Promotional products help you advertise your business, but you can’t expect to get satisfactory results from personalizing random items and simply setting them on your trade show exhibit. Whether you want to believe it or not, there are proper ways and improper ways to distribute your trade show promo items and your marketing efforts will suffer if you go about things the wrong way. You still have to work for attendees’ attention if you use promotional items, and it’s best to tailor your giveaways toward each specific audience. Always come up with a plan that will attract potential customers to your booth and then engage them in conversation before handing them one of your promotional products!

How do you maximize the effectiveness of your company’s promotional products at trade shows? First of all—before you even consider ordering any merchandise with your logo on it—conduct thorough research on the trade show you’re planning to attend. What is the primary audience of that particular trade show? What products do you think would interest that audience? Attendees at an antique car show will probably prefer a muscle cars calendar or a snazzy keychain over a pedometer, just like participants of a travel or tourism trade show will probably be more interested in luggage tags than they will be in a mouse pad. Educate yourself about your target audience before you spend the money on personalized products that could end up being a massive flop! Also, you should give people a reason (besides the appeal of “free stuff”) to want what you’re giving them; offer an exclusive discount or coupon along with your promotional products and double the chances that you’ll hear from those attendees after the show.

It’s also wise to come up with a way to gain attendees’ contact information instead of counting on them to call you on their own. To accomplish this, organize a drawing and offer bigger-ticket promotional products (like electronics, gift cards, or watches) as prizes in addition to your less expensive giveaway items. Require attendees to enter the drawing by writing their names, phone numbers, and/or email addresses on a slip of paper, and then you’ll have the means to contact them about doing business with your company after the show is over. Or, instead of the drawing, you can start an email newsletter with special offers and encourage attendees to sign up on the list to qualify for them.

Second of all—after you’ve successfully analyzed the expected attendees and their interests—figure out how you’ll draw prospective customers to your booth by using your promotional products. As previously mentioned, it’s not a good idea to just spread your items on a table and watch attendees from a distance as they come up and take them. Don’t stand back and wait for people to come to you! The key chains or t-shirts you’re giving away might be the best that money can buy, but you have to interact with people if you want them to remember you; otherwise, they’ll get your promo item home and forget all about who you are and what you do (if they even knew that in the first place). Try this: stand front-and-center in your booth, make eye contact with passersby, greet them, briefly tell them how you can help them, and THEN hand them one of the items you personalized. That way, attendees will walk away with a positive impression and they’ll remember that impression every time they use the giveaway item you distributed! Also, this strategy makes it more difficult for freebie-hoarding attendees to snatch up all of your merchandise before you can actually use it to promote yourself to interested clients.

Third of all—and very importantly—don’t think your work is done once you’ve analyzed, customized, and socialized your way through a successful trade show. What does that mean? It means that you need to follow up! If you managed to collect a hefty stack of potential customer names and phone numbers or email addresses, then use them to express your gratitude. A brief “thank you” phone call or email a week or two after the trade show will reinforce your company’s image, remind people that you’re committed to assisting them with their needs, and make that colorful stress ball or tote bag you gave them THAT much more effective.

The recently formed Exhibit Industry Council released the first section of what its leaders say will be a complete Best Practices Guide on the sidelines of Exhibitor, held May 14-18 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The document, titled “Full Disclosure and Control of Exhibitor Costs: Best Practice Guide,” according to Jim Wurm, EIC spokesman and executive director of the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Assn., should create new exhibition industry standards that include cost transparency and controls, while increasing exhibitor value and promoting improved customer service at tradeshows.

“This is a … guide on how every tradeshow industry stakeholder shares in the responsibility to control exhibitor’s tradeshow costs,” Wurm said.

The Exhibit Industry Council is a coalition of exhibitor-focused associations formed last fall to address issues of interest to tradeshow exhibitors. Its founding member associations are the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Assn., Trade Show Exhibitors Assn., Corporate Event Marketing Assn., Exhibit Designers & Producers Assn. and EACA.

Speaking on behalf of the associations during Exhibitor, Wurm said exhibitors are frustrated with inconsistent and rising costs and want change. The EIC intends for the Best Practices Guide to be its blueprint to transform what Wurm called an outdated business model not supportive enough of exhibitor success.

