Promoting Yourself at Trade Shows:

A Practical Guide to Trade Show Promotional Items:

It's coming up on that time of year again. It's time to start planning out your trade shows. It's hard to imagine showing up to a trade show without some sort of giveaway, but what should you give? This can sometimes be a very difficult question, and it can be hard to choose the right promotional giveaway.

In order to determine what type of giveaway will be most effective, you first need to identify your goals. Is it prospects you are after? Do you want to make a big splash with a new product or service? Do you want to just strengthen your brand, and get out in front of people? Whatever your goal is, your promotional item should be one designed to help you accomplish it.

A few examples:

If you are at a trade show to introduce a high dollar product, it makes sense to offer something of a little more perceived value. A stylish roller-ball pen with a nice cushy grip could be an excellent high-perceived-value reminder of your visit with them.

If you are at a show trying to promote your brand name, you would want to make sure that the gift has something to do with your brand. For instance if you were an office supply company, you would want to go with a nice letter opener or mini stapler. It also makes sense, in this case especially, to not only brand the item, but to put a brand-reaffirming slogan on it as well.

Companies that go to trade shows primarily in order to get contacts can benefit from having a slightly higher premium giveaway that prospects would sign up for. That information would then be captured for use after the show to follow up with the contact.

Contests also work well for capturing contact information as well. For instance, you could offer a customized gift card that would allow access to an online incentive store where the lucky winner could buy everything from $1000 watches to accent lamps to plasma TV's.

Just match your giveaway to your target audience and your brand for success. Above all, don't just hand them out, say thanks, and walk away. Use the item to open a dialogue, and move on to capturing lead information. If you don't have some sort of plan that allows you to follow up with your leads, then being there is pointless.

You have to remember that the people who walk around these shows see possibly hundreds of booths in a single day. There is no reason to assume they will remember yours. The proper promotional item can go a long ways towards helping to jog their memories, and bridging the gap towards a long business relationship.

Powertex's knowledgeable and helpful sales representatives can help you find the proper promotional items to accomplish your trade show goals. Click here to view thousands of possible promotional item ideas. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Quality production is of utmost importance to Minnesota Wire & Cable Co., a wide spectrum manufacturing company based out of St. Paul, Minnesota. MMWC designs, tools, and manufactures a variety of useful technological products, including Medical Devices, Military Defense Devices and Telecommunications Equipment.

Still, the company, founded in the mid 1970's by Fred Wagner, is a family business at heart. Family owned and operated, it is a company that strives to create a family atmosphere throughout its ranks. They always try to pass on their success to the employees. According to Brian Wagner, Operations Manager at the Eau Claire Facility, "When the company wins, everyone wins--that's always been our philosophy. We try to share the wealth across the board, whether that's in the form of a gift such as a hat or coffee mug, or better working conditions, or increased wages."

MMWC has always tried to focus on giving out different types of incentives to their workers for their continued excellent performance. Just a few examples from this year:

Company Cook-Out-
To encourage interaction and reward their employees MMWC held a company cook-out in which the management cooked and grilled for all of the employees. A casual affair, people ate, interacted, and just flat out had a good relaxing time. The management then handed out custom hats to the employees as an added thanks for all their hard work.

Bowling Party-
In order to show their appreciation to the employees at their 30,000 sq ft Eau Claire production facility, MMWC decided they needed to do something nice for the group. They took the employees out to the local bowling lanes, where everyone was encouraged to mingle, eat, and have fun. They then handed out clickable light-up pens, and a selection of gift cards as an added bonus to their employees.

On The Job Extras-
As a weekly perk, Minnesota Wire & Cable also provides fresh fruit every Wednesday for all employees who want either an apple, orange, banana, plum, pear or peach when in season. Every employee received a new custom imprinted mug this year as an added bonus. Wagner also receives positive feedback on recognizing employees' birthdays; "Each month I send out birthday cards to employees with a personal note, I've been doing it for 18 years and people really appreciate it."

These are a small sampling of the promotions and efforts that Minnesota Wire & Cable puts towards recognizing their employees and promoting high morale. Building a family atmosphere and rewarding the employees really has paid off for Minnesota Wire and Cable Co. Not only have they experienced aggressive growth company-wide this year (20% growth in the employee sector), but they were able to set several all-time production records in their factories since summer this year. According to Brian, "We've had a very good year, a 24 percent increase in shipping dollars in our Eau Claire facility. It's a remarkable feat, and we had a profitable year. So we celebrate in a variety of ways from a summer barbecue, to giving away baseball caps, to a bowling party." Not only that, but their reputation as a respected employer has grown throughout the business community as well.

Powertex Group can put the power of promotional items, gift cards, and events to work for you and your company. Ask one of our helpful sales reps for ideas to help increase employee morale and boost output. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com.