How to Keep A New Business Open With Custom Flash Drives

Over 500,000 brand new small businesses try their hand at the American dream every month in the United States alone according Business Insider. These businesses, only including those with 500 or less employees, have a slim chance of survival. With more businesses closing than of those that remain open, how does a small business keep its doors open?

Over the years, marketing firms and advertising agencies have crept their way to the top by gobbling up small businesses, one dollar at a time. They charge hundreds to thousands of dollars to formulate ideas, press releases, feature stories, create ads, write copy, design marketing tools etc. While helpful, it just is not a smart idea to spend that much money when you have yet to develop a loyal customer base. While these types of companies have much success, it should not be the first route you go when you are still considered a start-up.

Custom flash drives are a great way to start marketing your business (cost) effectively. Hand them out at trade shows, conferences, and at your place of business. They are an affordable yet high quality replacement for flyers, pens, cups, pencils, buttons, and stickers. These traditional items, while still effective, are the first things to be lost by consumers— however, USBs can be used over and over by the consumer, while still brandishing your logo. Traditional marketing tools, as mentioned above, are still used. The truth of the matter is that while tools like those flyers, pens, cups etc. are affordable and appear to be great for brand awareness, they are not. More than 80% of these products are throw away immediately after an event. They are merely a financial trap; with little to no return on investment traditional tools hurt before they help you. Now, not all promotional products are bad. USB drives, while a little more expensive, provide a sense of marketing longevity.

Custom flash drives prove to be a great opportunity in the promotional world because of the long-term value. For as many as ten years, the custom drive continuously provides face-to-face marketing for your brand. The longer the consumer uses the drive the higher the association of a reliable product with a reliable brand. Even if the consumer has never tried your product or service, chances are he or she will grow curious, and they will try you out at least once. Hopefully, you actually have something worth selling and the unknowing consumer will transform into a loyal customer.

Custom flash drives come in a variety of styles, shapes, sizes, and variations only limited by your imagination. These days you can completely customize your USB drives by first picking the material it is made from including:

●    Rubber PVC
●    Wood (birch, walnut, beech wood, cherry wood, recycled)
●    Metal (Steel, aluminum, half and half)
●    ABS Plastic and was used to store digital media. 

Next, you brand it with one of the following processes:

●    Full photographic CMYK color printing (bright, clean, quick)
●    Screen printing (more durable, scratch resistant)
●    Pad printing (screen printed and baked, extra endurance, vibrant colors)
●    Laser engrave (etch text or high contrast pictures for a unique and luxurious look)

While all the branding processes have been refined over the years, be cautious in choosing your promotional USB provider; as with any industry there are companies who will try to dupe you with poor quality products. Always request samples in order to compare the products and know what quality USB you’ll receive.

Also, make sure to ask for USB speed tests or a sample of USB memory to test read-write speeds.  In the USB industry, there are companies that try to charge more for cheaply made memory. It is considered tier 2 or tier 3 memories. This memory runs slow, malfunctions quickly and is more prone to giving viruses. A good USB company should proudly offer you tier 1 memory in order to prevent any of the other issues. It doesn’t hurt for the promotional USB Company to guarantee you satisfaction with some type of warranty on your custom drives either. This way you and your business are protected.

Protect your new business by protecting your funds and investing in the right marketing for you. Be wary of overpriced advertising companies and traditional marketing tools. Good luck!

Printing Process on USB Drives

Due to the different materials USB drives are manufactured from, choosing a printing process is a very important decision when placing an order. USB drives are usually encased in a plastic or metal shell. Some uncommon materials USB drives can be housed in are rubber, PVC, leather or even wood. This coupled with the different printing methods can yield a large number of possible combinations.

The most common printing methods are as follows:
Screen Printing
Pad Printing
4 Color Process Printing
Laser Etching
Hot Stamping
Foil Stamping

Screen Printing is a technique that yields very crisp edges and vibrant colors. The screen ink used bonds very well with all housing materials. A photosensitive screen is exposed to light with the logo design masked off, which allows the use of a squeegee to stencil the design on the USB drive. The screen ink when dry is opaque; this method of printing works well with any colored drive. However, if your logo or design has ANY gradients or halftones, you cannot use this method of printing unless you remove all shading. Screen printing USB drives is a very cost effective way of branding an otherwise generic USB drive.

