Posts Tagged ‘business cards’

Relationship between You and Your Business Card

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

This connection between yourself & your business card is only made more significant by the fact that you are likely to actually be there when handing out your cards. You will be personally placing that card in to a person’s hand, & when they first see your card, it might even be after a conversation they had with you. This means your business card will be affected by what you have been saying & what impression a person has of you.

Business cards can be a personal kind of marketing, & can act as an extension of you in a way most other marketing is not capable of achieving. Even if you work for a giant company, you can still be designing your own business card, which means that your card is going to be a reflection of you & your tastes. With the rise in custom business cards, this becomes even more pressing of a concern & a bigger presence in the marketplace. The less personality your card contains the less personality people might start to attribute to you & that can kill many future sales.

If your business card is plain or uninteresting & they were expecting something a little more interesting, it might harm their impression of you.

On the reverse side of things if you hand them a interesting custom business card I can bet you the first thing they’ll do is look right back up at you, their view of you now altered by the card you gave them.

This is the power of strong color printing business cards when put to lovely use. You affect your card & your card affects you. Each can help make up for something lacking in the other, but only to an extent. If your card is poorly put together, you might well lose a sale no matter how lovely of an impression you made.

Your objective needs to be to make sure that both you & your full color business cards are up to the task & lovely at grabbing attention. You need to wow people with your first interaction & first impression on them, only to then surprise them again by giving them a distinctive business card they have never seen before.

This helps you to build on your first lovely impression & leave them running away impressed by what they saw. If you can accomplish that than you can be positive that they’re going to be that much more likely to call you up later.

If nothing else you have ensured that when they look at your card in the future, they will recall whom it gave it to them, which is a lovely thing. The first step towards accomplishing this understands how important the business card can be.

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Going Beyond Business Cards

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

You hear the term custom business cards you think about the traditional business card with contact information on it and probably not much else. Even when it comes to something like custom business cards, the first thing to come to mind is still the basic image of a normal business card, because this is the most typical type of business card people get done.

But online business card printing actually deals with quite a bit more than this basic definition would suggest, and really any kind of card in the right shape will use a similar printing method, and is still technically a business card. So let us get into the custom business cards you might make if you want to. The first kind that has been gaining quite a bit of popularity in the past few years is the loyalty cards people can punch each time they come into your store. When they make a purchase, they get a stamp and after twenty stamps or punch marks, they get something free.

This is a great way of generating return business and encourages people to become more loyal to your company. Of course, this only really works if you sell something that people are going to be buying often. I doubt a car dealership could make much use out of something like this, though it would be interesting to see them try. The next thing you can do is just make your business card into a coupon as well. When you hand them the card you have your contact information and everything on it but the card is also supposed to be to you for them to get a discount.

Something like this works well if you have somewhere you want to put a stack of your business cards for people to take. That way they will have a good reason right away to come in and give you business. You might even put a time limit on the offer to encourage them to act quickly so they will not forget. You can also have your business card double as an appointment card. This works great if you are going to be setting up appointments impulsively. Hand them a business card that has the appointment time on the back of it. Now they have a very good reason to hang onto your business card.

Lastly, you can use your business cards as mini surveys for people to take. Hand them out after a purchase was with a mini questionnaire on it and tell them to give them back to you later. A good way to encourage them to do so is by giving them a special deal if they bring the card back.

There are plenty more ways to make use out of custom business cards. It is up to you to find a way to use them effectively with your business.

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Breaking Down Business Cards: Visuals

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Too often the visuals of a custom business card get overlooked. Business cards are more often connected only with the contact information they provide rather than the images you put on them.

Part of this comes from viewing color business cards purely as a means of helping someone contact you rather than with anything having to do with marketing yourself. The best business cards are going to be the ones that have personality.

Do not just look at normal business cards when you have a whole slew of custom business cards open to you to create if you just know what options are out there and how to best capitalize on them.
So, what are those options?

I could not even begin to list them all here, because they are limited largely by the imagination. China Printing technology has advanced enough to ensure you can have some very nice images when your print business cards.

I have seen people who have pictures of themselves on the card. These are people who understand one very important aspect of business cards: people might have your name and number, but what good is that if they do not remember who you are? By providing your actual picture you are not only making your card more unique, but also giving people a visual to ensure they will remember exactly who you are months after you first talked to them.

