I was at the Affordable Meetings National Event Technology Expo tradeshow (http://www.affordablemeetings.com/ete/) at the Washington Convention Center last week. It was about a 10,000 square foot expo area, so it was a fairly easy floor to navigate. These are good opportunities for me to observe and be reminded of what works well when working the booth–and what can be improved.

Among the exhibitors, there was a strong contingency of vendors representing various hotels, conference centers and regions. While Q2 plans events, I’m fairly far removed from that service offering. Many of the reps came out into the aisle and hit me with all of the reasons I would want to plan my next conference or team-building outing at their facility.

However, and this is important, no one asked this basic question: “Are you responsible for meetings and events for Q2?” Or : “How many events does your firm plan a year?”

Many insisted on promptly scanning my badge. Wouldn’t a better approach have been to see if I was qualified?

Toward the end of the day, a number of booth staff were insisting that I take home their freebies. I’m sure this is because they didn’t want to carry them home with them. Anybody want some keychains, pens, etc. that came home with me against their will? The lesson is, if you have to find unwilling (unqualified) strangers on which to unload your promotional items, don’t bring so many in the first place.

I don’t fault these people from trying to generate interest. But I take issue with the methodology that says, “everyone who comes by our booth is a customer.”

A group sales rep with Club Med did it right. I told her I was interested in going to Club Med with my husband. By most definitions, especially hers, he and I don’t constitute a “group.” She politely gave me a brochure with her card, chatted for a few moments and moved me on. She didn’t scan my badge or take my card, so I won’t appear in her database. She realized that’s not a good use of her time.

We thought we should dedicate some space to talking about promotions. Yep, promotions - they have long been considered the necessary evil of doing shows. How many of us have ended up with so many promotional items that we couldn’t fit into our luggage? And how many of us quickly, and without remorse, tossed multiple items in the hotel trash?

There seems to be this crazy affliction that happens to otherwise normal and highly functional adults when they hit the trade show floor. On the floor, they ricochet from booth to booth looking for anything free. There is no consideration on what the item is or how many of the same thing they already have in their conference bag. Who hasn’t seen this? I always feel compassion for the naive booth workers who painstakingly set up the registration booth for the first day of the show. They spend dedicated time in arranging the giveaways just so. They venture out to the aisles to see how the promotional arrangement looks from every side.

Then the announcement comes that the floor is opening. Suddenly attendees are swarming from all directions. The same person who lovingly took the time to arrange all the giveaways is being swarmed, trying to talk to everyone grabbing from the pile. Finally realizing that it is to no avail, he quietly steps back from the registration table and looks shell shocked. Before the first day is over, three-fourths of the show stock is gone.

However, you can control the pandemonium and support your strategy through the use of promotions. Promotions don’t have to be worthless items that do nothing but strain your budget. In fact, promotions should add as well as support your show’s strategy. To accomplish this, begin to think about promotions differently. It is no longer a pen, stress ball or flashing ball discussion. It is pairing the promotion with your message. This can, typically, mean a higher priced item but the quantity will be less.

And you can curtail the frenzied aisle grab. Instead of placing the promotions on the registration counter, place them out of sight. Strategically display one on the counter, in order to peak interest. However, attendees have to be qualified before taking the item. This can be done pre-show where attendees have received a mailer announcing the promotion, with instructions on how to pick it up at the show. Attendees, not pre-qualified, will be qualified at the booth by fulfilling the action [i.e. attending a presentation] and/or responding to qualification questions.

If you approach promotions from this strategic angle, you will continue to read the benefits long past the show. We have personally experienced tradeshow promotions that, coupled with show strategy, continued to drive interest. Months after a show, we would receive calls from prospects and clients requesting additional promotional items to be sent as they had told co-workers or co-workers had seen the item and wanted one. You too can experience this type of response. It makes for a better show and a more qualified prospect database.

Believe it or not, the holiday season is quickly approaching and your company is probably beginning to consider what you will be sending to clients this year to show your appreciation.

Everyone wants to make the best impression and show clients that you really care. What says that more than a custom pen, business card holder or, better yet, a desk accessory? Who doesn’t want something that features your company’s logo, or better yet something totally impractical emblazoned with their logo?

The same gift for all no longer works. Horror stories like these abound:

• Sending nuts to a client who has a peanut allergy and has to be taken to the hospital just from opening the package.
• Sending steaks to the client who is a known vegetarian.
• Sending a gift basket to an entire team only to have one person horde it and refuse to share.
• Sending a wine basket to a person who abhors alcohol.

All of these examples, and believe me they are true, point to taking the quick way out and going the extra mile to personalize the gift.

As quickly as you can enhance a client relationship, you can also put a relationship in jeopardy, by your choice of a gift. But don’t despair. Finding the right gift isn’t that hard to do, but it does take time. And you shouldn’t buy in multiples. Consider each client and what you know about them: what hobby have they mentioned; what is their favorite restaurant; how do they spend their free time? Answering these questions will point out the perfect gift that will clearly indicate your level of appreciation for their business.

And the best advice I can give you…start now!