An important high-tech industry exposition and conference is taking place in Dallas, Texas this week.  We have taken a snapshot of three busy attendees and their use of the event’s mobile app.

Meet Bob: Sr. Purchasing Manager with a global organization, Running Enthusiast

Bob is at the airport waiting to board his flight to Dallas, TX. He has been touring the company’s plants across the region and hasn’t been able to find the time to plan for his time at the event. He decides to download the event’s mobile app just before the boarding announcement is made. He quickly launches the app, immediately noticing the beautiful event branding on the splash screen, but doesn’t get the opportunity to explore to further just as he is called to board his flight.

Sitting on the flight, Bob notices there is no on-board Wi-Fi network and panics, but decides to try out the app anyway. To his surprise, he can see the exhibitors and the floor plan maps, in fact all the core functions of the app work without requiring internet access. Bob is relieved and loving this app!

He looks through the exhibitor list, easily searching for the product categories and products he wants to see, using the indexed search function. He notices there is an Add Exhibitor to Planner function and even schedules several appointments for onsite meetings with his favorite exhibitors. Bob is planning his entire trip to the expo right from the mobile app.

Bob moves on to the conference schedule, adding sessions he wants to attend to his planner and even to his mobile calendar! Now he won’t miss them since his mobile device will send him a reminder alert.

Looking through the speakers Bob notices one of his long-term business associates is speaking at the event. Bob is delighted because he hasn’t connected with this industry influencer in a long time. He immediately adds the session to his planner and device calendar. Bob smiles in anticipation as he thinks about exploring many new solutions for his organization as well as reconnecting with many of his friends from the industry.

Meet Betsy: Research Assistant, Graduate School Student, Community Volunteer

Betsy is taking advantage of her long train commute home by planning for the upcoming conference she is attending.  There are so many new innovations and products that the industry is buzzing about, she is looking forward to exploring them in person.  She loads the event’s mobile app on her phone and checks out the show floor maps.  To her surprise it is incredibly easy to use - the pinch and zoom functions work just like Google maps! She taps on a booth with a logo and gets right to the exhibitors detailed e-booth profile. She can see product images and a detailed description of each item. She decides to start by checking out exhibitors with enhanced listings, especially those with entries in the new products gallery. She comes across many interesting products that she feels she absolutely must explore further onsite, and she adds the exhibitors to her expo plan with a single tap of the finger (Betsy adores her multi-touch smartphone screen!). She also notes the location of the food and refreshment areas, for when she gets hungry at the show.

Next, Betsy goes to her planner and reviews all of the exhibitors she selected. She uses the notes features within each eBooth listing to record questions she would like to ask while at their booth. She knows that one particular, industry-leading exhibitor’s booth will be very busy. She sends them a meeting request and receives a confirmation before she gets home. Betsy knows that her boss is going to appreciate the effort she has put in before even traveling to the show.

Meet Jim: VP of Product Management, Dog Lover, Social Media Maven

Jim has just landed in Dallas for his company’s most important event of the year. He switches off the airplane mode setting on his phone and immediately gets some notifications that the event’s mobile app has sent him.  One of the sessions he planned to attend has moved locations. Jim checks his planner and notices that the session room has already been updated for him. It’s like the app is his personal assistant! Another buzz comes through and it invites him to stop by an exhibitor’s booth. Jim remembers that they have a new product he wanted to check out, so he adds them to his planner.

Jim clicks on the event’s social media pages and sees the tweets and posts from attendees and exhibitors - people are talking about the event even before it has started. A sponsor’s icon links out to a mobile-friendly responsive website that offers a coupon for a free drink at their booth…I’ll definitely add them to my planner, he decides immediately.

Intrigued by the social conversations around the event, Jim clicks on My Connections….wow! He sees that many of his LinkedIn connections are attending the same event, and he has no idea. He starts messaging them from within the app to meet up on the expo floor. He also clicks on Future Connections and notices the hundreds of attendees that he could connect with. He thinks, “I don’t even need business cards- I can just add them on LinkedIn like I would back at the office!”

The show is over, and Jim is on the flight home. He thinks, “Let me take a look at the notes I wrote from all the cool sessions I attended and exhibitors I met.” Jim reads all his notes from the handy My Notes section, makes some edits and then decides to sleep – his reward for a job well done.

Are you an event organizer? Consider the above scenarios and evaluate your current mobile app solutions. Are you meeting all of the needs of your mobile attendees?