22/04/2016
What not to do with promotional goods- a top ten.
Making an exhibition of myself is something I’ve been accused of many times in my life! However today I’m considering the different sort of give always at exhibitions versus those that might be handed out by your sales force and I'll be giving you my top 10!
Give aways or as they are better known, promotional goods are a fantastic way of getting your brand out there and increasing awareness, as well keeping your brand in front of existing and potential customers. Awareness of who you are and what you do will always bring sales when a requirement arises. Well, let’s look at it from the other direction if your potential customer doesn’t know who you are or what you do, I'm afraid a chance of a sale is fairly remote!
So what's the difference between give aways at exhibitions and give aways from your sales force? Simple! At exhibitions people will basically take stuff because they can- so alongside brochures and leaflets, the give aways need to be quite low value items-and that doesn't mean rubbish-rule of thumb, never give away cheap rubbish that nobody wants because that will reflect badly on your brand!
On the other hand the sales force calling in to see existing and potential customers will want to give out items that the customer really wants and better still will use or display. Never let your sales force hand out stuff that they are frankly a bit embarrassed about!
Here are some great ideas for exhibitions, which are of fairly low value but are great to get your brand out there:
1.Branded pens. There's some great pens available like the Sparta Ballpen or the Flat top Ballpen , they are made of chunky plastic but not throw away and they have big branding areas. If you buy 500 pens, the cost is perfectly reasonable and your potential customers will love these and better still, use them.
2. Note pads or sticky notes-both great, with plenty of room for branding. You'll find yourself going into customers and your name your company name will be on their desks.
3. Cotton shopper bags - these are so popular at the moment as the 5p plastic bag law has come in. They have a massive branding area and your potential customers will use them on the day of the exhibition and happily keep them in the car to avoid the dreaded 5p!
4. Mugs -always a favourite -more expensive than the rest of the list but people never (I can underline that if you like!)- never, throw away mug. So it's great promotional item.
5. Stress toys - always fun, available in hundreds of industry specific shapes. They have a good sized branding area and to be honest they are not too expensive expensive-all in all a pretty good give away.
All of the above can be used by your sales force but I would recommend higher value items to really make a good impression. So where as you might have been paying £2 for the most expensive exhibition give aways, your sales force should be armed with £8plus items. Here’s some really great ones that the customers will love, use, and remember you by.
1.Branded power banks -or in other words phone and tablet charges. These are possibly the most useful promotional items ever -your customers will thank you every time their mobile is just about to run out of power! They are also beautiful, sleek items to look out and are highly recommended but don't choose the cheapest with the smallest charge capacity- it's just not worth it! I prefer the company name engraved rather than printed but it's up to you.
2, Branded memory sticks - these can be things of beauty, shining chrome with a massive storage capacity. There is also hardly any difference in cost between 1 gb and 8gb so go for the higher capacity every time! The branding area is generally much smaller so don't try to fit too much on there and aways have a print out of the proof so you can appreciate the actual size.
3. Calendars, wall planners, desk pads - all great for giveaways at the end of the year. I say at the end of the year deliberately as it's important to get them to your customer before anyone else hands out this sort of thing! Success will mean that your brand is on your customer’s desk all year long!
4. USB pens- ah, now these are something else! Beautiful sleek pens with an 8 GB usb stick cleverly concealed at the clip end. Working out around £10 each, your customers will love them, use them and probably show them off to their friends!! I would recommend engraving but they can be printed in whatever colours you fancy.
5. Travel Mugs- ok so not as sleek or stylish as usb pens but really useful and great as a give away to the trades. Your brand will go everywhere with your customer! Nice banding area- another highly recommended item.
There are a few ideas for you when you're thinking about your next exhibition, seminar or sales promotion.
We're always happy help -talk soon - Nic