That is the significance of all great visuals on business cards, and it does not always have to be a picture of you to work. I have seen business cards with reproductions of paintings on the back of them, or a very large, prominent logo on the front. These unique images provide a distinction between their card and all the others I see. Put a map on your business card showing people exactly where your store is, or provide a picture of what your building looks like to help people identify it when driving down the street.

I could go on and on when it comes to the various images that are open to you. The best thing you can do is figure out an image that will accomplish two primary goals.
The first is to be unique specifically to you. When a person sees that image they will know exactly who you are because it hooks directly to you in some way.

The second is to be sure that your image is different enough from everyone else that it will be that much more memorable. Well, if everyone started doing that it would obviously become less memorable and do nothing to help someone remember you.
Take the time to look into the various options you have for custom business cards. Make sure that when you hand someone a business card, they will be sure to remember you.

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How to Keep Your Business Cards from Being Tomorrow’s Trash

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Knowing why people decide to keep business cards instead of throwing them away can give you a big advantage when designing your business cards. Here are the top 6 reasons why people keep business cards:

1. To remember their colleagues. This is generally the reason people keep business cards from trade shows or other industry events. They want to remember you in case they need you for later or if they want to consider you as a future possible business partner.

2. For a potential resource or supplier connection. If you run a dry-cleaning business, and you hand out your business card to someone in leather goods, that person will probably keep your card because you know how to clean leather. Or maybe you use suppliers that the leather-maker could use.

3. For social reasons. Mainly, if someone is attracted to you, they’ll keep your card for a later date. And I do mean date!

4. To help out a family member or friend. Many people may not need your product or service, but have a family member or friend who could use your service. It’s a good idea to hand out a few full color business cards at a time, and casually mention “In case your family or friends need my service…” Oftentimes this will jog someone’s memory of a family member saying that they needed a product or service like yours.

5. To know their competition. Competitors need to know as much as they can about each other, so someone you may not even know is your competitor (or works for your competitor, or has a family member that works for your competitor) will take your card. You can find out a lot about your competition through their Web site, brochures, flyers and other marketing materials, but it’s tough to get your hand on something more personal like a business card.

6. Your card has an interesting design, or has some useful information on it. Some people keep business cards just because they think it looks cool and they like design! If your print business cards are attractive and also have some useful information on it, like emergency phone numbers, you have a greater chance of someone keeping it. This is a great reason to use the back of your card for useful information, like a list of your services or benefits, a yearly or six-month calendar or as previously mentioned local emergency phone numbers.

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Exchanging Business Cards: Do’s and Dont’s of Business Introductions

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Exchanging business cards can be a smooth transaction, or it could be an awkward situation. Use this guide to plan ahead so that you are ready when someone asks for your business card.

Do be prepared

Always have a handful with you to present to potential clients or other business associates, even on the weekends. You’ll find that many important contacts and business card exchanges can take place in the most unlikely places.

Don’t hand out torn or worn business cards

Make sure they are clean and crisp with no frayed edges or pen marks. The best method of keeping your cards in neat form is a business card case. With designs ranging from techie to artsy to formal, you are bound to find one that fits your style and personality.

Do make it a point to hand out business cards

It doesn’t take a large convention to bring customers and business owners together. Informal meetings are one of the best times to network and exchange business cards. If the person you are speaking with seems interested in your product or service you represent, offer that person a business card.

Do receive a business card properly

When accepting a business card, have a good look at it for a few seconds. In your conversation, offer a compliment about the logo, design, etc.

Don’t hand out more than one card to a new contact

Only give one business card to your new contact. Leaving two or three may give the signal that you want them to make contacts for you which are tacky and unprofessional. Unless a prior agreement is made to exchange more than one card, keep the focus on person-to-person contact.

Do exchange business cards smoothly

When you first meet someone, it’s ok to request a business card from them. However, if the person is of a higher position than yourself, you should wait for them to offer their card to you first. Remember if they want you to have a card, they will give you one!

Don’t place it in a bag, pocket or wallet

Place the card you receive in a planner, notebook or business card case. Never place the card in a wallet that will be put in your back pocket. Doing so shows disrespect and an all around lack of organization on your part.

Do take advantage of free advertising

Local restaurants often hang a bulletin board near the front counter for business cards to be posted. You can also place your business card in the collection cups for drawings or mixers. They’re offering you free advertising, so be ready to take advantage.

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