When it comes to business cards, don't gamble. You'll lose more than you think. And by the way, you’re using the wrong business cards.
The key point: Business cards are not nearly as used as they used to, but still useful. But they need to be created differently today.
Creating the proper business card that makes sense TODAY, versus what was done 5, 10 or even a year ago can make the difference between getting that one important contact or adding the 3.5" x 2" piece of paper to the rest of the millions of cards thrown in the trash. Not to mention all those poor little trees.
Let's be real. Phones, clouds, tablets, and computers rule communication today. Bye-bye to fat old yellow phone books, newspaper clip outs, and adios to those old, goofy business cards. People use technology at staggering numbers. And that needs to be realized, or at the very least "sort of accepted" to consider the ideal business card today.
The good news is that people aren't yet completely dead to letting their technology rule everything. They do still respond to good old face-to-face, phone-to-phone (sorry, I meant "device-to device") conversation , and just exchanging dialogue and information to one another. We have conversations, and many times about our product, business, or service. And that ties directly into "the brand."
The brand is the image. The look. What it is, what is does, what it says, and what it looks like. It's colors, fonts, it's design, and what words used to communicate are all parts and pieces of the brand.
Business cards are one of the many pieces and often— a "key" to the doorway. The first point of contact that (literally) says "come on in," or "throw this crap away." It’s often the first impression so it says everything about you.
• Your standards of quality
• The image (design) of yourself, business, product or service
• What you, your product, business, or service is about or what it does
• How to reach you
Think about it. You have an opportunity to tell someone all about your business, product, or service. You either discuss it with them, or provide something to them that is a small snapshot of what that is, along with a way to contact you so you can get the end result you really want. For them to contact you!
What most people assume (and a costly mistake) is that a business card is just a business card. They go by some simple, old school standards and somehow just whip up “whatever” so they have something in hand. Often, they will even use simple templates, or online card builders that don’t come close to analyzing and solving the more important needs of a good business card.
Some common and costly mistakes include:
1. Create cards with a plain, simple template
2. Create them with no direct goal in mind— they just “crank them out”
3. Spend too much— or sometimes too little on the cards they really need
4. Put no value into design, thus expressing to the customer that they really don’t care
5. Try to get cute— or creative their own way with consenting a real professional. “Hey, this would look great with 6 logos on it and in pink…”
6. Are not brand consistent
7. Too complex— too many words, too many folds, too much artwork or color
8. Use the wrong paper. There are many options today!
9. To much contact info— multiple emails, phone numbers and addresses
10. 1-800 numbers. They’re old school. Most numbers now are free or part of a plan.
11. Using low quality, low resolution graphics that come out blurry
12. Lousy brand or design elements to start with— sometimes it’s the brand itself that needs a facelift!
And here’s the ideal approach to creating modern, effective business cards:
1. Figure out your objective.
Do you want just contact information?, or is it an awareness piece?, or maybe a teaser?, or just for fun… What’s the one reason you think you need a business card.
Typical answer: So people can reach me
Ideal answer: It’s consistent with my brand, aligns with my highest level of quality, and very easy for customers to reach me in a variety of ways, but not too busy looking.
2. Consider the highest level of quality— especially design
Good design doesn’t mean it’s just pretty, or handled by a master. It means it’s the right balance of colors, the right graphics, the right text— all put together in a way that is balanced, professional, and innately attractive to your prospect. It’s visually stunning, feels and looks of high quality, and achieves the objective.
3. Create a simple, clean, balanced card
People today are overwhelmed, overloaded, stressed, and have shorter attention spans. Make it real easy for them to see who you are, what you do, and how to reach you. Do not over clutter. Keep it very simple and organized.
4. Have only the most important information
Brand, critical messaging (tagline, short mission statement, or whatever is crucial to your brand message), name, address, email, and any highly used and vital social media data.
5. Test it
Imagine your card being handed out to 3 top, high end, big time prospects. Try to look at it from their perspective. Does it REALLY stand up to that standard? Have other review it and ask them to scrutinize it, your looking for constructive feedback.
6. Create short runs
Try using a short number of cards first. Make sure you like them, and they work for you. You can always order more!
7. Consider the cost of a design professional
Someone you can trust that understands not only the value of great design, but the value of content, and that can work with a variety of printing facilities to help you get the ideal business card.
The cost to get cards professionally designed might be anywhere from under $100 dollars, through upwards of $500 depending on the level of design you want put into the project. Printing the cards, can run anywhere from under $50 on upward of $250 depending on the quantity and type of printing and paper.
I can also meet with you/speak with you to discuss the ideal solution for you. There’s more to it than meets the eye, but yet it honestly can be a lot simpler than you think if you have the right team working on it. And the right card will have tremendous results. Don’t waste time or money on bad cards— and don’t gamble with a potentially lost prospect. Trust me, you’d rather have the contact made instead of your card in the trash. And it happens more than you think!
Call Todd at Mitchell Creative Group. 508-494-8182. todd@mitchellcreativegroup.com.
© Copyright 2016 Mitchell Creative Group, LLC
