There are many types of trade show promotional products out there, and normally what comes to mind are the gifts handed out from an exhibition table. But, these types of promotional products are also what surround your table, and when pulled together in one eye-popping, jaw dropping display of advertising connectedness, can draw high numbers to your door.
Here’s just a short list of three different types of trade show promotional products:
- A vinyl or fabric banner that smoothly stretches over a lightweight, portable, and easily assembled aluminum frame can be striking, and can include single, double and even triple sides.
- Literature racks, made from plastic or aluminum, are sometimes over looked on the marketing display. How many times have you gone to an exhibitor’s table and they just have stacks of papers. The piles’ corners are crisp and sharp at the start of the day but an hour into the show, with people bumping the table and shuffling through their paperwork, the table appears unprofessional, a mess. Literature rack tradeshow promotional products come in an array of colors, styles and capacity, but most feature three to ten pockets.
- A tabletop panel is usually more durable than a pop-up system, but not as easy to assemble. However, they are impressive because the panels already have the graphics in place. They are rectangular panel pieces that form a trade show display. Available in several sizes and shapes, they maintain the ability to be compact and easily shipped to the trade show location.
A good rule of thumb on all of this is to think like the customer. Of course that shouldn’t be news to you, but think how they are going to perceive you when they see you from across the room. You need to draw them in, so using the right tradeshow promotional products will do just that.
I know I’ve spent some time blogging about trade show promotional products; how the right gift will be kept, the wrong one tossed, and even promoting your business before the trade show. What I haven’t been blogging about is how trade show promotional products are so much more than just gifts to hand out to your current and prospective clients. The products range from pop-up displays to graphic banners that announce your location, who you are, and what you do.
A pop-up display usually contains one to a multitude of graphic images and can be placed on your exhibitor’s table or even be a standalone floor version. They promote your business name, logo, and any special product you might be advertising. There are a number of materials used to create this type of product; vinyl or plastic are two popular ones, but a design that consists of a lightweight aluminum frame that when removed from its carry bag and springs into shape easily and is ready for a graphic banner is really cool, and building in popularity. A banner material then rests on the framework creating a smooth finish for your artwork.
Of course some of these tradeshow promotional products can be a bit more complicated in their appearance but are still considered easy to work with. They come with lightweight feature lighting and shelving options, but they are not adjustable in size, which sort of makes sense is they are made from vinyl, plastic, or aluminum, right?
An advantage of pop-up trade show promotional products is the convenience; simplicity of set up, tear down, and of course transportation, which are all vital at the beginning and ending of a long exhibition day. Another advantage is that they are designed to be easy enough for one person to assemble, carry and store, as well as proved a versatile display to be transported from location to location.
So, when choosing a pop-up display as one of your tradeshow promotional products consider the durability, easy of assembly and of course the warranty.
Trade Show Promotional Products could be considered the life’s blood of many businesses. These products should be a part of every marketing plan out there. However, sometimes businesses cut back and this seems to be an area that gets the ax first. It’s shortsighted to say the least. Keeping your name out there is the key to your existence, and handing out the right trade show promotional products are the very vein.
Although a lot of businesses have the intention of going to a trade show they fail to promote their business the right way. It’s sort of like drawing a foul in basketball and then stepping to the foul line and not taking a shot. Trade shows are a great opportunity, just a like a free throw from the foul line. Easy!
Spreading the word is what you need to do, and it should start as soon as you know you’re going to be an exhibitor. Hopefully that’s about six to eight months prior. Getting the ‘word’ out by email, snail mail, and even local advertising where the trade show is being held are all awesome ways to accomplish just this.
When you do arrive though, make sure you have some unique, but traditional, trade show promotional products to giveaway to people who visit your booth. Show them you personally care about their business and will do the best you can to help them! Avoid trendy items. They are just that, ‘trendy.’ This means they won’t have a lasting value and will soon be considered kitschy and tossed it the circular filing cabinet. That’s not where you want your name ever!
What’s going to last? High quality pens, pads of paper, coffee cups, magnets, etc. The point here is to make sure they bring it to their office or home.
Just remember that exhibiting at a trade show and marketing your attendance before and during go hand-in-hand. Otherwise you’re surely wasting time and money!
If you’ve been reading my blog, and of course I hope you have, you’ve probably noted that I’m an upbeat sort of blogger. Nothing bad to say and nothing negative to say either. I just don’t care for the darker side of issues. It’s not to say I’m oblivious though. I know people blog and focus about the many ‘mistakes’ someone can make when offering trade show promotional products.
