People give away a lot of things at tradeshows, but most of those things are relatively useless, right? How many pencils, pens, and paper holders can you actually use? Further, how many of those things have been successful when reminding you of a particular company or meeting? Not many, right? That’s why it’s important to think outside of the box (or custom exhibition design!) when deciding what types of things to hand out.
Make It Useful
Pens can be useful things, but finding something to offer potential contacts at the moment is a better plan. Here are some good examples of use things that people will really appreciate.
Slippers with cushy bottoms: trade show floors are hard! If you offer people a pair of slipper that they can trudge around in, they will appreciate this gesture.
A quick massage in a massage chair: you can even make all of the chairs at your booth the massage type. It’s hard to network all day, and people might be more responsive to what you’re selling if they are getting a really nice massage while listening to your pitch. This is something that Blazer can set up as part of your custom exhibition design.
Something warm and comforting: how about some homemade chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk? Or, some kind of play on that comforting theme? Once again, bringing comfort into the cold tradeshow environment will really work to your benefit.
A pillow: imagine how great it would be to set up couches in a private conference room space inside of your exhibition design, and hand people pillows to bring with them when they leave. Now, that’s comfort – and it’s something that can be used again if you make the pillows tasteful.
How Much to Spend
Handing out items at a trade show isn’t like handing out things to potential clients that your sales team goes to visit. While pens and other practical items might work when it comes to sales calls, you should spend a bit more of your marketing budget on tradeshow giveaways. In addition to spending a good deal on custom displays that attract clients, consider spending a portion of your budget on the giveaways. This way, you can make the stuff that you are giving to clients really good.
It’s heartbreaking to see gift goodies in trashcans at the end of a conference, but it happens all the time. Why? Because those things that most companies give out just aren’t interesting, useful, or helpful at the time of the conference. Instead of buying cheap items that will be thrown away, spend some money on quality items that people will actually use or take some kind of comfort in during the show. Remember, too, that you can incorporate a lot of these elements into your custom displays. If you want to set up a comfy conference center inside of your custom displays, we can do that for you. When it comes to display design, it’s really a matter of your imagination, and Blazer can take it from there. From the things that you give away to the booth that you set up, attending a trade show is about far more than just selling – it’s about making a really good lasting impression.
Call us today for your custom display setup, or contact us on Facebook.