Pad Printing is a technique similar to screen printing. A custom pad with an inverted instance of the logo / design is created. This pad is then used to 'stamp' the USB drive after having the ink applied. Again this method is very well suited to all housing materials. And just like screen printing, this method is incompatible with gradients or halftones.

4 Color Process Printing is a printing method which lends itself well to any complex images / designs. This printing method is very much akin to an inkjet printer. The USB drives are placed on the print stage, and a precision print head prints directly on the drives. Unlike Screen Printing or Pad Printing, 4 Color Process Printing is only accurate when printed on white USB drives. This printing process is able to capture gradients and halftones, as the ink isn't opaque. This printing method works on plastic and metal drives that are coated white.

Laser Etching is technically not a printing method. The metal specific procedure vaporizes the surface layer of the USB drive, leaving a raw metal finish to the applied surface. This procedure works very well on anodized aluminum, as the anodized color contrasts well with the raw aluminum. It should be noted that since Laser Etching is a treatment rather than a print process, any laser etched images / designs are very permanent, and will not scratch off easily.
Hot Stamping is a leather specific procedure. An aluminum block is machined with the image / graphic 'embossed' on the stamp. It is then heated and applied with pressure to the USB drive. This procedure alters the USB drive housing and is also very permanent.

How to Keep a New Business Open With Custom Flash Drives

Over 500,000 brand new small businesses try their hand at the American dream every month in the United States alone according Business Insider. These businesses, only including those with 500 or less employees, have a slim chance of survival. With more businesses closing than of those that remain open, how does a small business keep its doors open?

Over the years, marketing firms and advertising agencies have crept their way to the top by gobbling up small businesses, one dollar at a time. They charge hundreds to thousands of dollars to formulate ideas, press releases, feature stories, create ads, write copy, design marketing tools etc. While helpful, it just is not a smart idea to spend that much money when you have yet to develop a loyal customer base. While these types of companies have much success, it should not be the first route you go when you are still considered a start-up.

Marketing in 2014, as a new business, should begin with becoming active among your target audience, community and/or stakeholders. Especially in this decade, social media and social interaction, along with a great product or service is what will make the difference.

Custom flash drives are a great way to start marketing your business (cost) effectively. Hand them out at trade shows, conferences, and at your place of business. They are an affordable yet high quality replacement for flyers, pens, cups, pencils, buttons, and stickers. These traditional items, while still effective, are the first things to be lost by consumers- however, USBs can be used over and over by the consumer, while still brandishing your logo. Traditional marketing tools, as mentioned above, are still used.

The truth of the matter is that while tools like those flyers, pens, cups etc. are affordable and appear to be great for brand awareness, they are not. More than 80% of these products are throw away immediately after an event. They are merely a financial trap; with little to no return on investment traditional tools hurt before they help you. Now, not all promotional products are bad. USB drives, while a little more expensive, provide a sense of marketing longevity.

Custom flash drives prove to be a great opportunity in the promotional world because of the long-term value. For as many as ten years, the custom drive continuously provides face-to-face marketing for your brand. The longer the consumer uses the drive the higher the association of a reliable product with a reliable brand. Even if the consumer has never tried your product or service, chances are he or she will grow curious, and they will try you out at least once. Hopefully, you actually have something worth selling and the unknowing consumer will transform into a loyal customer.

Custom flash drives come in a variety of styles, shapes, sizes, and variations only limited by your imagination. These days you can completely customize your USB drives by first picking the material it is made from including:

• Rubber PVC
• Wood (birch, walnut, beechwood, cherrywood, recycled)
• Metal (Steel, aluminum, half and half)
• ABS Plastic and was used to store digital media.

Next, you brand it with one of the following processes:

• Full photographic CMYK color printing (bright, clean, quick)
• Screen printing (more durable, scratch resistant)
• Pad printing (screen printed and baked, extra endurance, vibrant colors)
• Laser engrave (etch text or high contrast pictures for a unique and luxurious look)

While all the branding processes have been refined over the years, be cautious in choosing your promotional USB provider; as with any industry there are companies who will try to dupe you with poor quality products. Always request samples in order to compare the products and know what quality USB you’ll receive.

