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Companies ranging from retail businesses, gym franchises, pharmacies, hotels, and supermarkets are constantly seeking ways to embrace brand loyalty. Maintaining a powerful marketing presence is a never-ending effort but using the right marketing tools will ensure success for your company. A long-lasting marketing tool is one that customers will hold on to constantly and stays with them at all times. This tool is simply a plastic key tag! Plastic key tags are a cost-efficient method to increase business sales and attract customers to continue shopping your brand.

If one of your long-term business goals is either to boost sales, grow your customer foundation, or increase revenue, the common key marketing tool required to achieve these goals is a plastic key tag. Plastic keytags provide a convenient form of advertising. The ubiquitous characteristic of key tags is what makes them so attractive, long-lasting, and effective. Customers carry key tags in their pockets, wallets, purses, and with their keys daily. Moreover, key tags can be tailored with barcodes or QR codes, which enable customers to directly access your business website, their loyalty account, or any form of personalised communication, all of which rewards and prolongs their relationship with your brand.

Custom key tags serve a prominent purpose because they are with the customer every day! Do not let the small size of a key tag trick you into thinking they are useless at getting a message across. Their small size allows you to customise them and advertise a specific goal to ensure loyalty.
 

To effectively incorporate a key tag into your business, the crucial question to ask is “what do you want your plastic key tags to offer your customers and what would your business want in return?” The answers to this question can range from providing discounts, offering promotions, increasing popularity by providing access to your company website, tracking customer usage, inviting customers to a membership program. Your goals are in your hands and key tags can help achieve them!

Membership Key Tags

Membership key tags are a useful way to collect customer data and get to know your customers faster. This process saves you the trouble of spending hours on consumer research and instead provides you faster opportunities to strengthen your relationship with your customers.

You can enhance the efficiency of your membership key tag program by incorporating variable data such as barcodes or QR codes, therefore, one quick scan will effectively display your customer’s details on your screen. Such details can range from account data, purchasing history, and interactions with other promotions. Having all this data on the compact and accessible key tag size will ease the progress of getting to know your customer’s consumer behaviour. You can also pair your key tags alongside a plastic card, making a card and key tag combo that can help increase the ubiquity of your business.

Loyalty & Reward Key Tags

It is an accepted notion that customers deserve incentives for continuing their business with any brand, whether it be rewards such as coupons, discounts, or other benefits. A rewards program is a powerful tool that can easily make your customer’s day and enhance their shopping experience with your business. Adding a simple barcode or QR code to your key tag will seamlessly enable you to provide rewards to your customers.

It is much easier to retain existing customers than acquire new customers, and loyalty key tags are a popular way to help maintain your customer base and also grow your customer targets at the same time. Loyalty key tags tell your customers that you appreciate their business, and they will feel rewarded to continue shopping your brand.

Membership, rewards and loyalty key tags are only a few examples of the many ways you can incorporate custom key tags into your business. Plastic key tags are also a great alternative if you lack sufficient funds to devote to full size cards repeatedly. Despite plastic key tags being a cheaper option to regular size cards, they still maintain a professional design that captures the essence of your business brand.

If you are looking to incorporate plastic keytags into your business, reach out to EasyPlasticCards to discuss how to customise your key tags and design them effectively. We are more than happy to assist you!

18th August 2020

Having a Successful Gift Card Program in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has globally transformed the ways businesses operate and market themselves. More businesses are slowly turning to gift card programs because they uphold many benefits and they help revitalise businesses that have taken some time off during the pandemic.

This year, gift cards have become a strategy for businesses to obtain acquire cash flow. Given that the pandemic has forced businesses to close for an extended period, it has been challenging to return back to normal work pace. Gift cards are beneficial in this respect because they allow customers to support local businesses, which helps to revamp the popularity of those businesses. Gift cards motivate customers to buy products from your business, providing you the extra much needed revenue. More importantly, gift cards reward both the customer and the business, so they have a mutualistic benefit! Therefore, using gift cards would help motivate existing and new customers to spend money when your business re-opens.

Getting Started - Gift Card Materials:

Due to the rapid evolution of printing technology, there have been more material options for gift cards. Paper gift cards and gift certificates were a popular option several years ago, however, the paper material is now a weaker option as opposed to a plastic material. It is quite easy to lose, tear, or wrinkle paper gift cards. Additionally, paper gift cards cannot readily connect with your point of sale system, thereby losing the characteristic of efficiency.

While e-gift cards and virtual gift cards are useful options, customers tend to prefer physical gift cards because they provide a sense of connectedness and pride. Alternatively, the plastic material is now growing in popularity because it is durable, higher quality, tear-resistant, compatible with your point of sale system, and more flexible to customisation.

By choosing a plastic material, there is a wide range of stocks, finishes, and design options that you can select that best represent your brand and vision.

