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The
Advisor
MAKE YOUR BUSINESS CARD WORK FOR YOU
Take a good look at your business card. Is it white, with black block type? Conventional to the point of a yawn... or is it a real talking point? When you think about it, your business card is far more than just a card with your name and phone number on it. It is a mini advertisement. It is your "shop front". With imagination, you can make it actively SELL you and your product. Cards can "carry" the product to the recipient. Like the one I've had for a year in my drawer for a plastic laminating firm. For some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out, because it was itself, superbly laminated. And the other day, someone asked did I know of a good laminating firm! I've heard of someone who has a quarter laminated into his card. Expensive? Maybe, but when you measure the "life" of that card in the drawer of the recipient, and the business it generates, it's just a good investment. How about a card that gets the recipient to DO something... We designed a card recently for a client who wanted to meet his competitors HEAD ON. To get at their "Achilles heel". He supplies a *natural* ceiling insulation material called INSUL-SAFE. It's big claim is that is contains no fiberglass, asbestos or plastics. So we designed their business card to actually carry a sample of INSUL-SAFE, glued inside, and seen through a die cut in the shape of a ceiling in the front fold. The card front commands... TOUCH IT!!! FEEL IT!!! Something incidentally, his competitors would be unlikely to contemplate copying. So what can you look at when redesigning your cards? The texture and color are vitally important. Select card stock that "says" something about you. if you think it's not that important, watch the next time you give a card to someone. They almost always "feel" the card as they talk. Give them something nice to feel. They may keep it! The next thing they do is turn the card over. Has YOUR card got white space on the back? You are wasting a valuable selling opportunity if it has. Just as copywriters will tell you "the more you tell, the more you sell" in your ads, the same applies to your business card. Remember, while YOU know what your company does, and the full range of products and services you provide, the prospect may not. Print useful information there. Even ONE more sale may pay for that card a thousand times over. [Advisor comment: We put a cover graphic and ordering information for one of our books on the rear of our cards] Can you make your card USEFUL? I have a card here that provides useful service from a national tire chain. Apart from having a lot of useful information on them, their cards have a "tread gauge" die cut into one edge. Chances are you'll keep that ... just to check your tread one day. So who comes to mind when you want tires? Cards with a color photo? Yes, they keep you in the mind of the prospect. but, if you can, take it a step further. Picture yourself doing whatever you do... at a computer if you are a programmer, beside your Rolls fleet if you're in the limo business... Have you won any awards for excellence in your field? Don't keep it to yourself... put them on your business card. it is a testimonial in miniature . Finally, as much as I respect, and work closely with printers, please don't "save" money by getting your printer to come up with a design for your business cards. or for that matter, your letterhead. Go to a good graphic artist. They may charge you what seems like a fortune... but it is a good investment. If you make do with a poorly designed card, you'll pay more for it in the long run... in lost sales and image. [Advisor comment: Don't forget to include your e-mail and WWW site address on your business card and letterhead] |