Business cards are a lifeline in the day-to-day marketing of your business and services. Whether it be warm chatter and card exchanges amongst new friends on the golf course, or including one in a follow up thank you note to an existing client. Your card must have some basic elements in order to be an effective beacon of your business. In order to know if your business card is cutting it, you should ask yourself these three questions.
What Does it Look and Feel Like?
Is your card quality? This could be everything from the design choice to the card stock. Handing over your business card is a person’s first impression of you. It shows prospective clients your tastes, thoroughness and your willingness to put the additional time and money into something to get it right. Spend the extra money to make the paper high-quality stock so it’s easy to find in a wallet of flimsy cards. Take some time to thoughtfully think through your logo and design. Make sure the ink is high-quality. Be sure the finish communicates good taste and stands out among other business cards.
What Do You Do?
Your card must communicate what you do, plain and simple. If you met your client in a parking lot with a smashed windshield, explained you do glass repair and handed them your card, they might not necessarily remember you. Your card should stand alone outside of a face-to-face encounter. They may not use your glass company for that particular incident, but they’ll keep your card for a while. And when they find it again, do you think they are going to remember what a company with a name like Beckett and Sons really does? Your card must communicate for you when you are not there. If your company name doesn’t accurately communicate what you do, it’s no problem. Just be sure you have a short descriptive sentence or tagline and a link to your website. People don’t want to guess, they want convenient help.
How Do People Get in Touch With You?
This may seem like a no brainer, but think about how many times you are offered a card with missing or out of date information. When you hand someone a card, you want them to get in touch with you. Therefore, you should provide the information on how to do that. Include a phone number, email address and any other ways you’d like for people to contact you. Another important thing to note, you need to make sure you are responding to those methods. Make sure the forms people are filling out on your website are notifying you in your email. Double check your voicemail or phone tree to make sure it’s clear to follow and not stressful to the potential client. Your business card should be the most accurate key to getting others to contact you for work.
In a world where everyone is focused on going paperless, business cards are still a relevant and important marketing tool. In order for them to be successful, however, you must first make sure your design and information is something helpful for the person you are handing it to. There are wonderful ways to cut corners and save costs. But, you always want to invest in anything that will be someone’s first impression of you and your company. Purchase quality and make sure you are not leaving your customers guessing.
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