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Shopping for Profits:
Selling Plastic Cards to RetailersFORM Magazine
August 1992
BY DIANE SAUNDERSWhen Stephen Prince beat out four competitors, mostly non-independents, vying for a large grocery chain's plastic card business, not only did he get the order, but he captured the related products-carriers, envelopes and bar coding.And Tom Sweet, who sells to a marketing group that supplies warehouse clubs, frequently takes orders for as many as half a million plastic cards.
Prince, a sales rep for Graphic Art Productions, a Nashville, Tenn., distributorship, and Sweet, vice president of American Printed Products, a distributorship in Burnt Hills, N.Y., have discovered just two good reasons to sell plastic cards to retailers. And selling plastic cards is not difficult, says another distributor. Just look at your current client base for prospects. Let them know you can supply these cards, seek referrals and stress the importance of company image.
Selling Plastic Cards
Look for retail clients for plastic cards in your present account base. Customers may include:Banks for Credit Cards Children's Shops Convenience Stores Department Stores Discount Houses Drug Stores Furniture Stores Gas Stations Jewelry Stores Purchasing Co-ops Shopping Centers Specialty Shops Supermarkets Toy Stores Video Clubs Warehouse Clubs Who, What and How
Prince sells a bar coded plastic card, dubbed the "gold card" because it is screen printed in gold, to the Denver division of Safeway, a national grocery chain. Similar to an ATM card, the automatic clearing house (ACH) card debits the customer's checking account and tracks purchases to generate coupons redeemable for free groceries. The card also records purchasing data to help store managers make buying and marketing decisions.Prince sells to accounts across the country and was referred to the grocery store by another client. "Networking is important to gaining any new client," he says. "I believe we won the account based on our service, however," says Prince, who flew the prospective client to Boston to visit the manufacturer, Arthur Blank and Co. "And, of course, I'd like to think it was salesmanship," he says, "but, besides our service, we probably were one of the low bidders because the grocery store bid this job."
Sweet sells plastic cards, produced by 2B Systems of Sterling Heights, Mich., to a marketing group that supplies the cards to pharmacies and wholesale clubs for distribution to their members. The members, pharmacy and wholesale club customers, present the I.D. cards at check-out counters for purchasing privileges.
Businesses with many employees or members or those sending mass mailings are good prospects for plastic card business, says Sweet. The cards he sells to the marketing group for the pharmacy, for example, go to 300,000 people. The pharmacy provides the cards to customers for their convenience only. Because the pharmacy and other retailers do not always benefit directly from the cards, Sweet says distributors should approach the sale from a service or image perspective.
Stressing image helps make the sale, says Sweet, and, since image styles change, distributors can redesign the cards after a few years. Five years ago, for example, styles were bold and crisp, and the logo stood out, he says. Now the trend is to flood the piece with color and use a bright color for letters. Also, since users may place phone orders, location of the imprinted account number and the size of that number may be important.
"Distributors can find customers among their current account base," says Bill Governor, who sells plastic cards produced by Arthur Blank to a regional chain of department stores. This long-time client had been buying plastic cards from the non-independent firm from which it bought embossing equipment. Governor, president of P&W Marketing, a Youngstown, Ohio, distributorship, let the client know he could supply the cards.
"It's not a hard sell when the buyer is already a client, and you have credibility," he says. Since the department store chain was changing its image and company logo, and Governor supplied its forms and statements, he had the specs and ink type at his fingertips.
Another retailer, a New England grocery store chain, also was interested in its image. It buys its check-cashing courtesy cards from Charlie Clay, president of Delta Systems Group, an Avon, Mass., distributor. The cards, produced by Pilgrim Plastic Products in Boston, also save Clay's client time looking up customer records. The cards, which are sturdier than tag stock, hold up better, are smudgeproof and present a better image for the store. "Plastic cards are a systems sell," says Clay, who, like Prince, sells the carriers and other related products.
Not Just Cards
Retailers can use many other types of plastic products in addition to plastic cards. Try selling:Calendars Open/Closed Signs Notices of Business Hours Point of Purchase Displays "I Will Return At..." Signs Overcoming the Hurdles
"The grocery industry operates on thin margins, so clients push vendors and expect a lot," says Prince. "They make money by saving money, so it's important to be extra service-oriented or you won't survive in that market."Sweet says some clients, because they have had problems with printer compatibility in the past, don't trust cards on carriers. Glue can leave a residue, crinkle the forms and damage the printer. "We overcome that by testing our cards and providing a 100 percent guarantee," he says.
Department stores that once accepted only their own credit cards now accept major credit cards, eroding some card business, says Governor. His client, however, still likes the prestige of having its own cards.
"If you provide good service and have a good relationship with current clients, you can take advantage of the opportunity to sell plastic cards to retailers," says Prince.
Diane Saunders is assistant managing editor of FORM magazine.
