A practical approach to business cards

The next time you go to a business meeting, where people are handing out their business cards, take a closer look.

Let’s assume you don’t know any of these people or their businesses in any great depth.

Does their card tell you what they do? And if it is clear, such as for an accountant or solicitor/lawyer (attorney for our US cousins), what makes them stand out from all the other cards you have for people in the same profession? Do you know instantly exactly why they are different and what benefits you could enjoy by doing business with them?

Now look at your business card? What does it say about you? About your company?

Is there a clear message that describes what you offer and the results you deliver? If your answer is “No” you are missing a vital marketing opportunity…

Having said that, the content of your business card depends very much upon how you use it. If you only ever present it to clients or prospects you’ve spent some time with then the minimum amount of information is all you need. That’s because these people already know you and the purpose of your card is purely to serve as a reminder of your contact details.

But if you attend business meetings, networking with other business people (as we’ve been discussing over the past few weeks of posts) then your card has to fulfil a completely different purpose. It has to work harder for you.

The challenge you, and your business card, is facing is making sure the people you meet briefly do remember you and are able to distinguish you from other businesses who apparently offer the same type of product or service. What makes you stand out?

You want to know that when someone else returns to their office or place of business and glances through the, possibly hundreds, of business cards they’ve collected, yours gives a complete picture.

Now I don’t mean it has to be a vivid colour, or a garish design or have wacky graphics on it (although if this is appropriate for your business that’s fine).

What it does need is information that clearly explains why you are the ‘go-to’ company for whatever business you are in.

What Does Your Business Card Say About You?

• Does it clearly show what you do or offer? (Your Company name / logo may not be explicit enough).
• Does it give a testimonial from a happy client/customer?
• Is your photo on there?
• What’s on the back of your card – it isn’t blank – is it?

When I explained to a client the business card is a marketing tool and should include a photo, his response was “I don’t want my ugly mug on there” (actually he’s quite good looking, but modest). I told him being a ‘shrinking violet’ was not going to help his business to grow. The intention of the photo is to make your card stand out and make it easier for people to remember you afterwards.

Plus, if you send your card with your literature (and a letter) in the post it gives the person receiving it a sense of confidence they are dealing with a ‘real person’ – not an anonymous company. Remember ‘people buy from people’ no matter what size company they own or work for.

The Alternative to Your Photo

If, like my client, you really feel embarrassed about having your photo on your card – try this idea:

Get a photo of you with a happy, smiling client/customer. Ask their permission to use the photo and a testimonial from them in your marketing. Make sure the testimonial is specific, not “Great company, would use again” but something like

“I had problem with the manufacturing costs of our main product line, but the productivity solutions you provided reduced our costs by 31.6% and turned it into one of our more profitable lines”.

Put the photo, with the testimonial underneath, on your card. (N.B. if you are a guy get a female customer to pose with you and vice versa).

Designing Your Card

You may decide to get a graphic designer to create the layout for your card. Regardless of who comes up with the design this is what your card should include:

Front:

• Company name
• Your name / position
• Your contact details
• Your photo*
• A descriptive strapline

Your descriptive strapline is a single ‘headline’ style sentence that encapsulates what your business does. (It could be your 1-liner from your elevator speech that we talked about in the post Your wow! introduction). And of course, this is where your copywriting skills come to the fore

Back:

• Your marketing message: a description of what you offer.
• Testimonial(s) from happy clients/customers (with photo if you don’t like your photo on the front)
• Key benefits you deliver

If you are planning to use your cards extensively at business and networking meetings include some space for people to make a note:

We met at……………. On (date)…………….

We spoke about………………………………………..

* If you decide to use a photo with testimonial on the back of your card then you don’t need the photo on the front.

Make Your Card More Memorable

Another way to make your card stand out from the crowd is to have a tri-fold card, just slightly bigger than the normal business card size, and include some useful tips or expert advice. People are more inclined to keep a card that has some valuable information on it and it demonstrates your expertise.

In the next post I’m going to describe things you shouldn’t do with your business cards – especially if yours is a start-up company.

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: business networking business tips copywriting

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Written by Carol Bentley

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