Promotional Items Work for You at Trade Shows

Trade shows are exciting, busy and fun events that give you a chance to showcase your business and put your best face toward your public. They're one of the better places to get your product out in front of a lot of people all at once, and to make a stellar first impression on prospective customers and clients. You've got an interested audience that is there for two reasons: to have fun – and to find new products. If you're lucky, you'll not only find new customers, you'll also get great press and publicity.

On the other hand, you're also competing with many other manufacturers and sellers who are trying to capture the same audience. That means that you have to stand out from the crowd to attract visitors to your booth. Once they're there, you need to keep them there with interesting presentations, and send them away with something that will ensure that they remember you.

Promotional items and business gifts can work for you in all three of those areas. The right promotional items can help you create an attractive, attracting atmosphere, underscore your presentation and serve as a reminder of your product and product line after the sales reps leave your booth. In order to do that, you need to start with a comprehensive plan so that all parts of your trade show presentation work together.

Think about your promotional items early in the planning process.

Too often, businesses concentrate on presenting their product and forget about details like promotional items until the last minute. Your promotional products can and should be an integral part of your plan from early in the process. You can use promos in many different ways – but every item that you use should fit into a cohesive overall plan.

One way to ensure that you have a great promo plan is to work with an event planner. Event and trade show planners have experience in creating the perfect display for your product and designing promotions to fit them. If you don't have the budget for a professional planner, though, here are some suggestions for using promotional items in everything from your display to your takeaway gifts.

Presentation

One of the most important functions of your trade show booth is to attract attention. Color coordinate table draperies, signage and other decorations. Balloons printed with your company logo make excellent attention getters – and inexpensive giveaways at family shows.

Your promotional giveaway items should also fit the theme. Be sure that you consider their appearance when choosing their wrapping or packaging. Choose complementary colors and styles.

Attention Getters

Some promotional items are ideal to use as attention getters. One of the best and least inexpensive is a brightly colored, heavy duty carry bag. Visitors to your booth will appreciate their utility and use them throughout the day, which increases your booth's visibility.

Promotional Giveaways

Choose promotional giveaways that your customers will appreciate and use after they get home. The more they use your gift, the more often they'll see your name – and the more often they see your name, the more likely they are to call you when they need your product.