Business Card Benefits
I probably don’t need to tell you that business cards are an incredibly powerful way of getting your name in people’s minds.
There are several benefits to having your own business card the first being that it gives you a way to leave your impression on potential customers.
Are business cards for everyone? The simple answer: Yes. The more complicated answer: No.
Any business, at any level of complexity, benefits from business cards. But high-volume businesses typically rely on business cards at higher levels of the business–finding new suppliers, prospective employees, and other business contacts–than on the basic promotional level.
For a small business (with a much flatter organizational model, usually), business cards take on a much more vital role. This holds doubly true for skilled trades or any business that works on a client model, rather than a customer model. Customer-based businesses (from supermarkets to software concerns) benefit the most from having a large body of customers to place orders or come into the store, and business cards, for all their advantages, don’t do this as effectively as other forms of advertising. But for skilled trades and other client businesses–for example, graphic designers, efficiency consultants, and even in-home housecleaning services–rely less on a large body of customers than on a few local, trusted clients who’ll patronize the business, form relationships with the business, and provide references to friends and business contacts to allow the business to grow. Basically, if your business provides a service that a larger business needs, or that can be performed effectively for only a few local clients, business cards are essential for business success.
The other business model that benefits the most from business cards is Internet-based business.
Remember, when people leave your website, the majority of the time they forget you, your site and anything to do with you forever.
Having a business card keeps you, your business and your products & services in the mind of your prospects and if they ever have an associate ask about a service like yours, chances are they will recommend you.
Make sure you have cards handy at all times so you can share them with people who would like to have them.
Business Card Design – How to Stand out and Get Noticed
One of the most powerful, yet over looked weapons in your
marketing arsenal is your business card. If designed properly
this little 3 x 2.5 piece of paper will not only let people know
how to contact you it will also tell them why they should
contact you. In order to be effective and get you more business
your Business card must stand out, and get noticed.
How a distinctive business card resulted in a $5,000 Sale
A friend of mine and his wife recently went furniture shopping.
By the end of the day they had gone to 8 stores and had 8
Business cards. 7 of the Business Cards were your garden variety
white cards with one or two color writing on them.
One card was a little different. The salesman, we will call him
Bob, had decided to make his card stand out a little by putting
his picture on it along with a couple of color pictures of his
furniture. Bob’s business card made an immediate impression.
The next day they flipped through the all the business cards
that they had received the previous day. They immediately
remembered Bob from his business card. They went to Bob’s store
and spent over $5,000! All because of a business card.
5 Tips to make your Business Card Stand out
1 – Use Full Color Printing
In the old days full color printing (4 color printing) was
extremely expensive. You could pay over $200 /1000 for high
quality full color cards. Prices have dropped and you can now
get beautiful full color cards printed for about the same price
as a plain two color card.
2 – Use a Tagline
A “tagline” is a one sentence benefit statement. Think of your
Business card as a “Mini Billboard”. Pretend that you are
writing a classified ad for a newspaper. You only have a small
amount of space to describe your product or service in an
intriguing way … what would you write to describe it? For example: A Realtor could say “Helping Build dreams one home
at a time”
3 – Put a picture on it!
I highly recommend that you put a picture on your business card.
Studies have shown that people are more likely to hold on to a
Business card with a photo on it. It could be your picture, a
picture of your product, or a combination of both. Picture
cards get attention!
4 – Don’t use Business Card “Templates”
There are websites you can go to online where you can choose
from pre-made business card designs called templates. The
problem with this is that the more people who use these
templates the more you card starts to look like everybody
else’s. You want to have a business card that stands out
from everybody else’s, not one that gets lost in the crowd.
5 – Let a Professional Design It
Unless you are a professional graphic designer designing your
own card is like performing root canal on yourself. Its going to
take a lot of time and you may not be happy with the results.
Leave the designing to the professionals and use you time doing
what you do best … selling your product or service!
