The Ultimate Trade Show Give-Away

Does your company spend thousands of dollars a year on give-aways, tchotchkes, or premiums, specifically purchased for trade shows? How many mousepads, pens, keychains or coffee mugs have you purchased in the past few years? Do you know what your customers do with those items when they return to their office? Well, most of them probably give these items to their kids, a co-worker, or stick them into the office supply cabinet. So, the question is, what is the ultimate give-away item? And how much does it cost?

How about putting together a small booklet, somewhere in the size of 3.5-in. x 6.5-in. or pocket size. And make the content somewhat substantial, say 16-24 pages. Offer hints, tips, and techniques relating to your business. One of the most popular booklets that I created for a client was an Applications Guide for life science customers. Years later, when the booklet, was out of print, customers requested that the booklet be updated.

Booklets are not that difficult to create. You just need to decide what information should be included. Ask your customers at the next trade show what would be of value to them. You may even have the information somewhere within your company. Talk to your customer service department and find out what questions they frequently are asked by customers. It could be a tutorial, how to, list of references, or whatever you think your customers might frequently use.

Another option is to purchase a booklet from another publisher that is already in print. Make sure it is something your customers would refer to over and over again. You could design a book jacket with your company name and logo and the words "With our compliments" on the front cover and your address, website, and other corporate information on the back of the jacket.

Either option can be accomplished for about the same price or less than what you are currently spending on tchotchkes. So, when it comes to trade show tchotchkes, be creative, but practical.

Exhibiting Dollars and Sense: Guidelines to Control Your Costs

As we head into the fourth quarter of the year and work on all of those Fall trade shows, have you looked at your exhibit expenses lately? Here are a few estimates that may match your own reality:

Exhibit Space Rental: You most likely spend about 30-32% of your total exhibit budget on space rental, whether that be a 10-ft x 10-ft or larger booth space.

Exhibit Design: Plan on spending about 20% of your total exhibit budget for the design. This includes design and construction, refurbishment, display materials, graphics, storage, installation and dismantling costs, insurance, etc. Besides space rental this is your biggest expense.

Show Services: Your probably pay around 14-15% for electrical, plumbing, jamitorial, security, telephone, carpet, furnishings, Internet access, lead retrieval system, floral rental, etc.

Transportation: Budget about 9-10% for freight, material handling, and customs expenses, if you have shows overseas.

Travel & Entertainment: With airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation, training, booth attire, hospitality events, and client entertainment your sales and marketing organizations are most likely to spend between 18-20% of your exhibit budget.

Advertising & Promotion: Unfortunately, this usually gets the short end of the budget. Many companies are only spending a meager 1-5%.

• So, with exhibiting costs soaring, how do you get a better return on your investment? First of all be diligent about your planning. Read the exhibitor services manual and put a timeline together for all of the deadlines. Some shows will actually give you an early bird discount on some items. So, take advantage. If you have to order items at the show, you will pay a premium. So, plan, plan, and plan some more.

• Take advantage of the show advertising packages if they offer them. You will be targeting the show audience directly and make a bigger impact by marketing to a captive audience.

• You most likely attend several shows a year. Try to work with the same freight carrier and negotiate a volume discount. Or, if you typically exhibit in small booth spaces, hand carry your exhibit booth and set it up yourself.

• Get organized. Label your crates and number them carefully with instructions on how to set up your booth including electrical requirements and repacking instructions. This will help to speed up the set-up and dismantling process.

• Instead of purchasing a new booth, think about refurbishment. Or, get rid of your heavy weight booth all together. Think about using some of the lighter-weight materials for your exhibit booth design. With some of the newest materials, you can get a slick, hi-tech look without all of the weight. This will save drayage and shipping costs.

Exhibit Design Tips & Tricks

Is your trade show exhibit a bit worn or outdated? Many companies have cut costs by budgeting very little money for upkeep of their trade show exhibits. But, you don't have to spend a lot of money to update the look of your booth. Here are a few tips:

• Evaluate the trade shows you are attending. Look at your overall marketing plan and strategy. Are you attending shows that fit into that strategy? Or are you just going to a certain show "because we've always attended that show"? Are you taking the proper amount of booth space for each show? Can you downscale from 20 feet to 10 feet, for example? You can save shipping and drayage costs if you downscale.
  

• Spruce up your current exhibit booth. You can easily modernize your trade show booth with some updated graphics. Or consider purchasing some new carpet in a trendy color. Adding new lighting to your exhibit can also give it a bit of a makeover. Add some plants or flowers to make your booth more inviting.

• Choose colors for your exhibit that can give a psychological boost to your audience. Yellow is a good color to gain attention. Green has a positive and calming effect. Gold, silver or platinum always symbolize premium. Black represents power and confidence. And white, of course, signifies honesty and purity.

Trade shows are all about your company image. They are a good way to meet and greet your existing customers and make new contacts face-to-face. So, with a bit of imagination and a small budget, you can spruce up your trade show booth to attract new customers.