Getting Started - Point of Sale Connection:

Many printing and retail businesses adopt a point of sale (POS) system for monitoring purchases and processing payments, adding an extra level of efficiency. Plastic gift cards are very compatible with most POS systems for processing payments.

As you are ordering your gift cards from your provider, tell them the kind of POS system your business is using. The type of system you use will determine what kind of variable data would be most relevant for your gift cards, whether it be a barcode, QR code, or magnetic strip.

If your business does not use a POS system, don’t fret! This just means that a magnetic strip, barcode, or QR code is not relevant for your business. There are still other options for plastic gift cards that do not operate alongside a POS system. Some options include human-readable numbers and face value cards. Human-readable numbers are printed on the back of the gift card, which your employees will type in to access the gift card account. Face value cards are gift cards that contain the value of the reward on the card (e.g. $25 gift card, $125 gift card), and these are very common.

Plastic Gift Cards are a valuable investment irrespective of having a POS system or not, because they provide so much room for customisation and personalisation.

Getting Started - Gift Card Design and Gift Card Printing

People tend to overlook the vast number of options that are available for designing gift cards. Of course, sometimes the wide array of options can be overwhelming when forming a final decision. However, at EasyPlasticCards, we have a team of professional graphic designers who can assist you to illustrate your brand vision. If you wish to design your Gift cards yourself, we also provide our free online Design tool as well as free templates that you can use to put your ideas to fruition.

The design of a gift card is extremely important. The design is what initially makes a gift card attractive and stand out amongst your competitors. Additionally, the gift card design enables you to promote your brand and show your customers what characteristics define your business. In other words, the design of the card symbolizes the personality of your brand. Therefore, the design is pivotal to creating a long-lasting first impression for your customers.

EasyPlasticCards provides many possibilities for the customisation of your gift card design. Our most popular design features are clear or frosted finishes, metallic foil (gold, silver, or bronze shining), and custom shapes. We have many other options, and as stated earlier, our design team is willing to help you out if you ever need guidance.

The choice of plastic is important to ensure a sleek and professional finish and the plastic gift card needs to be durable and functional. This requires significant attention to detail and experience to ensure that the finished product shows of the company logo and brand perfectly, and that the add-on customized features all perform effortlessly. EasyPlasticCards are pioneers in plastic card printing in Australia and our experienced team has been printing and supplying the highest quality plastic quality cards to Australian businesses for over 20 years.

Selling Your Custom Gift Cards:

After going through the steps of choosing your material, designing your gift card, and deciding which variable data to include, the last part is selling those wonderful creations! Gift cards can be sold regardless of whether your business is open or closed during this time.

One of the most important strategies is updating all your existing customers about your plastic gift card offers by emailing them, posting content on your social media outlets, and keeping your website up-to-date. This allows your gift cards to receive the exposure and visibility that they need. If you want to go the extra mile with advertising your gift cards, you can purchase paid ads, or you can target influencers or companies to undergo brand deals with your business to optimize your social media presence. To advertise gift cards in-store, you can offer them at checkouts/registers, on receipts, and through conversations!

Plastic Gift cards can also be paired with beautifully crafted plastic card holders, hangsells and plastic card wallets to provide very attractive point of sale display options for retail stores, or mail out options where customers can receive their gift cards in custom designed card holders. 

On the whole, plastic gift cards are extremely valuable and rewarding to both your customers and your business. At EasyPlasticCards, we make your gift card design and printed card processes quick and effective by taking any of your ideas into consideration. Give us a call if you are ready to get started with your gift card program!

How to Expand your Fitness Center with Plastic Cards

In the future, when the COVID-19 pandemic eases in countries around the world, the enthusiasm for maintaining good health and returning to the gym will be at its highest. As we have seen in recent months and even during the New Year in 2021, many people will create a resolution of working towards a healthier version of themselves. This is a win-win situation for customers and for businesses, since they will gain a boom in members.

However, the most crucial aspect for fitness centers, gyms, and sports clubs, is the perseverance to retain all these members and continue acquiring new members throughout the years. It is imperative that customers can commit to their resolutions and goals, but it is also in the hands of the fitness centers to encourage and motivate their customers. One of the best ways to achieve this is through effective marketing with plastic cards!

Of courses, it is not an easy task to maintain all your existing customers and sustain all your marketing efforts. After all, there is a fitness center in almost every area in a city. The answer lies in finding subtle ways to make your fitness program stand out.

Ways to Retain and Acquire Members:

One important aspect is to sustain all of your gym memberships, as they are key to building a community within your fitness center. Everyone goes to a gym with a goal of bettering themselves, improving their health, relieving or managing stress, socializing. All of these goals require some form of motivation and support from a community. Let your customers know that they can achieve their goals, and that you are there to support them! You can print gym plastic membership cards that have a writable back, so that your customers can write their own personal goals to hold themselves accountable. You can print personalized motivating messages on your membership cards for each customer to make them feel noticed in the fitness community! Another way to acquire new members is to invest in guest passes, one-time free entry passes, or VIP cards for gym members, all of which will give your members an unforgettable experience at your gym that they will find no reason not to sign up permanently. You could also print trial membership cards for any short-term programs that your fitness center is running, which is a clever way to expand your customer base and encourage your existing members to try other programs within your business!

