A trade shows give away is a great ways to generate sales leads. At a trade show you find so many people who are interested in your product and just waiting for someone to catch their attention so they can buy it. People attend trade shows for different reasons. Some go to see what the competition is up to, some go to see the new developments; some go for the free stuff. However, most go because they have a legitimate interest in that field and need, or will need your product or service. All you have to do is catch their attention. Normally that would be easy but, you are in a room where a thousand other people are trying to do the same thing. Your trade show give away can help you be seen and considered. Going to a trade show is often like going trick or treating. Someone gives you a bag and you go around to each booth and they give you a treat. Just like trick or treating some give good treats and other just give out tootsie-rolls. Your trade show give away can make or break you trade show success. A good trade show give away can work hard for you for many months to come or it can be thrown in the dumpster on the way out of the convention center. Below are a few ideas to help your company be successful at a trade show. Know the Clientele To be successful you have to know your clientele. Before you even start putting together your tradeshow sit down and figure out, who are your clientele, what makes them unique, what are their interests, what are their values, and what makes the tick. One of the best trade show give aways I have ever heard of was a small hydraulics company who gave away a balsa wood panel with the cutouts of several interchangeable airplane parts at an aerospace trade show. The engineers loved it because they could build their own planes with the interchangeable parts. This company was terribly successful because they took their clientele into consideration and found something simple that would appeal to their clientele. Budget Budget is another big factor in designing a trade show campaign. You need to know how much a lead is worth to you. It is critical that you keep your cost well below the profit per lead. This doesnt mean that you cant do something really cool. Even if you are on a low budget there are things that you can that will dazzle you potential clients, just be creative. Make it Unique Make it unique. It has to be memorable. Brochures are nice because the give the information but they are limited because the person has to be interested at that moment or he/she has to sort through all of the other pamphlets to find it. You can see how they could easily get lost in the mess. A unique gift will help them remember your company so that when they do have a need for your product they are more likely to remember you. Think of how memorable a company would be if they gave a rose with their logo printed on the petal. This works great as a trade show give away because it is memorable. With a gift like this, always give your potential client a way to contact your company like a website or phone number. This allows customers to find out more about your company after the trade show, even if they cant find the brochure. Finally, ask yourself if it has legs. My mother attended a flower show last summer. At the show Fed-ex was giving away a small battery powered fan and she picked up four. I still have that fan at my apartment. Is your give away something that will thrown away or given away? Will it be seen by more than just the person who receives it. Fed-ex got at least 10 people that I know of to see and handle their advertisement just because they offered it to my mother. Things that are around a while and are useful are seen by more people than you might realize. Your trade show give away doesnt have to be all of these things, but consider them before you decide what you want to give away. Remember a good give away will yield returns for many months, a bad one is just a waste of money. |
