Home » ReThinking Trade Show Giveaways: Stop Simply Giving Stuff Away!

I was about to hammer a nail into a board when my 5 year old son asked if he could do it. Without thinking, I handed him the hammer and held the nail between my thumb and forefinger. With tongue sticking out the side of his mouth he began to take aim  … giving me a minute to rethink the situation. I said, "Hang on a second", grabbed a pair of pliers and secured the nail between the gleaming steel jaws. "Go ahead", I said. He swung with everything he had, the hammer landing perfectly  … on the pliers - in the exact spot my fingers had been just moments earlier.

"Good thing you rethought that, huh dad", my son said sheepishly.
"Yeah", I replied. "Good thing".

Sometimes rethinking our position or rethinking a situation can yield an eye-opening or finger-saving revelation. In the world of promotional marketing and the use of promotional products, rethinking may not save a finger … but it can save money, time, effort and frustration.

I'll bet you know of plenty of cases where things are being done …  because, well … because they've always been done that way. Every so often, someone has the time to step back and rethink the status quo. And many times, a better way emerges.
 
My trade show message is simple. Stop simply giving stuff away. Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

Would you stand out front of your business and hand everyone who walks by your business card … and a quarter? How about 50 cents or maybe even a dollar? You know. Sort of reverse panhanding.

No? 

Why not? 

Think about that for a minute before you continue.

Then why, as people walk by your trade show booth, would you hand them an item with your contact information that cost you .25¢, 50¢ or even $1 or more?

Is it because:

1) You believe they'll look at it and fall all over themselves to do business with you?

2) You believe that at some future point in time they'll have a need for your product or service and suddenly remember that pen they stuck in the drawer, pull it out and call you?

3)  "Everyone else is doing it"? 

4) You really never gave it much thought?

Every day, companies spend a lot of time, trouble and money to participate in a trade show …  so they can give a bunch of stuff away. Their return on investment is dismal. They have little or no actionable data to follow up on, thus, few qualified prospects.

If you wouldn't stand out front of your business and give away money, then perhaps it's time to rethink your trade show protocol. Ask yourself, "Why do I stand at a trade show booth and give away money in the form of promotional products?"

And when you stop simply giving stuff away, it begs the question, "What DO I do?" And thus you begin, ReThinking trade show giveaways.

Michael Crooks is author of the soon to be released eBook, "ReThinking Trade Show Giveaways: Stop Simply Giving Stuff Away!" A short book to help guide you toward using promotional products effectively to promote your company and enhance your prospecting efforts at trade shows.  For more information visit PromoReThink