working at the stand — nothing new to learn.
Why it helps your sales team
A trade fair is a real investment: days on-site, materials, travel. The return almost always comes down to one thing — what happens to the contacts you collect at the stand. That is where Trade Fair Mode makes the difference:
No contact lost
Every registered visitor is safely stored in the Cloud environment: no loose sheets, no misplaced business cards, no Excel filled in from memory days later.
Consistent collection
Everyone staffing the stand collects the same data, in the same fields. Contacts arrive complete and comparable, no matter who registered them.
Tidy, searchable contacts
After the show there is nothing to reconstruct: contacts are already organised and searchable, ready to review at your own pace.
Faster follow-up
Follow-up can start right away, while the visitor's interest is still fresh — not weeks later, once transcription is finally done.
Clearer priorities
Stated interest and sales notes help you tell genuinely interested visitors apart from casual passers-by.
Less work after the show
No evenings spent transcribing data: your team's time goes back to where it creates value — conversations with potential customers.
No miracle promises: Trade Fair Mode does not sell for you. What it does deliver is the raw material of sales work — complete, tidy, fresh contacts — right when it matters most.
When to use Trade Fair Mode
Trade Fair Mode works best in every situation where a visitor "passes through" and the goal is to capture the contact quickly and cleanly:
- Industry trade fairs, where a stand gets dozens or hundreds of visits a day;
- Company stands at exhibitions and trade shows;
- Sales open houses with quick contact collection;
- Product demos at the stand, to log who attended and what they asked;
- Promotional days and events where there is no exit to track.
The choice comes down to a simple question: do you need to know who is on-site right now, or do you need to capture contacts? Company Mode handles the first case, Trade Fair Mode the second.
Why a spreadsheet isn't enough
A spreadsheet — or the classic notepad for collecting business cards — can work for simple situations: a small stand, few visits, one person handling data collection. That is fair to say, and the same reasoning applies as in our guide on paper, Excel or software for on-site registration.
At a trade fair, though, conditions are almost always the worst case for a manual process: peak moments with several visitors waiting, several colleagues each collecting data their own way, a crowded counter where writing is awkward. The typical result shows up once you're back at the office:
When a spreadsheet can work
- A very small stand, with few visits a day
- A single person collecting contacts
- No need for fast or systematic follow-up
What often happens at a trade fair
- Every colleague collects different data, in different formats
- Incomplete fields: no phone number, no company, no details
- Business cards lost among materials and boxes
- End-of-show transcription, with errors and days of delay
- Follow-up that starts late, once interest has cooled off
A process built for the stand keeps everything tidy: the same fields for everyone, complete data the first time, no transcription. The difference isn't the technology itself — it's that the process is designed for the trade fair setting.
Available in the Cloud version
Trade Fair Mode is available in the Cloud version of IRIGuest. That is not an arbitrary limitation: it is exactly what makes the mode useful. Contacts collected at the stand don't stay locked on the tablet — they flow into a centralised environment your company can check even while the show is still running. And it is the Cloud's flexibility that makes off-site use natural, wherever there is a stand to staff.
Trade Fair Mode, included in IRIGuest Cloud
The Cloud version includes centralised data management, use across multiple devices, searchable reporting and — with Trade Fair Mode — fast visitor registration at the stand.
If you're wondering about the price, our guide on how much visitor management software costs transparently covers the pricing factors and starting price of the Cloud version.
Frequently asked questions about Trade Fair Mode
What is IRIGuest Trade Fair Mode for?
It is built to quickly register visitors at a trade fair stand, collecting essential data without managing check-out. Every visitor who stops at the stand becomes a registered contact, tidy and searchable after the show.
Does Trade Fair Mode include check-out?
No. Unlike Company Mode, Trade Fair Mode only handles check-in and visitor data collection: at a trade fair there is no exit to track, just a contact you don't want to lose.
Is Trade Fair Mode available in the free version too?
No. Trade Fair Mode is available in the Cloud version of IRIGuest, because it is the Cloud environment that makes contacts collected at the stand centralised and searchable. Our free vs Cloud comparison covers all the differences.
Can I use Trade Fair Mode for corporate events?
It depends on the event. For events with invitations, and entries and exits to track, IRIGuest's standard mode is usually a better fit. For a trade fair stand — or similar situations where you need to capture contacts fast — Trade Fair Mode is the right tool.
What data can I collect from a visitor at a trade fair?
It depends on your own process: registration questions are customisable. Name, company, role, a contact detail and stated interest are usually the most useful. Collection must always be consistent with your company's privacy procedures and notices.
Why use IRIGuest instead of a spreadsheet at a trade fair?
Because it keeps data collection consistent and tidy even at peak times, reduces the risk of losing contacts among loose sheets and business cards, and removes end-of-show transcription: sales follow-up can start right away, while interest is still fresh.
Your next trade fair, without lost contacts
If you exhibit at trade fairs and want to collect stand contacts in a more organised way, Trade Fair Mode in IRIGuest Cloud is built for exactly that.