Everyone seems to be talking about data privacy laws these days. What do I need to know, and what are the best ways to manage people's information that I collect on the trade show floor?

If you're exhibiting, you are almost certainly collecting people's data, which means your company will be affected by data privacy laws. Running afoul of them could end up costing your company thousands of dollars, so you'll want to be familiar with at least two laws: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). They are pretty similar, with one key difference. At their heart, the regulations try to provide consumers with greater control over what companies do with their data. Both laws require you to inform people you are collecting their information, explain how it will be used, allow them to have their information deleted from your records, and opt out of the selling or sharing of their information. The biggest difference is that GDPR also requires companies to obtain recorded consent to collect people's information, whereas CCPA merely requires that they are informed you are doing so.

Most of this is taken care of during event registration when attendees agree to have their data collected and sold, at least in the United States. If people don't agree, then they aren't granted access to the trade show. Exhibitors then have the opportunity to buy or rent that info from show management. That means that when you scan attendees' badges, you've already acquired the necessary acknowledgement and consent to collect their information. The European Union, however, is fiercer in its protections, so the consent at registration isn't necessarily transferred to exhibitors. So if you are exhibiting in Europe, you need to acquire permission to collect visitors' information in your booth. If you simply want to ensure compliance with privacy laws just about anywhere in the world, adhere to GDPR since it is the most restrictive.

You may also intend to request attendee data through self-service kiosks, surveys, gamified activations, etc. If you plan on using that information for marketing emails and sales calls, or if you plan on sharing attendees' information with partners, it's important that you get their agreement. This can easily be done on a touchscreen by allowing them to click the options they are willing to allow.

Once you've collected the data, your company should have a plan for managing it. Remember that you need to be able to delete anyone's information upon request, and storing customer data on a single server makes that much easier. If you exhibit at a lot of shows, you may want to consider partnering with a lead-management software company and using their scanners and software across your entire portfolio of events. If you do opt for a one-system solution, you'll need to coordinate with show management to get a third-party kit (sometimes called an API or developer's kit) that allows your scanners to collect data from the badges. It's an extra step on the front end, but going this route will ensure that all your customers' data winds up in the same place should you need to modify or delete it.