Many modern-day businesses are making the switch from using standard metal keys to manage access in and out of their buildings and switching over to plastic key cards. Making the transition to key cards is a smart move for business owners, as it allows them to not only protect their bottom line through greater security, but also to reduce expenses through the advantages of the plastic card and the magnetic stripe on it. If your business hasn’t made the switch to plastic key cards, here are a few good reasons to consider doing it as soon as you can.

Plastic Key Cards Add Security To Your Business

• If theft occurs at your office after hours, standard metal keys will offer you no help in discovering who the culprit is. Plastic key cards, on the other hand, are encoded with the identifying information of the employee, so you won’t be left guessing.
• Traditional metal keys can be easily copied, taking access to your building out of your control. Plastic key cards, on the other hand, are not easy to duplicate, and the fact that they are linked personally to an employee would discourage one from attempting to.
• If an employee becomes hostile to your business or other employees, his key would give him easy access to your facility. Even if he is terminated, if he refuses to return the key you are faced with a significant security risk.< With plastic key cards, however, access can be disabled immediately for the employee, protecting your company and the people who work for it.

Plastic Key Cards Help Keep Expenses Down

• If an employee of your business loses a metal key, your building is no longer secure. Changing locks can be an expensive and time consuming task – and the frequency of lost keys increases as your business grows and hires new people. When you make the switch to plastic key cards, on the other hand, you can simply disable access for the lost key card and create a new one for your employee, saving time and money.
• Theft and vandalism is a very real threat to your company’s bottom line. Keys offer your employees anonymity and give you no protection against after-hours events. However, employees who know that their building entry time can be tracked via their key card will be much less likely to steal from or do damage to your company.
• The printable plastic surface of your key card is the perfect place to put important contact information such as office numbers, website addresses, emergency contact information and other details that employees might need to refer to again and again. By printing this information there, you can cut down calls to the main desk and help employees get the information you need themselves, rather than taking up some other person’s time.

Traditional metal keys have been the standard for hundreds of years, but in today’s world they are quickly becoming a relic of the past. For the security of your business, as well as the bottom line, discover how to use plastic key cards to your advantage.

A barcode is a series of wide and narrow bars that can be scanned.  There are many different types of barcodes you can put on your plastic cards; the most common one seen is the Universal Product Code or UPC code that you see on items that you purchase at stores. You can scan the barcode with your barcode scanner and it will then bring up the information that is stored in your system from the barcode. A number can also be printed that is associated with the barcode as a human readable number on your plastic cards. So if your barcode did not scan you can also manually type in the barcode number in which it would bring up the same information that is stored. The type of barcode you will need will be dependent on the type of system you have. This information would be found through your product provider. There are many different types of barcodes that are used today so all we would need to know is the type of barcode you will need and the number sequence that you would like to use on your plastic cards.

UV finished will generally make the plastic cards come out nice in color quality, more vibrant, but if the plastic cards are being used a lot there would be no protection. UV finish is recommended for cards that have bright color in nature, cards that will not be handled often or maybe a one-time use reward card or some kind of discount card.

Overlay makes the color less vibrant but it lasts longer if the cards are being used more often. There is more protection with this option. We recommend using overlay with membership cards, loyalty cards, rewards cards, any type of cards that will be used frequently.

The cost of acquiring new customers is one of the most expensive things that businesses have to deal with. Getting the word out and sealing the deal on that first sale can cut into profit margins, so savvy businesses focus on compelling strategies to turn customers into repeat buyers. While there are many tools you can use both online and offline to encourage these multiple purchases, there is one tactic that can easily keep your brand in front of customers every day of the year: Those small plastic cards that attach to a customer’s keychain.

These little marketing tools pack a big punch when it comes to reinforcing your brand and your offers.Let’s take a look at a few tips to use these little plastic cards to the advantage of your business.

• Use color wisely. While you don’t want to use a garish color that discourages your customers from putting it on their keychain, you do want to use one that gets their attention frequently. Odds are high that your customers already have multiple key cards on their keychain from supermarkets, video rental stores, etc., so make yours eye-catching.Colors like green, blue, and yellow command attention. Avoid harsher colors like orange and red, unless these are specific to your brand.
• Give customers a truly compelling reason to keep your card with them at all times, by tying a useful benefit to having the card on-hand. You could consider using your key card as a miniature version of a loyalty card, membership card, or fundraising card. Many grocery stores use this model successfully, giving die-cut plastic cards to their customers that consist of one wallet-sized card with one or two small key cards included. By using identical barcodes on both sizes, you can link the two to the same customer account.
• Put an unconventional spin on an existing product. When customers purchase prepaid phone cards or gift cards, don’t give them the typical plastic card they might be expecting. Instead, give them plastic key cards that they can take with them and look at conveniently whenever the need arises. Make sure your cards have useful information on them as phone numbers, business hours and even a website address where they can recharge their cards when they have used up the balance on them. Give them an incentive to continue using the card, such as a 10% bonus when adding credit to their key card online.

Plastic key cards can be an effective and inexpensive part of your company’s overall marketing strategy, bringing in repeat sales from customers who are continually exposed to your message every time they reach for their keys. By keeping your brand in front of the customer, you reinforce the message it carries on an ongoing basis, keeping your business fresh in mind all year round. Consider the many affordable options for plastic card printing today and discover how this tiny tool can yield big results for your bottom line.