Promotional products have been used for years to advertise businesses at conferences and trade shows all over the world. If you are using this particular aspect of business to promote your company and get your name out there at a conference or trade show, then you are already stepping out ahead of the competition by helping your client base remember you long after the conference or trade show is over. To really take off ahead of the competition, however, you should know the best ways to take full advantage of your promotional products.

If you are selling things at a conference aimed at writers, you would not be best advised to hand out golf umbrellas. Instead, useful things like notepads with your company logo at the top, pens, and conference folders would be much more appreciated. Matching your promotional products to your client base is a great way to ensure that your company name will be remembered as the lifesaver that provided just the right product at just the right time rather than forgotten as unimportant or unnecessary.

If you have a great product, then people will be interested in it and in acquiring it, and that is where you really get to take advantage of your promotional products. What is a potential client willing to do to get your promotional product? Are they willing to sign up for a mailing list? Complete a short questionnaire? Would they be more willing to buy something if it came with a free gift? It is up to you to answer that question for yourself, your company, and your promotional products. The further you can get your clients to aid you in selling to them, the more money you make back on the promotional products until they are practically paying you back for their purchase!

If you are selling books and handing out free promotional pens and note pads, slip a bookmark into each book that you sell. Your customer will not have to search for a scrap of paper to use as a bookmark, and your company name will be staring at them every time they open their book up, at least for the duration of the conference and possibly even longer. Next time they need a book, they might just think of your company first.

Now about those note pads and pens. Have your mailing list out there on the table, and offer the pens as a thank you for signing up. People will gladly sign up for the list in order to get a nice pen or other promotional product, and will be in your booth already, more likely to look at what you have to offer. You can hand out the note pads with the pens if you want, or find another creative way for your customers to earn them. There are plenty of great ways to turn promotional products and items into a serious strategic advantage, and you can continue to use them again and again to your great benefit.