How to Effectively Use Business Cards in Marketing

In an increasingly technological business environment, some wonder if business cards are still an effective marketing tool. If used correctly, they can help you develop new leads, make meaningful contacts, and help your name stand out among the rest. Brandly offers a wide variety of materials and can print your artwork on professional-quality business cards. Whether you’re in the market for standard, eco-friendly, or QR code business cards, Brandly can help.

Read below for more information on how you can use business cards for marketing that can give you the edge in finding new clients and connections: 

Create a High-Quality Design for Your Business Card

Business cards today include standard information such as a business name, phone number, name, and address. There are also options to include photos or full-color brand logos to make your business cards more memorable. While Brandly doesn’t design business cards, we do offer several paper options that will help your logos and photos shine. A warm smile on a business card can make you appear more approachable and welcoming. This may encourage people to follow up and think of you when they need a product or service.

To make the photos or artwork on your cards vibrant, use only CMYK colors. This type of coloring is best for printed materials because it allows for deeper saturation. If you’re using photos on your cards, upload high-quality images for the best results. You can read more about our artwork guidelines on our website. 

Consider the bleed area on your cards as you make your design. This is the area that extends past the card when it is cut from the material it’s printed on. You’ll want your logo or other images to spill into the bleed area to avoid having unusual white lines around your card. This is about 1/8 of an inch beyond the trim/cut line. 

Once you have a business card design, you can submit a PDF version to us through the online portal. Our team will convert the PDF file into an online template that you can edit multiple times and share with your employees. This one-time process provides a template that can be used by future employees and saves you the trouble of collecting information and sending in new business card orders yourself.

Learn how to manage and print business cards for multiple employees >

Create a Cohesive Design With Your Business Card

Your business card design can serve as an extension of your branding. Because of this, creating a unique design that you can use throughout your company may be worthwhile. Consider using an email signature on your card that can also be used for emails and other business correspondences. At Brandly, we provide free email templates that can be customized with your information. You can include your social media handles, along with a telephone number, name, and address. Using the same design across different marketing materials and correspondences maintains consistency and can help your brand stand out.

If you want your employees to have their own company business cards, Brandly can help them order their own individually. You can upload artwork for a standard business card design and choose which fields your employees can edit. For instance, you can allow them to add their name, contact information, and more to a standardized design. This would prevent them from changing the logo or other elements to keep the business card cohesive throughout the company. 

Consider QR Code Business Cards

Another new development in business cards is the addition of QR code technology. If you choose to create a QR code business card, you can expand your options for connecting with others. A QR code can be added to any card, providing access to your company website, social media pages, and more. 

To win over a potential customer or business partner, you may need to provide a significant amount of information about your product or service. Often, that information can’t be included on a small business card. The QR code solves this problem by providing a link to your website or another page that can provide that information. You can link to an image gallery hosted on your website which shows your product in action, a testimonial page where potential customers can read reviews about your company, or the front page of your website to get customers familiar with your work. Your QR code business card can also link to a social media page. Customers can message you through social media platforms or follow your page to keep up to date on your company.

Since the code is linked to a specific page, it’s easy to update information as it changes. You can update information like pricing, product descriptions, or inventory numbers on the linked page in just a few minutes. At Brandly, our team can also help you understand how to incorporate QR codes into your business cards if you have questions. 

Add a Promo or Discount to Your Card

While business cards are useful for spreading contact information, they can also be used to offer discounts to customers and encourage contact. For example, your business card may include a 20-30% discount on the first purchase of a product or service. This can effectively encourage customers to take the extra step of connecting with your company. It can also help you determine how effective a marketing campaign is as you can monitor how many business cards find their way back to you after sending them out.

Choose the Right Printing Company for Your Business Card

After developing a unique business card design and gathering your information, the next step is to consider how you’ll get them printed. Working with a printing company with the tools and experience to turn out a quality product can expedite the process and make for a better end result.

