Archive for October 28, 2011

Plastic Business Cards Are Necessity

October 28, 2011 / Administrator / No comments

The traditional business card is made of thick paper to be able to endure a bit of abuse, while still looking great and conveying the company or professional’s message. Taking all of these factors a bit further is the plastic business card, which is far more durable and long lasting than their paper cousins. The business card design of those that are made of plastic are also made in a much more “designer” style, making them a popular but expensive choice.

Plastic business cards run at a much more expensive rate than those made of paper — but they do get to be more affordable with larger bulk orders. Though more expensive to make, they are an even better promotional tool for businesses as they are longer lasting once they enter a potential customer’s hands. A well-designed plastic card is not only more likely to get looked at, but also shared with others to take a look at the design.

There are more options when it comes to plastic business card design than there are with traditional paper cards. This is because they can be made translucent or have exponentially embossed lettering or designs. Designer styles often have at least some bit of translucency in the card, while some others make the most of embossing or other effects not available when working with paper.

On top of translucency, “frosted” cards are also a popular choice for many businesses. Frosted styles are often minimalist because they are translucent with a milky look. This can leave an even greater impression on those who see the card, which is what makes them a popular choice for individual professionals and businesses alike. Frosted business cards are often even more expensive than other styles, but in many cases this extra expense is worth it.

While business cards made of paper do the job well enough, plastic business card designs take that type of promotion an extra bit further and make it even more effective. Though more expensive, they are more than worth the extra investment.

Category: Business Cards /

PrePaid Plastic Gift Cards & Loyalty Cards

October 28, 2011 / Administrator / No comments

Prepaid gift and loyalty cards remain popular value-added services for ISOs looking to enhance their offerings to merchants, but as the prepaid market matures, success at selling requires embracing a few caveats, experts say. Closed-loop prepaid gift cards have been around for more than a decade, but a few new factors are emerging that may affect their appeal to merchants and their usefulness as a value-added service for agents and ISOs, observers say.

For starters, some in the merchant-services field perceive prepaid cards as having reached a saturation point in certain U.S. markets, and many ISOs and merchants are likely to have already experimented with them, sometimes getting mixed results.

But it would be a mistake to assume sales opportunities in the closed-loop prepaid card channel are tapped out, experts say.

Indeed, interest in closed-loop prepaid cards may have softened from its peak six or seven years ago, but demand for consumer loyalty programs built on prepaid card systems is still growing, Lori Breitzke, an associate with The Strawhecker Group, tells ISO&Agent.

“There are many interesting loyalty schemes out there today for merchants to participate in … that can generate income for ISOs if they partner with the right companies,” she says.

In a typical example, an ISO approaches a merchant with the opportunity to sell private-label, closed-loop, prepaid gift or loyalty cards alongside their other merchandise as a standalone service or as part of a package of other value-added merchant-services.

The prepaid cards, provided by a third-party wholesaler, usually are designed to link easily to the card-processing system the ISO is selling, which tends to discourage attrition once a merchant is set up with the prepaid card program.

Though merchants often switch to a new supplier of gift cards when switching processors, they generally are less likely to make such a move when they have an effective gift card or loyalty card program, Drew Freeman, president of the Miami Beach, Fla.-based ISO Merchant Data Systems Inc., tells ISO&Agent.

“Gift and loyalty cards are one of the stickiest tools around for retaining a merchant client,” he says.

Providers can configure and customize closed-loop prepaid cards in diverse ways with simple or elaborate artwork and graphics. Closely related loyalty card programs, which providers also design to tie to existing processing systems, enable merchants to track customer visits and reward them for making certain purchases or for hitting certain purchase milestones. Merchants can give rewards to consumers in the form of cash, coupons, rebates or merchandise, card providers say.

ISOs usually sell prepaid card programs to merchants on a per-transaction basis or for a flat monthly fee. The cost to merchants averages about $30 to $50 per month, plus a one-time setup fee, but costs vary widely, according to a variety of suppliers.