Also, make sure to ask for USB speed tests or a sample of USB memory to test read-write speeds. In the USB industry, there are companies that try to charge more for cheaply made memory. It is considered tier 2 or tier 3 memory. This memory runs slow, malfunctions quickly and is more prone to giving viruses. A good USB company should proudly offer you tier 1 memory in order to prevent any of the other issues. It doesn’t hurt for the promotional USB company to guarantee you satisfaction with some type of warranty on your custom drives either. This way you and your business are protected.

Protect your new business by protecting your funds and investing in the right marketing for you. Be wary of overpriced advertising companies and traditional marketing tools. Good luck!
Author is an expert article writer who has written many articles on the topic of  Custom flash drives. Currently,he is writing articles on USB Drives.

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Boosting Marketing with a Promotional USB Drive

Promotional USB drives come in a variety of sizes, shapes, materials and colors. While the old flash drive of the eighties and nineties consisted of one rectangular shape that was either black or white; 2014 custom flash drives introduce a new opportunity to the promotional industry.


The typical flash drive had a basic appearance and was used to store data. The point being the data could be saved, opened on any computer, edited and saved again. Other than the basic function of sharing and saving, there was no other purpose for data storage.  This year alone, there are over 10 respectable companies that honed in on the production of promotional USB drives.

Standard Rectangular USB Drive
                          
Promotional companies have refined their engineering and graphic design skills to push the image of a typical flash drive further than its intended use. Thus, extending the technological life of these gadgets. With their innovative thinking flash drives can now be made from a variety of materials including:


●    Wood (maple, bamboo, recycled wood, birch, cherry)
●    Leather (variety of textures and colors)
●    Metal
●    ABS plastic (a hard and durable plastic, different colors available)
●    Rubber (used to create 2D and 3D custom shape drives)

Custom Shape USB Drives

All of the materials can be morphed into different shapes and are not limited to the basic rectangular flash drive design. Clients from around the world and in different industries including: food and beverage, hospitality, government sector, education, marketing, advertising agencies and even a few of the 50 United States. Clients have really started to take advantage of this idea and create their own promotional USB drives.

This is most likely because this is the new marketing tool. Replacing traditional marketing tools was a daunting task for the USB promotional industry, but it has finally paid off. Goodbye to throw away flyers, printed plastic cups, boring ball-point pens, lifeless lanyards or one-time enjoyable candies; custom promotional USB drives are the new tool of choice in 2014. The customization process is not limited. Clients have the ability to decide on what shapes, colors, textures, memory size, packaging and even the information that is preloaded onto the flash drives.

For once, companies are not forced to decide on a bad or generic event or party favor. Instead, they are finally receiving a great return on investment with this more innovative tool. How is that? Well, 80% of promotional tools are thrown away within the first year of receiving it. Unless, of course, the item is functional in the receiver’s everyday life. Custom technology is in the 20% bracket of not being thrown away. Actually, it is kept 5-10 years as long as it does not break or is not lost. That alone encourages companies to choose a product that has a long term value because it allows for more free face-to-face marketing time. And in this world, that time is difficult to come by.

If you play your cards right and design a one of a kind promotional USB drive, the consumer/receiver will see your name every time they pick up the drive; every time they plug the drive in; every time they pull the drive out; every time someone asks ‘where did you get that from?’ With every time that your name is seen consciously or subconsciously, your brand gets close to free marketing and product placement for others who see the custom flash drive.

Any drive can be customized by color or 3D shape. The most popular models are infact the 3D models. The process starts with giving an original idea, design, drawing or actual product and receiving a mockup or rendering that you must approve. Once your design is fully approved, a custom mold is put into production. From there, individual pieces are glued and pieced together in order to create your one-of-a-kind promotional product. Typically, it takes three or four weeks for the complete shipping of the product.

If you don’t have that much time to spare for you event, many promotional USB companies also offer quick services. For more of the traditional promotional USB drives, these can be completed in as little as 24-hours. That service is called RUSH and most of the USB companies provide this service.

So if you’ve got an event coming up, don’t wait. Take initiative, research a few companies, order samples and get the next finest marketing tool you’ve ever used before.