“These are recommendations,” Wurm said. “We’re not a legislative body, we can’t force anybody to do anything, but we are encouraging everybody to work together to make the environment more effective for the exhibitor.”

Topics addressed in the document include bundling, material handling surcharges, undisclosed discounts between general service contractors and organizers, forced shipments, exclusives and general service contractor conduct, along with suggested best practices for each issue.

The alliance and best practices document is in response to long-standing frustrations that appear to have reached a fever pitch during the recent economic downturn, Wurm said.

“The economic downturn has exposed a number of business practices that have been in our industry for years, even decades,” he added.

According to Wurm, EIC will make the guide available to the industry and promote it through its Website, exhibitor advocacy committees, webinars and presentations at industry events. He said the next step will be to invite the collaboration of other industry interests, including show organizers, facilities, general service contractors and unions.

Out on the Exhibitor showfloor, many participants of the show that focuses on tradeshow exhibiting were enthusiastic about the group’s suggestions.

Jamia Harris, director of U.S. operations of Opus 3 Creative, said she especially hoped rising labor and drayage rates would be addressed.

“When you quote labor rates in Chicago that are double Las Vegas, that are double Orlando, that’s crazy,” Harris said. “There needs to be some sort of consideration of exhibitors and attendees because, ultimately, the price gets passed down from exhibitor to customer to attendee.”

John Driscoll, president of Showcraft, said the tradeshow business model that was set up 30 or 40 years ago is outdated and no longer works for the overall good of the industry.

“I think we’re going to be in a phase probably for the next year where there’s going to be a challenging and a questioning of best practices to evolve a model that is more conducive to global competition,” Driscoll said. “Getting everybody in the same room and locking the door is probably the best thing until we come up with some answers.”

Wurm warned that if costs continue to rise unchecked, exhibiting companies will abandon more shows, events will become less compelling and attendees will stop coming, creating what he described as a “death spiral.”

“We need to find ways to improve the process for exhibitors so they feel like a welcome part of the community and get the kind of service that’s commensurate with the investment they made,” he added. “When we work together to make sure our exhibitors succeed, we all win.”

I plan on having a booth at a car show soon. I am thinking about holding a raffle for a “car show” related item. Is it kosher to charge for the raffle, say $1 each raffle ticket?

I am on a limited budget, so any ideas to present at the booth other than my logo printed on various promotional products.

Ken

Leads?

To Sell Product?

Clearly both, but do not forget Network OPPORTUNITY!

Trade Shows are chalked full of opportunities to meet with potential & current customers as well as finding out where your competitors are focusing their time & energy.

This is the big picture of network marketing opportunity, building solid relationships face to face and meeting the people your products and services will help in their day to day lives.

Working with  customers at trade shows gives you the insight of what solutions you can be providing to them.  Find out what it is about your product and services that helps them along in their daily routines, using that for your future marketing efforts.

Find out from your current customers if there is something specific about your product or services that could be enhanced or improved. Look to your customers to be part of your research and development team.

Engaging potential customers in conversation regarding their “pain” points will also provide valuable information to you giving your company a better insight of how you can elevate that pain.

The value of your trade show display comes down to grabbing the attention of your prospects.  Use your trade show display to your advantage with colorful graphics and pictures that will draw attention and help bring in visitors.

Bold exhibit graphics speak clearly and can convey a simple message.  By giving a visual description of what it is your company does and incorporating how you can help them, they become more relaxed and in turn gives you a better opportunity to network.

People in general want to make their lives easier, when graphics are used to help convey these messages, people picture themselves in that graphic and an emotional response takes over.

Understanding how your company will relay its message to a trade show audience establishes the basic criteria you will need in selecting a trade show presenter. Will your criteria be scripting, podium presentation, using audiovisual technology, gimmicks, over the top presentations, or the presenter’s ability to communicate? Successful business know that each trade show has its own budget constraints, booth size and marketing objectives and not all trade show presenters are suited for every show.

The basic goal of every trade booth is to generate leads and to educate the attendee about your company’s service or product. You can accomplish this by utilizing the trade show presenter as a Vaudeville attraction or as a Broadway stage presentation.

