| Tell us about your next event and we'll give you great giveaway ideas.
Everyone has returned from tradeshows with the traditional cost versus benefit questions: Should we have just rented a hotel suite next to the tradeshow and invited selected guests? Should we not attend tradeshows and use the money to make personal appearances with our customers in their home city? Should we redirect tradeshow funds to other forms of advertising? And the ultimate bombshell question: was all worth it and should we continue exhibiting at future tradeshows? The answer is: a well planned and executed tradeshow can have an extraordinary return on investment. Usually it’s just putting in that little extra something, called tradeshow giveaways that will bring back big rewards. Use the power of promotional products at tradeshows Tradeshows are not just about drawing traffic to your booth. A well planned tradeshow that incorporates trade show giveaways will increase customer awareness, goodwill and qualify your traffic so that people will remember you afterwards. Here are tips on effective ways to use tradeshow giveaways and maximize your tradeshow experience. Tip 1
Let everyone know that you have tradeshow giveaways available. Use banners and poster boards to create excitement about your tradeshow giveaways. Don’t hide them under the counter. Tip 2
Now that you let everyone know about your trade show giveaways, place them in a strategic place where it requires people to walk through your booth and past your staff. Tip 3
Once you’ve “captured” prospective customers in your booth, use the trade show giveaways as conversation “ice breakers”. Develop scripts for your staff and role play with them prior to the opening of the trade show. There several different personalities in your staff and some may feel uncomfortable approaching strangers. Your staff may not use the scripts verbatim (and probably shouldn’t), but it will give them ideas and guidelines on how to get a conversation started about your products or services. Tip 4
To often exhibitors allow their staff to simply act as an information booth and wait for people to ask questions. Don’t allow it! Train your staff to use trade show giveaways for qualifying prospects and opening conversations that delivers a predetermined message about your company geared towards achieving your goals. Tip 5
Don’t just promote your booth at the trade show. Some of the most effective uses of trade show giveaways are done in stages. For example, in stage 1, consider sending a mailer to trade show attendees in advance asking them to bring in the mailer to get a gift. This is where you can start qualifying people by sending different mailers to customers vs. prospects. Stage 2, at the show you may want to require “scanning” their badge in order to get the trade show giveaway. Stage 3, most importantly follow up after the trade show with some sort of thank you trade show giveaway like a useful desk item that brings together the trade show and your company. In all three stages remind people about the tie-in between the trade show giveaway and your company’s marketing message. Tip 6
Consider having different quality trade show giveaways for customers, qualified prospects and the general passerby’s, all with varying price points. Trade Show Giveaways Continued |
