Expos, trade shows, and fairs are brilliant opportunities for connecting with your target market and selling. Whether your company sells to the general public, a niche audience or trade only, these events give you a chance to speak directly to potential customers. You can also connect with regular customers and strengthen that relationship. But no matter how strong and favourable an impression your team makes, people are less likely to follow up and make a purchase if they leave your exhibit empty-handed. If you print merchandise, not only do you ensure potential customers have a reminder of your contact at the expo, as you as guarantee all the info they need to get in touch with you is easily available.
Making a real connection with someone takes a two-pronged approach. First, your display and your team on the ground must be stellar. They need to grab people’s attention in a competitive environment where you might be just meters away from your competition. As we know, human connection is invaluable – the staff you send can make a huge difference by greeting people warmly and showing a genuine interest in helping them.
Second, to ensure your brand is remembered after spending a day wandering through many striking displays, you need to print merchandise that not only catches their eye but that is outstanding. You need full-colour brochures and catalogues, detailed price lists and a business card with all of your contact details. And these are just the basics!
Print merchandise ahead of time and work with professional printers. What you distribute needs to jog your leads’ memory when they review them. That means your branding must be consistent down to the tiniest detail. Every colour must be precise. Fonts must be well thought-out. Including photos of your staff in your printed brochures and flyers is a powerful way to reinforce the human touch.
What Type of Merchandise Printing Do You Need Done for an Expo?
If your company exhibits at a few events a year, it is helpful to have a checklist and make sure you have adequate supplies of everything you need.
Posters and display materials. This is the first thing people see, so it needs to make a strong impact and compel them to stop and learn more about your company. Your backdrop and any other posters need to reflect your brand by using your logo, colour scheme and tagline. It should be immediately obvious what your company does and what benefit it offers.
- Brochures and flyers. People need a simple overview of what your company does, how and why you do it. This too should use your logo, colour scheme and tagline. The fonts should be consistent and professional. Using photos of the team members who attend events is a powerful way to remind people of their experience of your display when they review the brochure later. Some companies will need a range of brochures or trifolds, each focusing on different offerings. These need to be easy to tell apart from each other while also being consistent in style. That’s where working with an experienced print company helps! Flyers are an effective way to highlight special offers, new products, and events.
- Catalogues and price lists. For retail sales, it is usually fine to include prices in your catalogue, assuming your prices don’t change often. But for wholesalers, a separate price list is best practice. That way, the retailer can show the catalogue to their customers without revealing too much.
- Business cards. Whatever you are selling, if people are going to buy it, they like to have your contact details on a convenient business card. Include your website address as well as your address, phone numbers and email. And, like everything else, your business card is a chance to reinforce your brand’s visual identity. There are many original ways to present yourself and your company – working with a professional printer can give you even more flexibility for what you can do, even on a small business card.
- Folders. If your company has a variety of print materials to hand out, putting together a folder containing all of them makes a good impression. It shows that your company is organised and professional, and that you consider their needs and convenience. It’s also a powerful branding tool, and one that people tend to reuse.
Exhibiting at events is an effective way to reach out to potential customers, and having a comprehensive range of printed materials will give you an edge. Talk to our team and ask us how we can help!