The sideshow attraction works best in small exhibits and allows education, entertaining, and lead generation to happen when the trade show presenter networks with the attendee and inquisitively seek out essential information to assess their need level. The greater the need level, the faster the trade show presenter turns the customer over to knowledgeable sales personal.

A Broadway presentation informs customers on products and services requirements using attention-getting tactics and typically used larger booth space. High tech screens and actors are there to dazzle the audience into staying and watching the show with trade show jargon, sales presentation and information all rolled up into a 10-minute show. These typically occur 3-4 times an hour. Lead generation occurs when the trade show presenter asks the audience to enter into a drawing to qualify them for an instant discount for participating in the shows presentation.

The return on investment is what a company seeks for when hiring a trade show presenter. Accomplishing this is by knowing the companies’ specific needs and understanding what the presenter can deliver. Once the issues are address, selection of a professional trade show presenter is simple.   Dale Obrochta is a professional trade show presenter who uses promotional balloon entertainment to generate tradeshow booth traffic. He is a leading entertainer in the balloon entertainment industry who consistently works trade shows and corporate events.

Magical Balloon-dude Dale is balloon entertainment at its best!

Start with a solid pre-show advertising campaign, your participation well in advance with your prospects will keep your name and booth # fresh in their minds, keeping them up to date with glimpse’s of product announcements and teasers is a good way to peek their interest.

If you are having a new product launch, you can even offer a raffle for that product or service – what a better way to stand behind your new offerings.

If you plan on having entertainment in your trade show booth, have it set for a planned time. where you can invite your prospects, and not continuously throughout the day.  You could even have your raffle drawing at the end of the entertainment, so that you know you will get a chance to talk to your prospects.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlkwKhrFtnA

I am wondering if there has been any research done on how often you should change your trade show booth style/graphics/etc?

Ty

I have not run across any research done on the specifics of changing up your trade show booth. Many companies change for new products, niche markets and various messages that they would like to send to their specific audience. Another major reason for changing your trade show booth style or graphics is if your company brand changes.

Thanks
Charlie

Charlie,
Skyline Displays has recently come out with a really easy to use and easy to set up Projection System. You can find more information out on this video.

After countless research, we believe in pre-show marketing and targeting your show selection.

Show selection is one point that continued to come up in many conversations and was a key factor in driving results and helping reduce costs. By targeting your “niche market” with a larger presence, your company can stand out as a leader in your market.

With more careful and earlier planning of your trade show season, you can reduce unnecessary expenses. Many exhibitors rely on online trade show management programs, that allow them access 24/7 to their booth staff, shipping and scheduling of events. This way you are not over staffing your booth, and you know when and where items will be at any given time. Reducing the last minute shipping charges for literature or missing components.

Lighter weight exhibits and modular solutions also will decrease your shipping and drayage costs drastically. With re-configurable portable solutions, you can stretch your marketing dollars.

Creating a process for follow up to measure your results to target your most successful shows will also help stretch your marketing dollars. If you notice poor performance from a certain trade show but fairly decent performance from another trade show, why not concentrate your efforts on the show that gives you the best results.

Managing your trade show leads is one of the best practices for success at trade shows. Always implement a plan for lead follow up, even before the doors to the trade show open. Whether it be outsourcing your trade show lead follow up or implementing your staff into using online software to manage and track your leads, you will see the results and see where your efforts are paying off.

We have an IT company and I was wondering what IT trade shows are in the UK, or the best way to find out where and when they are.

Thank You – Jonathan

Jonathan,

There are several resources out there for selecting trade shows, whether they are in the UK or in the USA.  Check out – http://www.exhibitions.co.uk/ for UK specific shows, as well as http://www.tsnn.com/, where you can do a location search for any country, city or state.

Start searching online for various directories, add these to a master list and fine tune it as you go.  There is good information on specific show sites as well, you can see what your other companies are saying about the value of certain trade shows.

Researching where your competitors are exhibiting  is another great way to narrow down your trade show selection.    There is not one specific site that has all of the available trade shows in any given country, it is best to gather data from a variety of sources and start your research.