The big news this week comes from the Consumer Electronics Show event in Las Vegas. One of the items on display may be a huge boost to your marketing. The best part is, it’s not a tablet or a laptop or even anything that might manage time or the like. We’re talking about the Makerbot Replicator and an item like this might be just what you need to up the stakes of your small business’ marketing needs.
The Makerbot Replicator, currently showing out at the CES event, is a 3D printer that, basically, allows you to print…in plastic. It works with ABS plastic–the same kind of plastic that you’ll find used to make Lego blocks–as well as PLA plastic, which is a kind of plastic made from corn that is biodegradable. Available in your choice of single or dual extruders, to determine how fast you can make things and how much of it you can make, as well as being able to make things of two different colors at the same time, they measure sufficiently to fit on any desktop. You’ll be able to pick these up for either $1749 for the single extruder, or $1999 for the version with the dual extruder.
While the Makerbot Replicator’s applications for production may be more evident than those for marketing, there is more here than awaits on the surface. If you’ve been to one of those trade shows lately, especially the CES event where this is being exhibited, then you know that brisk business is done in small knickknacks that have a business’ name, logo, and / or contact information stamped on them. Now you can actually make those same knickknacks yourself. Imagine being able to hand out promotional key chains or other such items almost at will, and imagine what value that will have in your business’ promotional efforts. And then imagine producing knickknacks that were previously unavailable, like chess pieces, puzzles, and others. Consider the possibility of a business card in plastic, and then consider how people will take notice when faced with the unexpected.
It may not be the same thing as a hunt group, a toll-free number, or cloud-based telephony system, but getting attention is every bit as important to any small business’ marketing efforts, and making your own plastic promotional items with something like the Makerbot Replicator just might give you the edge you need.