Identifying Future in the Cards Leads to Web Strategy

After Matthew Simmons, 24, graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a psychology degree, he went to work in tech support for a company that sold employee identification-card systems. When he moved into the sales department, he identified a market that wasn’t being served by the company. With a family loan, he started his own company to sell to that unfilled niche. Simmons says he learned quickly that just setting up a Web site and waiting for customers to come calling is not enough. He shared some Web marketing tips with freelance writer Karen E. Klein.

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I worked for a company that sold a complete identification-card system for about $10,000 to schools and large corporations. Our customers would purchase the computer, the software and the thermal printer to make the ID cards and employee badges. They had to be responsible for the equipment and train someone how to use it. If the employee who knew how to operate it left the company, or the equipment broke, it was a hassle.

I made a sale to a company with fewer than 200 employees and realized that they were paying about $50 per badge. I knew there were other small companies that wanted professional ID cards, but they could not afford to pay that much nor did they want the responsibility of purchasing the equipment. So I bought a top-of-the-line, four-color thermal printer that does holograms and bar codes, purchased the best software, and combined that with my personal know-how so I could do all the printing in my office. Then I came up with an Internet interface so all my clients have to do is log onto my Web site, open a personal, password-protected account, fill in the information they want on the cards, send us a digital picture or mail in a Polaroid, and pay $10 per card--even less if they order in bulk. I can print up and mail out as few or as many cards as my customers want.

Last April, I quit my job and handed over all my old accounts to my previous employer. I got a business license and opened up shop on the Internet. My start-up costs were low, about $20,000. In preparation, I read tons of books on Internet promotions, but I found they were all written by “techie” people. I researched how to get listed in the top spot on search engines, then I did everything the books recommended, but I never landed the No. 1 position. I think the idea that you can get yourself a top spot is just a pipe dream, so I had to contemplate using other advertising techniques.

I started by doing a direct mailing to 1,000 schools and hospitals. I got four sales and 11 phone call responses--about a 1% response rate. Even if I made one sale, it would pay for the mailer; but it seemed like a pretty expensive form of marketing. Web banner ads also seemed too expensive and too general for my purposes, so I decided not to try them.

Now I’ve started using mass e-mail, which costs nothing besides my own time. I have found ways to do it without annoying people, which is important. I make the e-mail message no more than one line long. It just says: “If you’re interested in ordering ID cards or employee badges, click on this Web site.” Then I include a link to my site. I always give people a way to opt out of the mailing if they don’t want to get it in the future. I don’t think they mind reading one line, and I’ve found they are likely to forward a short, to-the-point message to the proper person in their company. By monitoring traffic on the Web site, I get instant feedback on how many people click on after they receive my message, so I know if I’m targeting the right audience.

I use my own contact-management software to put together the e-mail lists, by going through search engines looking for companies that might use my service and then e-mailing the human relations or security departments. I stick with our niche clientele of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, most with multiple locations, that don’t want to buy separate ID card systems for all their offices. I sent out the first e-mail message to 2,100 addresses, and I got over 40 replies, most in one week. Fourteen sales resulted, and seven others are pending.

I’ve also learned to segment my target audience by creating custom e-mail messages. For instance, I have a Panasonic division as a client. So I’ve written to all the other Panasonic offices to let them know that one of their offices is using my cards and to suggest that they do the same. With the custom e-mail that I sent to 50 Panasonic addresses, I got eight inquiries and am working on closing three online accounts.

Once someone clicks on your Web site, they’re an active listener because they have chosen to come to you and they’re interested in what you’ve got. Even if they don’t order, they’ll remember you and pass your information along to their colleagues. I poured a lot of money into my Web site because it is like my building. This is what the client sees of my company, and it’s important that it look professional, especially in a business where I’m handling a security concern like an identification card. My clients need to be able to trust me. I felt they would be insecure about doing business with me if my Web site looked cheap or homemade.

You must also have a quick e-mail response time. I aim for same-day responses to questions and orders that come into my site. When your customer gets a quick response, it shows them that your Web site is alive and that there are people behind it to guarantee a quality order.

It also helps to partner with other companies where you can add value to what they do. We established a partnership with a company that sells systems to companies that want to make proximity cards that open up security doors. Their systems sell for $15,000, a price that is outrageous for companies with fewer than 500 employees. Now they subcontract smaller jobs to us, and we consolidate the information so their customers get the picture ID and the proximity stripe all on one card. They have a large national client base and they have the budget to do national marketing and advertising. Our association with them adds value to their company because they can sell cards to smaller clients and it helps us get new jobs.

I know other card companies are going to copy my OneCard Online idea, but I am confident that since OneCard was the first in the industry, we will keep our loyal customers. Web sites are like cereal: There are so many to choose from that people will stick with one or two. So far, we have yet to lose an account.

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If your business can provide a lesson to other entrepreneurs, contact Karen E. Klein at the Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia, CA 91016 or at kklein6349@aol.com. Include your name, address and telephone number.

AT A GLANCE

Company: OneCard Inc.

Owner: Matthew Simmons

Nature of business: Online distributor of identification cards and badges.

Location: 1509 Studebaker Road, Suite A, Long Beach, CA. 90815

Web site: https://www.onecardonline.com

E-mail address: simmons@onecardonline.com

Year founded: 1999

Employees: 0

Projected annual revenue: $65,000