Literature at Trade Shows > A question from a product vendor

[habreu]

We have given out a lot of literature at trade shows over the years. We have given out free items, awarded cash, had contests with prizes, given out coupons, single sheet, 4 sheet and catalogs, prepared videos and so on. A lot of the print stuff seems to end up on the trade show floor. Some calls but percentage-wise not much considering how much material we produce.

As we prepare for yet another trade show I thought I would ask about what works for those of you who attend trade shows. I hope you'll take a minute to answer. Thanks.

What marketing or promotional material do you actually find useful, read, use, follow up with a visit to a website:

[Clarkstoragellc]

What is your product?

A new vendor for a new security product called me to talk about how to market his product. Sent his video over. Message was unclear and there was no "Hook". Their product needed two things to make it a killer at the next ISS show. This person invented the product, was techy and couldn't see the lack of messaging.

[habreu]

What is your product?

A new vendor for a new security product called me to talk about how to market his product. Sent his video over. Message was unclear and there was no "Hook". Their product needed two things to make it a killer at the next ISS show. This person invented the product, was techy and couldn't see the lack of messaging.

We sell a variety of facility maintenance and repair products. We are best known for our roll door restoration paints and coatings, but also stuff like bottom seals, replacement doors springs, hasps, bollard covers and the like. The booth itself always does well but literature less so. To be fair we see a lot of literature on the floor from every company after the show when we clean up. A lot of people are traveling and don't want to lug bags of stuff. I just wonder what the thing most likely to be hung onto is as it is easy to spend several thousands of dollars on print material above and beyond the costs of booths and magazines and trade show memberships.

[Clarkstoragellc]

The best thing to hold onto is a memory of you. Make yourself memorable.

Do away with all your literature.

Just like storage they want you when they need you. Talk with your SEO person and develop a strategy.

1. People prefer to buy from people they know. Make yourself memorable.
2. They have to find you when they look for that service.
3. The industry is consolidating. Your market will start to shrink. Develop a game plan.

[habreu]

The best thing to hold onto is a memory of you. Make yourself memorable.

Do away with all your literature.

Just like storage they want you when they need you. Talk with your SEO person and develop a strategy.

1. People prefer to buy from people they know. Make yourself memorable.
2. They have to find you when they look for that service.
3. The industry is consolidating. Your market will start to shrink. Develop a game plan.

We are well known in the industry but the idea of doing away with the literature at the shows makes sense to me. We do get occasional less computer savvy people asking for mailed catalogs but other than that an extra person at the table and a 'contact me about [ ] paint [ ] springs' etc might be better. As for the shrinking market it is one of the owner's mantras. We are always looking for ways in the form of new or refined products to stay relevant to self-storage. It is always changing.

I appreciate the feedback.

[EagleEye]

I was just talking to my dad yesterday about all the free stuff I take home from shows. probably 5 years ago, linkmedia 360 gave away a pen with a fidget spinner on the top of it and i still use it all the time! (the spinner more than the pen )

Ultimately, something that stands out is worth taking home. Think about the next $5 amazon item that you need for your life and see if you can make into a promotional product. Another idea for selling door paint is to maybe cut out rectangles from an old door and mask half of it to have a treated vs. untreated size. Maybe index card size for someone to take home to show to their maintenance guy. Much more time/effort than a business card, so you decide if it's worth your effort.

[habreu]

We actually use to take painted bendable metal squares to the show so people could bend them and see how our paint did not crack or pull away from the surface. Also every so often (not as often as we should) paint on a solvent resistant cardstock and cut that up to make small color swatches for people to match. We could probably cut some of those in a bigger size or find some die cut metal with rounded corners to give out. Getting the old door might be possible - so a good idea- but cutting and smoothing the edges of enough samples to meet the demand would be tough. We can probably accelerate the fading/oxidation on some die cut metal tabs as that is done during paint durability testing.

Some great ideas - thanks!

[Gina6k]

I do love some of the more creative, unusual trinkets that folks give out. I also use the ones I've picked up, especially if they are office supply items. Goodness knows, I've passed out a lot of fun ones as well.

What I'd like to see is a large enough display board, poster board sized with the following info -

Company Name and all contact info
What the products are
And maybe a QR code

Using a clear, easy to read font so I can snap a photo of the board and make contact when I return home.


You know how busy the tradeshows are, you can never touch base with everyone. And I personally don't like carrying around tons of paper in my bag, whether it's business cards, catalogs, brochures etc.

[habreu]

I do love some of the more creative, unusual trinkets that folks give out. I also use the ones I've picked up, especially if they are office supply items. Goodness knows, I've passed out a lot of fun ones as well.

What I'd like to see is a large enough display board, poster board sized with the following info -

Company Name and all contact info
What the products are
And maybe a QR code

Using a clear, easy to read font so I can snap a photo of the board and make contact when I return home.


You know how busy the tradeshows are, you can never touch base with everyone. And I personally don't like carrying around tons of paper in my bag, whether it's business cards, catalogs, brochures etc.

Thanks Gina some good points. Much appreciated.

[curlymom234]

What’s worked best for us is putting our hands on the product and talking with a knowledgeable person. Then we usually end up calling you from the swag you give out. The flyer will go missing and pens get tossed. If we REALLY think we want your product, I’ll make a note in my phone of who I’m calling and where to find your #. I promise you I’ll lose the flyer though.

[habreu]

What’s worked best for us is putting our hands on the product and talking with a knowledgeable person. Then we usually end up calling you from the swag you give out. The flyer will go missing and pens get tossed. If we REALLY think we want your product, I’ll make a note in my phone of who I’m calling and where to find your #. I promise you I’ll lose the flyer though.

Thanks I appreciate the response. We can tell from the trade show floor that a lot of people drop the literature.

[habreu]

What’s worked best for us is putting our hands on the product and talking with a knowledgeable person. Then we usually end up calling you from the swag you give out. The flyer will go missing and pens get tossed. If we REALLY think we want your product, I’ll make a note in my phone of who I’m calling and where to find your #. I promise you I’ll lose the flyer though.

Thanks I appreciate the response. We can tell from the trade show floor that a lot of people drop the literature.

[curlymom234]

Thanks I appreciate the response. We can tell from the trade show floor that a lot of people drop the literature.

Are you going to be there at the GASSA show? This year I made some flyers, but don't expect folks to really take them.