Practical Guide to Managing Exhibition Business Cards and Following Up

Decide where to record information and assign roles before the event

First, decide on a single place to review the information gathered at the exhibition. For spreadsheets, confirm collaborative editing and viewing permissions; for CRMs, the method for matching information with existing customers; and for business card management services, how to store notes and staff member information. Before adding more tools, make sure you know who can update the information using your current system.

Assign the following roles: "person who records information at the venue," "person who reviews the data daily," and "person who contacts the recipient." Staff members may hold multiple roles, but each role should be clearly assigned. Establishing rules for collecting cards that are difficult to categorize and designating a backup person when someone is absent will help prevent work from stalling.

Record information primarily by contact, and avoid grouping multiple people from the same company together. Examples of common fields include:

• Basic information: exhibition name, date of exchange, company name, name, and contact information
• Conversation details: topics of interest, challenges, expected timing for consideration, and any requests
• Handoff information: staff member who assisted, staff member responsible for follow-up, next steps, and deadline
• Progress information: current status, date of last contact, date of next follow-up, and any requests to refrain from contacting

Mark any unknown fields as "Unconfirmed." Distinguishing them from blank fields will help you identify information that needs to be reviewed later. Before the event, test the process from recording to handoff using a dummy contact to identify and reduce fields that are difficult to fill out.

Briefly record the conversation details needed for the next contact at the venue

Immediately after assisting a visitor, record the key points of the conversation in a few lines. There is no need for detailed meeting minutes. Instead of simply noting "Interested," record the person's situation and request, such as "Business cards are scattered across multiple locations. Considering a review of next year's workflow. Requested team-shared materials."

It is also important not to fill in missing information about the expected timing or budget based on your impression. Separate the facts the person shared from your own assessment so that anyone reading the notes later can distinguish between them. Do not record personal or irrelevant business information, and limit the details to what is necessary for follow-up.

If you write notes on a paper business card, use a space that will not interfere with scanning. When recording digitally, also link the notes to the business card or contact information so it is clear whose conversation they refer to. During busy periods, you can first record the person's request and the staff member who assisted them, then add more details during a break.

Check the scanning results and assigned staff after the event closes

At the end of each day, import paper business cards and review the day's records. Even when using AI or OCR to scan cards, compare the company name, name, and email address with the original card. Incorrect recipient information can not only prevent a message from being delivered but also lead to sending it to the wrong person, so check it before sending.

Next, check for duplicate entries among existing contacts and cards registered on the same day. Do not assume that people with the same name or company name are the same person; instead, compare multiple pieces of information, such as email addresses. When merging entries, do not delete past staff member assignments or conversation notes.

The staff member responsible for reviewing should identify records with no assigned staff member, unknown contact information, or unclear requests and check them with the person who assisted the visitor. If the person is an existing customer, hand off the record to the appropriate staff member in the company to prevent another sales representative from contacting them again.

For small teams, following this workflow will make it easier to check progress:

Record key points at the venue → Import and compare with the original card after the event closes → Check for duplicates and existing staff assignments → Determine the staff member responsible for follow-up and the next steps → Update the status after following up

Prioritize follow-up contacts by the next business day

Using the next business day after the event ends as a guideline for reviewing and prioritizing all contacts will clarify when to start the work. This is a team workflow goal, not a deadline by which you must send all communications to achieve results. If you have agreed on a date with the person, prioritize that commitment.

Prioritize contacts based on the conversation details, not just their title or the number of business cards they provided. For those who requested a quote or meeting, proceed with the necessary follow-up and scheduling. For those who requested materials, send the relevant documents. For those still gathering information, provide information that matches their interests and determine when to contact them next.

Also review the number of unaddressed contacts for each staff member and adjust assignments if they cannot handle the workload. Before sending the same sales email to everyone, check whether anyone still needs a response to their request.

Include the conversation details and next steps in the thank-you email

When following up after an exhibition, briefly mention what was discussed at the venue, what you are sending, and what you would like to confirm next, in addition to thanking them. There is no need to write the email from scratch every time, but customize the sections related to the person's request.

Here is an example for someone who requested materials. Replace the text in parentheses with the actual conversation and sent items.

If the person requested a meeting, propose several dates and times to match their preferences. Before sending, check the recipient's name, the body of the email, the link, and the attachment. Even when using AI to draft the email, a person should review it to ensure that no promises or feature descriptions that were not discussed are included.

Align the total number of contacts with their follow-up status

Track progress not only by how many emails were sent but also by who is at each stage. To avoid adding too many management items, you can start by using the following statuses to keep things organized.

Unaddressed / Sent and awaiting reply / Replied and in progress / Meeting scheduled / Ongoing follow-up / Completed

Use a single status for the current stage, and keep a separate record of events such as sending materials or holding meetings, along with their dates. Do not include delivery failures in "Sent"; instead, set the next step, such as verifying the recipient's information. If someone says they do not wish to be contacted, record their preference and do not send any further communications.

Before compiling data, also define the target group and time period. The number of business cards exchanged, the number of unique individuals, and the number of people to follow up with will not be the same. For example, calculate the response rate as "Number of people assisted ÷ Number of people to follow up with," and record the reason for excluding anyone from the target group. Also decide whether the denominator for the reply rate should be the number of emails sent or the number of confirmed deliveries, and avoid comparing figures based on different definitions.

Record meeting scheduling, meetings held, and sales opportunities separately. After the event, check whether any records still have no assigned staff member or have been left unaddressed after a reply, and review the recording items and assignments for the next exhibition.

Include information handling in the workflow

Store business cards and conversation notes in a company-approved location, and limit access to only those who need it for their work. Also confirm where paper business cards are stored, how data is taken out of the company, how long it is kept, and the procedures for deleting it. It is important not to leave the decision of whether to store information on personal devices or personal accounts to each staff member.

Determine the content and method of follow-up based on the purpose of use you provided to the person, their preferences, and company rules. Do not assume that exchanging business cards justifies continuing to send all types of communications, and consult the appropriate department within your company if you are unsure how to proceed.

With Share-Me, manage everything from digitizing business cards to team sharing

With Share-Me, you can scan paper business cards with the app and use AI to digitize and store contact information. Share-Me for Business allows you to share and manage scanned business cards with your team, making it useful for reviewing all the contacts you gathered at an exhibition together.

After reviewing the scanning results, you can hand off the information to the appropriate staff member with the conversation details from the venue, making it easier to follow up.

View Share-Me for Business features and request a consultation