My notes from a few months ago......Pros
High completion rates in the moment. Capturing reviews right after a great session, demo, or conversation means you're catching genuine enthusiasm before it fades, versus a follow-up email that gets buried.
Volume in a short window. You can hit meaningful review targets in a day or two of an event rather than trickling in over weeks of email outreach.
Live support reduces drop-off. Having someone on hand to help with login issues or answer "how long will this take" questions meaningfully increases completion vs. an unassisted online request.
Authentic quotes and content. In-person conversations often surface better soundbites for social/marketing use than a written review box does.
Access to harder-to-reach customers. Some advocates never respond to email but will happily do a 5-minute review at a booth if you catch them face-to-face.
Cons
Review quality and depth. Booth-written reviews are often rushed, shorter, and less detailed, which can hurt SEO value and buyer usefulness, and platforms sometimes flag thin reviews for extra scrutiny.
Platform policy risk. Both G2 and TrustRadius have strict incentive guidelines (no purchase requirement, no excessive-value prizes, required disclosure). It's easy to accidentally cross a line with event swag or raffle incentives if you're not careful, and violations can get reviews pulled or your account flagged.
Velocity/fraud flags. A sudden spike of reviews from one company concentrated on a single day and location can trigger the platform's anti-fraud detection, sometimes delaying publication while they verify authenticity.
Sample bias. You're only capturing the customers who showed up to your event, typically your most engaged power users, not a representative cross-section of your base. That can skew your review profile toward superfans.
Logistics and cost. Staffing, QR code/device setup, and booth space all compete with your other event priorities. If you're paying to have platform reps physically onsite, that's an added cost to weigh against the review volume you'll actually get.
Environment friction. Noisy show floors and spotty wifi are not ideal conditions for someone trying to write a thoughtful review, so some attempts get abandoned mid-way.
Bottom line: onsite collection is great for volume and momentum, especially at a flagship event like a user conference, but it works best as a supplement to (not a replacement for) a steady always-on email/in-app review request cadence, which gets you a broader, more representative, and platform-safe set of reviews over time.
