Plastic Cards Give an Edge It's almost impossible to find a business that doesn't offer a plastic card for identification purposes, a customer incentive, or both. Neil Trowbridge, a sales representative at the Tulsa, Okla., office of distributorship Global DocuGraphix Inc., based in Chicago, says plastic products have a higher retention rate than any other product he sells, including forms, pressure sensitive labels, promotional products and office supplies. "More membership-type clubs want to distinguish themselves by offering a quality card," he says. End users can distinguish themselves by using trendy products creatively, Trowbridge says. Distributors can present their clients with "so many options like 4-color process, bar coding, laser printing on front and back," he says. Today, distributorships are expected to provide imaging, cards with consecutive numbering or cards affixed to a letter--one of Trowbridge's most popular offerings. Clients "want to attach value to the card and to make their customers feel special," he says. Trowbridge also likes to give new twists to old concepts. He keeps a portfolio containing a variety of items developed by distributorships worldwide, then builds on those ideas. If he's working on membership cards with a zoo in Oklahoma, he shows the client cards from zoos in London or California. "Everyone is interested in what's going on," Trowbridge says. "By showing what other end users have done, [clients] get a feel for what's hot." It's possible that a client can't afford plastic products with special features, so it's important to discuss cost early, he says. Two-way communication is equally important, he says. "Don't go in saying, 'here's what you need to buy,'" Trowbridge says. "Listen to your customer."