Copyright
Business – Visiting Cards
You can define a a business card to be – a small card identifying a person in connection with his or her business, given to a client, potential customer, etc.
Business card in some parts of the world is also called a visiting card. It is one of the most important elements of a business. A business card introduces you to the others. It informs the others about your name and the activity you are involved in. A business person cannot live without a business card. It is the most important and elegant way of introducing you, your services and or products to the others who may be interested in what you have to offer.
Now there are two types of business cards that are available to you. One is the print business card and the other is the email business card. The print business card is used in the real world where you do meet people in person and give it to them. In the virtual world, that is on the Internet too you pass on your business card and it is called the email business card.
So how do you go about getting yourself a print business card? The best way is to have a designer design it for you. Where do you find the designer? Look in the local yellow pages or get onto the net and do a little research. You would find one. Though the professionals suggest that an entrepreneur should seek the help of a designer, a cash-strapped individual may not be able to afford one. So what is the other alternative?
The solution is you should observe the business cards of the others. You must have come across plenty of business cards over the years. Go through them. Write down the best features that you find on those cards. Make note of all those features that in your opinion you should incorporate in your card. It may not be always possible to have all those features on your card for various reasons. It depends on the paper stock, the number of fonts, their size, the ink colors used and the size of the card itself, leave alone positioning it. Business cards come in various sizes and shapes. They may be vertical or horizontal. It could be a simple card, a two fold card or may be even a three fold card. Some times there could be something struck on the card itself. The so called simple card could also have some content on both sides of the card.
Now what should go on your business card? The name of your business of course. Along with the mission statement you have coined after considerable thinking. Now look at the elements that should go into the card.
The first thing is obviously your name. This should ideally be given with the designation / title. You can also indicate your academic qualification right next to it. For example:
Joe Bill, B. Sc – Sales Executive
You could mention your affiliations if any here along with your other professional and or academic designations.
You will also mention the department / division name followed by the name of the company. You will give the full and complete address of your company along with the postal code. You will also mention the land line numbers along with cell/mobile phone numbers. You will provide the company url along with your own email id. Of course you will also present the logo. In fact it is the most visible item on your business card.
While you can choose a simple single card and provide all the information on the one side, an innovative way of using the blank space would be to provide the address along with a street map or driving instructions on the other face of the card.
If you have a partner you can both share the same card. This is ideal in case of a wife and husband team. You both can use the same card giving out the details on either side of the card. In these times of recession it is only ideal that you save money where ever and whenever possible.
An innovative insurance sales person pasted a dime to his business card just so as to remind his clients politely, ‘you are never broke’ with my services.
It is helpful, however, to have something besides your name and location-just not too much. This distinguishes you from the competition. A minimum number of different typefaces should be used. A card should be simple in design yet eye-catching without being gaudy in color. Study other peoples cards to see which combinations present themselves best, and consider them for your own.
When you are making your calls make sure that you are fully prepared with ample business cards ready at hand. Keep your card where you can easily whip it out. Do not put them in your wallet or stash them in your briefcase. There are business card holders that would help you hold a number of cards. They keep the cards clean and in shape. They help you avoid giving out dog eared and or soiled cards. Put this card holder in your suit or shirt pocket. You do not have to dig it out of your back pocket while you are seated.
Try to find innovative ways of exchanging business cards while you are at parties or get to gathers, meets, conferences. A business card exchange need not necessarily happen at a formal business meet. When some one asks you where you live, pull out the card and give it.
At a restaurant or when you go out for a lunch, dinner let a card be there on the table. It would help someone reach you. Once in a while leave a card at the bank when you are filling in that deposit slip. Leave your card on the counter.
This little story appeared in a magazine. When this visiting British person, while in a Malaysian Hotel, asked a Japanese person in the swimming pool, “what do you do?”, the enterprising Japanese person, pulled out his business card from the trunks he was wearing and held it out.
With a little bit of searching on the net you can get some excellent free templates to help you create your very own business / visiting card.