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As co-owner of an eBay business, I've been to trade shows in the UK and I know without a doubt that the most important thing to my co-owner and I when we went was...

INFORMATION

... and plenty of it.

The best swag that we got hold of all had the same things in common:

+ firstly it was all sitting happily inside a well constructed bag. Something we could carry round comfortably - and which invariably had the name of the seller or business on the outside. Good advertising for when the company is there, as some of them also included the number of the stand they were located at

+ second bonus - lots of brochures, preferably colour, complete with a price list that made sense. Some businesses seem hell bent on providing unnecessarily complicated lists that take time to go through
+ third bonus - freebies. Some gave away pens, which are ideal for trade shows as the ink in the ones you take with you invariably decides to run out at an inopportune moment. But the best (and most of the ones we ended up doing business with) gave away a sample of their products. It doesn't have to be big, and it doesn't have to be eye-poppingly 'wow' but a freebie allows you to see what their range and quality is like

It seems that some people only go to these things to pick up a load of free bags, but in reality the best swag you can give away is something that will help your business, enable people to remember you, what you do and what you sell, and bring in orders long after the trade show has closed.

Some companies we saw had eye catching bags that we picked up... but when we looked inside there was very little in them to actually be worth taking. Creating a buzz and projecting an image is all very well, but you need SUBSTANCE as well. Information and helpful advice, in my opinion as a buyer, is the best swag you could ever send anyone away with.

So make sure you catch people's attention in the right way, and be ready with swag that is capable of pulling in orders in the weeks and months to come.

Learn more about this author, Allison Whitehead.
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