However, after maintaining existing members and acquiring new ones, you cannot stop there! When your members achieve their goals, you can celebrate with them by giving out rewards! The more rewards and positive reinforcement that your customers receive, the more they will trust your fitness center and continue their membership program with you. Reward them by offering a discount card, a plastic gift card, or a loyalty card, all of which we can print custom plastic cards for!

The trick here is to make this process a repeatable one. Whenever a customer signs up for a membership program and achieves their goal, you can reward them and then they will set another goal for themselves because they will be motivated to receive another reward. This cyclic process will make a big difference for your customers, but it will also increase the sales and longevity of your business.

The ideal goal is to create an environment in which all your customers feel welcome and comfortable. With new members, the more programs and discounts you can offer them, the more uniquely they will think of your business. The more types of printed plastic cards you can offer for your customers, the more your business will stand out amongst your competitors. Membership cards, gift cards, discount cards, rewards cards, and VIP cards are just some marketing tools that you can invest in to boost your fitness center presence. If you need more ideas for your fitness center, contact us and we can assist you in creating valuable plastic cards for your customers!

Here is why Plastic Business Cards are Effective and Beneficial

In this fast-paced world, there is a countless number of businesses, ranging from small start-ups to large global companies, all of which put in their best efforts to stay innovative and stand out amongst their vast array of competitors. All businesses are constantly re-evaluating their marketing strategies to push their business forward.

There are many ways to propel your business to attract attention. Aspects such as marketing efforts, advertising campaigns and membership programs are powerful components, though these adjustments take time and require a lot of research before they are implemented. Instead, let’s scale down to one of the smallest yet finest components, which is the way you introduce your business to customers.

Why Plastic Business Cards?

Usually, many customers are bombarded with paper business cards that look similar, and this sense of normality often makes these customers forget about the company or store the card away in a pile. Some paper cards are quite flimsy, and they can easily tear. Therefore, a very cost effective and pragmatic way to stand out amongst your competitors and ensure that your customers will remember your business is to invest in Plastic Business Cards. Plastic business cards are sturdier and more customizable, thereby enabling them to leave a memorable first impression of your business to your customers. In comparison to paper cards, plastic cards are more durable and modern, showcasing a more premium feel to your business. Customers are more likely to store plastic business cards in their wallets and purses, as opposed to the average paper cards that are handed around all the time.

A custom printed plastic card opens up a new room of possibilities for promoting your business. Plastic cards are very versatile in that you can implement custom artworks, shapes, and colors. The whole feel of a plastic card is different because when you see a custom design printed on it, a customer acquires the perception that your business puts a lot of thought and effort into creating a long-lasting impression which also reflects how the business wishes to build long lasting relationships.

The Ability to add Special Features on Plastic Business Cards

On a more functional note, plastic business cards allow you to incorporate effective features that can help boost the visibility of your business. Some of the most popular features to add onto a plastic business card are barcodes, QR codes, magnetic trips, writable finishes, embossing, and metallic finishes. These features add a lot of personalisation to your business, and features such as barcodes and QR codes add an extra layer of accessibility to your business, in terms of social media presence. Additionally, you can print your plastic business cards using custom sizes and features which prove the opportunity to use plastic cards in different applications. Be sure to check out our ‘Plastic Cards - Large and Custom Sizes’ page if you decide to invest in this idea.

At EasyPlasticCards, one of our most popular business card products is our Clear or Frosted Plastic Cards. These cards are printed on a transparent type of plastic, adding a noticeable pop factor to your business. Despite being a clear card, they are so unique that they will garner so much attention from customers. Clear or frosted cards allow you to draw attention to pivotal information about your business. A frosted card helps to change the opacity of the card. One of our tips with clear or frosted cards is that when you are designing your card, try to use similar colors on both sides of the card so that the details do not look too busy or overwhelming. The fact that there are so many special features that you can incorporate in plastic business cards just goes to show how customisable plastic cards are!

The more special features added to your business cards, the more people will want to keep these cards and engage in your business with pride. With these kinds of custom designs, your customers will want to show your cards to their friends and family, thereby indirectly advertising your business! The addition of special features on a plastic business card surely provides your customers with an experience, which contrasts the average plain white paper card.

With all the customisation that you can add to a plastic business card as opposed to a paper card, this can give your business an extra visibility boost that helps you stand out amongst your competitors. Plastic business cards are very effective in leaving a long-lasting impression on your prospective customers. Our design and print team at EasyPlasticCards are always here to assist you in creating the most effective plastic business cards that help enhance your business. Check out our plastic card products or give us a call today, and we will work with you.