Originally Posted by
jordachep
Business cards really should serve one purpose: A source of information.
The problem with business cards today is that people either find what they need in a phonebook or online. You don`t see too many people collecting business cards anymore.
How to design one then? Focus on the purpose. Give them as much information as you can that will help them locate and contact you easily. Everything on it should be worthwhile to the client. Put yourself in their shoes and read your card.
I advise this with anyone seeking marketing help on business cards: >LEAVE THE BACKSIDE BLANK< (or at least leave plenty of room for writing).
Some will argue that it`s a great idea to put an advertisement on the back. I`m not here to argue. I`ll just state why not to do this from experience/facts.
Here are 3 reasons why NOT to put something on the back of your business card:
1. If you ever change your pricing or specials, you`ll be expected to honor an ad you sent out a year ago. What if you state the end date of the ad? Still no. You will then have customers that throw it away after that point or you might end up having 100s of cards that have a unprofessional backside ad on them. It will make you look like a fool to give out an ad that is out-of-date.
2. You ALWAYS want to hand a business card and pen to the customer. Tell them to write down some sort of info on it. The customer will take ownership of the card and be more likely to place it somewhere safe and to not throw it away. This is not just a guess. It is proven to increase the effectivness of a business card. You`re less likely to have Mr. Jones` Wife find it in the car and throw it away as well.
3. It is more exspensive. Face it, you might misplace your cards, drop some in a pile of goo around your shop. Experience helping others with business cards has shown me that you should buy the minimum as well. There is a good chance you`ll want to change the info on the cards after you`ve had some experience with your customers responding to them.
I would like to add this as a challenge to all of you:
Think about not getting any business cards at all. Today, the most effective "business card" is being in the customer`s cell phone. Every customer will have one, and it`s not hard to add yourself to it. I`ve gotten to the point that I just ask to see the customer`s cell phone and without them asking I add myself/business to it. Just think about the constant exsposure you will get with that!
Bookmarks