Five Tips for Attracting Visitors to Your Trade Show Booth with Effective Promotional Give-aways

Getting ready to participate in trade show? Trade shows offer excellent exposure for both new and well-established businesses. But, since you're competing with so many other businesses (including some of your direct competitors), how will you make your own booth jump out and draw in trade show visitors like a magnet?

One of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is by offering attractive promotional give-aways. Everyone likes a free gift. People especially appreciate gifts that are practical, something they can use once they get home. Remember, most other booths at the trade show will also be handing out promotional give-aways. Outdoing your competitors doesn't necessarily require out-spending them. Instead, it may simply call for out-thinking them.

When choosing promotional give-aways for trade shows, take a little bit of time to evaluate your situation and your possibilities. Base your choice on the following five factors:

1) Your type of business. You should try to purchase promotional give-aways that are in line with your own company. For example, if your business is health care, choose promotional give-aways that promote your mission. Health and wellness items like pill organizers, medicine droppers or bandage dispensers will help solidify your company's image in the minds of potential clients. If your business is bookkeeping, items such as portfolios, day planners, calculators or notepad holders would help visitors remember you.

2) The nature of the trade show. If you are participating in an outdoor recreation trade show, promotional give-aways for the outdoors like beach umbrellas, monogrammed golf balls or picnic backpacks might be appropriate.

3) Your budget. Remember, you don't have to outspend your competition. Just be creative. Even businesses with small advertising budgets can find promotional gifts that echo their business' mission without breaking the budget.

4) Your competitors. You need to stand out from your competitors and the other booths around you. Promotional pens are a staple of direct advertising, however, they may not be the best choice for a trade show give-away. A pen may be too commonplace or simply get lost in the crowd. Instead, choose items for trade shows that are unique and memorable.

5) Size, shape and weight. Don't choose something too unwieldy (i.e. heavy or awkward to carry.) Your visitors may reject it simply because they don't feel like carrying it around. The best promotional give-aways for trade shows are small to medium-sized, lightweight and compact.

Whatever you choose, make sure that you order in plenty of time for your trade show. Check with your distributor for estimated delivery times, and plan for delays. A rule of thumb is to add ten percent to the estimated delivery time. In other words, if your distributor estimates a shipping time of three weeks, add two to three days. This may help you avoid disappointment from not having your promotional gifts arrive when you expected, perhaps not in time.

Afterwards, evaluate how well your promotional give-aways went over with visitors. Were visitors receptive? Were most willing to take one? Were they willing to share their contact information with you in order to receive one? Were they as effective as you'd hoped? Answering these and other questions will help you determine what promotional give-aways to use at your next trade show.

Jenny Schweyer is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest.

Art Promos: For all your promotional needs.

Lift Promos: We lift your image and make you victorious.