ISOs typically set their own prices for offering prepaid programs to merchants, according to Dan Brames, general manager of Franklin, Tenn.-based prepaid card provider Valutec Card Solutions LLC. ISOs might expect to make 25% to 30% from the total prepaid card deal it cuts with a merchant, but profits tend to be small compared with those of core card-processing services, he warns.

“ISOs should not expect to make a lot of money selling prepaid card programs, but instead they should focus on it as a business-generator and a customer-retention tool,” Brames says. “The key is finding an efficient way to sell and deliver these card programs within the menu of other services you’re selling to a merchant.”

Launched in 1988, Valutec is one of several prepaid-program providers that does a brisk business with ISOs. Valutec, which specializes in providing prepaid cards to small and midsize merchants, works with 2,100 resellers of prepaid cards, many of which are ISOs, and has 45,000 merchant clients, Brames says.

Another angle ISOs may lean on when marketing prepaid programs to merchants is that transactions initiated with closed-loop prepaid cards generate no additional card-network fees.

“If you can get a merchant to look at the big picture, they begin to realize they’re  not paying any additional interchange or card fees beyond what they already paid to cover their prepaid card program,” says Thom Aldredge, president of Plano, Texas-based World Gift Card, a subsidiary of Gift Card Systems Inc., which also supplies prepaid cards to ISOs. “They begin to see they are going to come out ahead overall.”

World Gift Card’s ISO business has “soared” within the past two years as certain other suppliers abandoned the market and World Gift Card developed a system requiring fewer steps for ISOs to set up merchants with prepaid card programs for a faster turnaround, Aldredge says.

Category: Gift Cards, Loyalty Cards /

Why Stores Use Membership Cards

October 28, 2011 / Administrator / No comments

Sam’s Club stores use plastic membership cards that look and act in some ways like a credit or debit card to identify members. There are several reasons why membership cards are used for these private membership cards. At first glance, it would seem the idea of the private membership store was an idea that flies in the face of conventional retail logic. Most retail locations are obsessed with trying to attract customers to shop with them rather than with a competitor.

The truth is that the private membership store is just as interested in attracting customers as other retail stores and our using the membership concept to accomplish just that. The idea is to create an idea in the customer’s mind that such good bargains are to be found at the store that only a special and select group of consumers are going to be allowed to take advantage of them. This subtle psychological approach is telling the customer that he is going to be excluded from these advantages and bargains unless he has a membership. The plastic card is the tangible proof that the customer is going to be included and not left out. In the case of Sam’s Club, even the use of the name club creates this idea that you are either included in the club or excluded from it.

The plastic cards have another even more important and practical advantage. The vast increase in the use of tracking software in the retail industry allows stores to gather data on the shopping habits of their customers. When the card is scanned during the checkout process at the retail location, data concerning the items purchased can be entered into a data file. This file gives the retailer a detailed picture of the types of purchases made by each customer. This information in turn can be used to direct specific advertising campaigns toward the customers that are the most likely to be receptive.

Plastic card printing is an expense and it is fairly certain the retail locations that use them are getting their money’s worth from this investment. It may be in the creating of the Club idea which lets the customer feel he is on the inside and will reap benefits denied to others, or it may be in the data tracking possibilities. In either case, the plastic card that indicates membership or allows access to special discounts has gradually become more and more popular as it takes its place beside credit and debit cards in our crowded wallets.

Natalie Aranda writes about marketing. Sam’s Club stores use plastic membership cards that look and act in some ways like a credit or debit card to identify members. There are several reasons why membership cards are used for these private membership cards. The plastic cards have another even more important and practical advantage. The vast increase in the use of tracking software in the retail industry allows stores to gather data on the shopping habits of their customers. Plastic card printing is an expense and it is fairly certain the retail locations that use them are getting their money’s worth from this investment.

Category: Membership Cards /
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