Business cards increase customer loyalty
Most people use business cards for their intended purpose, business contact information.
The numbers of people using their business cards for other creative unique uses is growing.
One of the creative marketing ideas for business cards is a simple one.
Take a business card, and use it for something different. One large sandwich chain uses a business card to give customers a free sandwich after buying a certain amount.
This is one of the most popular ways to create repeat business. Someone is more likely to frequent your business if you utilize repeat discounts on a business card.
Don’t forget to put your contact information on that business card. You can use the backside of the business card to offer repeat discounts.
The loyalty created by these repeat business card offers is unique because it sets your business apart from others.
You can offer something that most other business will not offer, just by using your business cards more effectively!
Business Card Holders
If the price were identical, would you rather have a nice solid oak desk, or would you rather have a cheap plywood desk in your office?
Most people would obviously choose the oak piece of furniture.
What would this fine oak desk say to your prospective clients? Your nice desk would say that you are a professional and your take your business seriously.
A business card that appears professionally designed says the same thing, as does a quality business holder. There are many different types of business card holders to choose from.
Most business card holders are plastic, some are metal, and some are made out of wood.
Depending on the layout of your office, and what type of furniture you have will determine the type of business card holder you will want.
If your office furniture is primarily wood, get a wooden business card holder to match.
If you office has a lot of metal and glass, or it is very contemporary, get a metal business card holder.
If your office is just a side desk out of the way, maybe like a car dealership, plastic would match best. Black should be the color of choice for your desk.
Use the information you’ve just learned to find the right business card holder that will help you succeed in your career, and turn prospects into buyers!
Business Card Holder for cars - Helping the small business owner advertise on a beginner’s budget Outdoor Business Card Holder attaches securely to vehicle exterior without damage to the vehicle surface. Weather-resistant, superb construction, removes cleanly. Aimed at taking business promotion off the vehicle/sign/door & into your future customers’ hands.
Business Card Design
The standard size of a business card is three and one half inches wide and two inches tall. That translates to 89 centimeters across and 51 centimeters tall.
That means on the standard sized business card you have 7 square inches to give someone a reason to remember you. You only have 4,539 square centimeters to tell your story.
How will you be remembered when that potential client pulls 4 business cards out of his pocket? Will he be able to distinguish between your business cards and your competitors?
You see, to have an effective business card, you must start with an effective design.
At this point, you have two options. You can pay someone to design your business card, and even then, they may or may not be designed effectively. The second option is to design your own business card.
The benefits of the first option are obvious, you don’t have to spend time designing your business card. However the downside is equally as obvious. Should you leave your business in the hands of that designer? Certainly not.
The second option is not as difficult as most people think. To design your own business card, you start with the basics, and finish when you feel it looks good.
Let’s get started! On every business card, there are essential items, and there are optional items. We will begin with the essentials and end with the optional stuff.
1. Name
To many people, this seems obvious, but is it really? What is the most important name on the business card, your name or the company name?
For 90% of people, it is your name. Since your name is the most important part of the card, it should be the biggest and easiest to see. You want people to remember the company, but more than that, you want them to remember you.
If they remember the company, but forget you, the business card has failed.
There are different opinions on where the name should go on the business card, but there is always one place that I prefer to all of the others. From my experience, the most effective position for your name on a business card is front and center.
Smack dab in the middle is hard to miss, and it is the first natural place our eyes want to go. Let the company logo sit up in a corner, and contact information in another corner.
If for some reason the center can’t be used for your name, I would stick to the basic design, top right.
2. Logo
Whether you own your own business, or if you work for someone else, the logo is the second most important part of a business card. If you work for someone else, then you most definitely need to have the company logo on your card.
By having their logo on your card, the company is lending their credibility to you.
Think of a car salesman at a dealership with that big blue Ford Motor Company logo. That logo is giving credibility to the person whose name is beside it.
If you are a small company starting out, or you alone are the company, this bit of information is priceless: Have a professionally designed logo created for you.
