AMiable Solution #443: The Small But Mighty Business Card

They may be small, and they may be considered too old-fashioned for today’s electronic world, but printed business cards still hold much power for growing businesses.

Ahh, the common business card. With roots tracing all the way back to 15th century China, you could say the art of using small cards to announce one’s presence has had a good run but has run its course. After all, who needs a piece of paper with someone’s name and contact information when we have websites and social media pages and email?

The answer: most businesses. But creating an effective business card requires more than a generic template with your name inserted “here.” In fact, quite a bit rides on the look, message, and feel of your business cards.

If you don’t think traditional, printed business cards still have a place in your marketing arsenal anymore, consider this: printed business cards still work for the same reasons direct mail marketing does:

● Business cards are tangible. They can be exchanged with a warm handshake at conferences, meetings, and networking events. They can be retrieved from a wallet, file, or bulletin board and examined. They can be shared with others.

● They’re “user friendly.” They require no special software to access. No special technology to read. No social media accounts.

● They can quickly convey your company’s image and style. Font, graphics, use of color, images…they all tell your prospects immediately if your business is innovative, modern, traditional, technological, creative, etc.

● They have the power to create an exceptional first impression. Does your business card look like a quality product? It better. If your card is printed on thin paper, has poor print quality, and generally looks cheap, then prospects will assume you operate your business that way, too. On the other hand, if you print your cards on quality stock, go glossy, print double-sided, and design a clean, killer card, then people will notice and want to know more.

Although today’s business cards have more riding on them than the Chinese cards given to friends and family members to announce someone’s arrival, they still offer a way to make a physical, social, and professional connection with the folks we want to develop relationships with.