So, instead of “Mistakes One Can Make with Trade Show Promotional Products,” I’ve chosen to title this blog, ‘Trade Show Promotional Products You Could Consider Avoiding.’ Not so negative.
A trade show exhibition can be the perfect time to impress your current clients as well as wow prospective new ones. A good tip to remember when it comes to handing out some of your trade show promotional products is that one gift does not fit all your customers.
Consider this factor. About twenty percent of your customers give you about eighty percent of your business. Treating them a bit differently than you would someone who barely gives you business or doesn’t give you business at all is, well, just good business. I call that top twenty your A+ clients. They bring you the most business and certainly give you referrals whenever they can because they care about and believe what you do is good for them. So, if you’re giving gifts at your trade show, you should carry varying levels of gifts to hand out to different customers.
This doesn’t mean to scrimp on what you hand out to perspective clients or the clients who have used you only once in the five years you’ve known them, but they should be given something nice. It’s a great way to secure loyalty down the road. Who knows, but for every five years, they just might not need your services.
However you decide to play it though, keep the varying levels of gifts idea in mind. There are a number of really good trade show promotional products on the executive level that can be purchased at low quantities for a pretty fair price too.
Be sure to have as much fun as possible. It’s your money, so make the best of it.
With so many trade show promotional products to choose from, it can seem to be a bit overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Teaming up with the right promotional products company will alleviate a lot of that stress, and Clever Advantage is point on with their trade show plan.
The first point to consider in any trade show promotional products plan is pre-show traffic builder ideas. What is that, you ask? Simply put it’s the execution of a marketing plan that starts months before the actual trade show. If positioned correctly, your early marketing efforts can get the word out and building a huge momentum that will lead right up to the trade show. Mailing your customers, as well as sending press releases, is a vital part of this pre-trade show marketing plan.
I think you’ve probably heard the expression, ‘just get them in the door and then it’s up to you to sell them,” right?
With trade shows representing a segment of your marketing strategy, you’ll need to design a plan that identifies your objectives and goals. After that’s written out, said and done, or what have you, you’ll need to figure out what campaigns will give you what you want. One of those campaigns might just be trade show promotional products, but whatever they are, always think of them as working together. They do not stand alone. Unify them all, creating a collaborative effort that will lead them to your booth and ultimately your door.
I can’t stress enough about starting your buzz early. Email, snail-mail, and press release campaigns are great ways to start that momentum. To keep it going you need to come up with something that your existing customers can respond to. You want to get them invested in a way that will drive them to the trade show. How about a contest of some sort with the prize being a relevant company product? To get them there though, you’ll have to advise them that in order to win or pick up their prize they need to visit your booth.
People love to win prizes! And, you can write it off as an investment, although you might want to check with your tax person on that one!
On my last blog, near about the last paragraph, I mentioned the words, ‘trade shows’ and went so far as to promise that I’d give you the in and out of some great promotional product ideas for the aforementioned. Well, here I am ‘getting back to you.’
Trade shows are a great way to meet up with your clients for some face to face time, generate new leads, establish brand identity, and even promote a new product on the market. The overall impact can be valuable and worthwhile.
For me, the right trade show giveaways are vital to your marketing campaign, keeping you in the physical and mental view of potential customers. Unfortunately, when one tries to cut corners, these trade show promotional giveaways end up in the trash.
I think the main part you need to focus on is how re-usable your product can be. Asking yourself how someone can use your promotional product over and over again is a great way to find the answer. It’s imperative to subtly invade potential clients’ homes, desktops, drawers (desk drawers!), cars, and many other personal and business related spaces to help drive up your investment. The more they see you the more pivotal it is to gaining maximum retention effectiveness.
That’s a mouthful!
I think one of the easiest ways to do this is through pens. They are relatively inexpensive and people, no matter who they are, just have a hard time tossing them in the trash can. Please don’t scrimp on this; you want to be sure the pen works, because if it doesn’t, well, that’s a quick trip to the garbage and a loss on your investment. So, I ask you to think about it. A portable trade show giveaway that can be used at home, office, and even the car. The funny thing about these trade show giveaways is that they can be considered commonplace because everyone else is doing the same thing. That’s a perceived fact by the way, so a lot of marketers overlook them.
Am I hearing a comeback for the pen!?
My goal, when I work with clients on trade show giveaways, is to ensure they receive the biggest bang for their buck, or in layman’s terms, the highest return on their investment.