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Plastics Shape the Future
An Overview of Prospects and Products in the Plastics Market
BY SUSAN KEENFORM, Dec. 1993
As end users aim to reduce vendors, distributors of business printing seek ways to remain valuable sources for clients. One way to maintain customers in today's tough market is to position yourself as a single source supplier of all your clients' printing needs. Selling plastics can be an integral key to remaining competitive, say distributors, providing access to numerous vertical markets. Following are general sales tips for selling plastic products and lists of prospects and plastic products for four vertical markets.
Sales Tips
- Provide related products for plastic cards, such as carriers, envelopes and bar coding.
- Target advertising agencies, marketing or sales departments of client companies or prospects. While purchasing agents may ultimately buy plastic products, marketing managers are usually more concerned with a company's image and promotional programs.
- Familiarize yourself with unusual features and special effects that plastics manufacturers offer, such as 4-color process, holograms and embossing.
- Sell promotional pieces that are also functional. For example, people will use a luggage tag from an airline or a breast self-examination card from their doctor.
- Study a client or prospect's use of ID systems. Should clients switch from paper to plastic cards for a more durable product? Should they integrate a bar code into the card to track time, attendance or buying habits?
- Show prospects samples from similar organizations. If you're selling to a library, for example, show how a neighboring library tracks its book borrowing with bar coded plastic cards.
- Be a single source for clients' plastics needs. Oversee projects from design to delivery. Offer to package and mail cards to end users for instance.
Health Care Market
Prospects: Hospitals, health insurance companies, physicians, clinics, pharmacies, nursing homes, blood centers, HMOs and ambulance services.Products: Health insurance identification/membership cards, medical association membership cards, emergency medical alert cards, stress test cards, blood donor cards, refrigerator magnets with emergency numbers, prescription cards, no smoking desktop cards, catheter sizing scales, health care charts, drug charts, diet charts, name badges, weight charts, Rolodex® cards, self-examination cards and emergency assistance cards explaining how to perform CPR.
Hospitality Market
Prospects: Hotels, motels, resorts, country clubs, airlines, travel agencies, restaurants, car rental companies, amusement parks, theaters and casinos.Products: Frequent flier/frequent guest cards, guest privilege cards, calendars for meeting planners, discount cards, membership cards, season passes (amusement parks), key cards, tent signs, lift tickets for ski resorts, ID tags for coat rooms, door hangers, luggage tags, employee ID badges, Rolodex® cards and time zone calculators.
Retail Market
Prospects: Department stores, clothing boutiques, supermarkets, video stores, toy stores, drug stores, convenience stores, furniture stores, discount houses, jewelry stores, specialty shops, shoe stores, shopping centers and malls.Products: Credit cards, employee ID badges, video club cards, membership cards for wholesale clubs, discount cards, preferred customer cards, point-of-sale promotional signs, check cashing cards, open/closed signs, notices of business hours and garment control cards for dressing rooms.
Banking/Financial Institutions
Prospects: Banks, savings and loans, credit unions, stock brokers and accountants.Products: ATM cards, sales tax tables, key tags, wallet calendars, interest rate cards, mortgage calculators, magnets, Rolodex® cards and rulers.
Susan Keen is assistant editor of FORM magazine.