How to Design a Successful Custom Shirt Strategy for Trade Shows

True or False?2. Evaluate and pick the best trade show where you
Using promotional shirts and apparels as your tradecan meet your target market.
shows giveaway will always yield positive results forNot all trade shows are for your company. It takes a
your business.lot of preparation, a good strategy and man power
False.allocation just to attend one trade show. In choosing
Like any marketing strategy, giving away customwhich trade show to participate in, take into
clothing will not always guarantee success to yourconsideration the geographic, demographic and
campaign. All marketing strategies, from the simplepsychographic factors that dictate who your target
distribution of promotional items to a nationwidemarket is. For instance, if you are in the real estate
tri-media campaign, are just tools that can help youindustry, you might want to skip on attending a
reach your goals. The same is true when used in thegeneral construction summit. If this construction trade
trade show setting. The overall effectiveness of yourshow is one on property development, that's when
trade show apparel giveaway strategy is largelyyou can put it up for consideration.
dependent on how you wield these "tools" in relation3. Choose and design the perfect trade show clothing
to your target objectives.to fit your market, event, and brand.
Now, the next question that you should ask is this:Again, based on the segment you are targeting, you
How can you effectively wield a promotionalshould choose the appropriate promotional product
giveaway strategy in attaining your goals?that your target market will appreciate. Design also
Again, like any marketing strategy, there is no exactplays a big factor in the success of your campaign.
formula that you can follow in order to be successful.Examples of design issues to focus on are saliency of
Every marketing guru will have his or her ownlogo to t-shirt colors and the clarity of message on
"proven" approach in maximizing the ROI of yourprinted shirts.
marketing budget, but in truth, there is no clear and4. Plan a distribution program for your promotional
exact path that will be applicable to all. The reasonitems during the trade show which should answer the
for this is that each industry, and each company infollowing questions:
that industry will require a different set of strategies- How can your target market find or get attracted
to fit their own strengths, culture, and values.to your trade show booth during the event?
Though, what is possible is to have a set of- How can you effectively distribute your trade show
strategies that can serve as a skeletal frameworkapparel?
for your own customized approach. This set of- How can you deliver your message (sales pitch) or
strategies, for certain, will not cover all the aspectsgather information from your target market (contact
that can help you achieve a successful marketingdetails) during the distribution process?
campaign. But what these strategies can only do is to5. Create a system to organize all gathered info.
provide you the guidelines that you should expand onThis step is often overlooked since most believe that
to fit your own business.the success of the promotional item campaign is only
And as for the trade show clothing strategy, belowmeasured by the success of the event itself. But in
is the framework that your program should have:truth, this step will separate the weak from the
1. Do an extensive research on your target market.strong marketing strategy. A solid system in
It's never about you, and it's always about them.organizing your gathered info will often determine the
Doing a thorough market research is something thatROI of your efforts.
should be present not just in the promotional items6. Design a lead follow-up program from the gathered
strategy, but in ALL marketing strategy. Remember,information.
a trade show is the venue for you to meet yourIn other words, call and follow-up on your gathered
target market face-to-face. Even before you stepleads.
inside that arena, you should already know what theyThese 6 steps will guide you in making a promotional
want. That way, they become more responsive togiveaway strategy, such as customized clothing,
your promotional strategy. Again, a trade showwork for you. Again, you should remember that this
apparel strategy may or may not work for theis only a framework and your campaign should never
occasion, but knowing your market well increases thebe limited to what is provided above.
likelihood of its success.