There are many companies that can create a professional looking logo for you, and it will definitely be worth the cost. Your logo should not just be your company name in a unique font and color.
For your logo to be effective it must be instantly recognizable. A professionally designed logo should also be “vector” based so that when you want to use it on a large scale, like a poster or billboard, it will still look good.
3. Important stuff first
It is best to list everything you want on your business card, and I have compiled a sample list: company name, your name, address, website address, phone number, fax number, cell number, home number, company logo, your picture, brand names you sell or represent, company motto, slogan or tagline, or your personal slogan.
Of course, you may want to add or take away from this list. It is best and usually easiest to put the most important information first.
Keep in mind that your name should be larger than anything else, except maybe your company logo.
Potential customers need to instantly remember you based on looking at your card. Then, if needed, they will easily be able to locate your phone number or other important contact information on your business card. You do not want people to have to search in order to find how to contact you.
4. Image
What is your image worth to you? Is your professional image worth 10 cents? I would surely hope that it was.
Let’s imagine that you are considering paying $100 for a thousand business cards. Those would be some very nice cards, in fact nearly 4 times the average cost of business cards (average cost per thousand is $25-30).
When it comes right down to it though, each business card costs less than a thin dime. Isn’t your professional image worth more than 10 cents? Wouldn’t you be willing to give out 10 cents to everyone you met if it meant that 10% would become customers?
10 cents is a ridiculously tiny expense for such a powerful tool. This is one area of your business that you should be willing to invest in.
Customers will notice if you have cheap looking business cards. Some may come to the conclusion that if you are not willing to invest in your image, then you are not willing to invest in selling a good product.
If you have ever received a card from a car salesperson it was most likely either white with contrasting colors on it, or had pictures of cars on it.
If you have ever received a card from a lawyer or attorney, it was probably clean with black or gold writing on it.
Here are a few more examples of typical cards:
You can get a mental picture of what type of image these different cards are attempting to project. You must decide what image you want your business card to project.
Will it project an image of fun with bright colors and crazy fonts? Or will your image be that of class with gold and burgundy colors with old English type script?
5. Color
Color is very important on a business card. Without color your business card can look bland and boring. The goal is to get people to keep your business cards, and color is vitally important to reaching that goal.
Don’t make the colors so bright and contrasting that they are annoying, but don’t just go black and white either.
As you can see, with just a little forethought, you can turn an ineffective card thatjust gets thrown away, into a card so good your prospects will want one for themselves and one for a friend!
Business Card Cases
Would you buy a new car if the manufacturer told you that it came with absolutely no warranty? I would hope not.
Would you want to own a home without homeowner’s insurance? I certainly wouldn’t.
When you make a large purchase or an investment, you want to protect it. This is why it is important to invest in a business card case.
The entire purpose of a business card case is to protect the investment you have made, not only in your business cards, but also in your business.
If you keep business cards unprotected in your pocket or desk for long enough, usually 2-3 days in my experience, the corners will start to bend and become rounded.
A few days after that, the cards will begin to bend and get dirty. These are the defects that you want to avoid.
Giving a client this bent and broken card tells them that you value their business as much as you value this shabby business card.
There should never, ever, be a time that you give a customer anything but your best, and you should never give a customer any card that looks shabby.
In order to insure that you are always putting your best foot forward by giving your customers a well-kept business card, it is essential that you invest in a business card case.
Metal cases, my personal favorite, usually last the longest, and can be engraved with your name or initials.
Business card cases can also make great gifts for friends and family who are seeking to expand their business.
Whether you are looking for something that is classy and elegant, or modern and unique, it can be found here.
The Best of Business Card Design 6
Organized in a visually focused presentation, this comprehensive collection contains approximately 800 images, selected from thousands of entries from around the globe.
Essentially an art collection of today’s most innovative business card designs, this high-quality resource will be sought by both professional designers and marketers whose clients stem from every kind of business.
This book provides a variety of examples that will inspire you, give you ideas you never thought of, and make you realize how a business card can communicate your message to potential clients.
The Best of Business Card Design 6