If you’re ready to get started, you can visit our site to set up your account. Brandly will also provide a free demo if you want to see our work before you commit. Check it out to find out how you can create business cards that effectively market your company.

Business cards usually contain key contact details of a company. But marketers have turned these modern cards into an effective tool to drive customers. The cards are today a way to make a quick first impression on the recipients.

Despite all the technological advancements, business cards are still irreplaceable. It seems that no amount of automation is going to take their place.

Most company officials keep some cards in the pocket and hand out the cards when shaking hands with the potential client. Cards come handy to promote business during a trade fair, seminar, or a business meeting.

Business cards are part of the branding exercise that marketers take up to beat the competition. The cards do not merely hold contact details such as email address, phone number, website address, and others.

Smart strategists turn the cards into impressive designs with the help of business card templates. The design speaks favorably for a business. Every design element like color, typeface, space, image, and logo, etc. has its planned use in the card for the desired impact.

For clients and general customers, business cards are a window to peep into a company’s possible quality of products or services. The importance is evident from some glaring facts. According to a study, an overwhelming 72 per cent of the people form an opinion about a company based on the quality of its business card.

So it’s evident that the card can make or break your business. You will lose many customers if the card paper doesn’t have a perfect business card size, too thin and its design fails to impress them.

Here Are The 8 Reasons Why Business Cards Are Still Important

01.

Ease Of Giving Contact Details

A reason for business cards still in circulation is that they deliver contact information with ease. A company’s contact information is vital to clients. All of your contact details such as email address and phone number are available on the card. The recipient can put the card easily in a wallet or office drawer. These cards thus come handy in finding out a company’s details quickly.

Some digital devices such as iPhones and Android phones can send information to another phone. But that happens only when the other device is compatible. Not all of your potential customers may have compatible phones. That makes these physical cards essential for all businesses as compared to digital business cards.

02.

Give A Personal Touch

When handing out a business card, clients do not merely get the contact details. A lot of handshakes go with exchanging these cards. Both the parties give thanks and greet each other.

Moreover, they spend a good time while talking and connect well. They share their contact information through the cards in a friendly environment. This warmth helps in building a relationship with a client.

However, do not forget that the quality of the cards matters. While personal warmth in sharing the cards is necessary, their quality material and design remind the clients of your professionalism.

A prominent speaker & author on startups and economic development, Beth Ramsay advises to use metal as a material to create the cards. He says, “Metal business cards are a good investment, especially if you were to meet Magneto. He would have no other choice but to be attracted to you.”

03.

Make A Quick First Impression

Every seriously conducted business must grab the attention of its target customers. People’s attention span is already increasing due to many distractions. Therefore, instant first impression on a target audience becomes all the more essential.

An attractive and well-thought-of business card design catches the eye and builds a favorable impression of a business. A company logo, tastefully displayed company details, use of the right brand colors and typeface surely give the card a professional look. It makes a brand recognizable for customers.

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04.

Appropriate In Some Cultures

In some cultures, business cards hold a prominent place. For them, the cards are part of business rituals. For example, if you do business in Hong Kong, you must offer your business card in return when someone gives you the card. You will surely lose the client if you do not share your card.

Similarly, in Japan, clients see the quality of your card paper to judge how efficiently you run your business and conduct yourself. However, when creating your business card, it is essential that your logo design appears on one side prominently. That logo and contact details are the reasons you created the card for.

05.

Turn Them Into Direct Marketing Tools

A modern custom business card is a direct marketing tool. While search engine optimization, email marketing, and other marketing methods fetch leads and potential clients, still business cards are more effective. This is because of the in-person meeting that goes with sharing of the cards.

When you happen to meet a potential lead anywhere including at airport lounges and industrial conferences, just give your card to them. Just have some cards always in your pocket to hand out them to prospect directly wherever you find them.

06.

Make Your Business Referable

Business cards should also mention what skills you or your business possesses. Giving your company name and contact details are not enough. If your card lets the recipient know about your extra skill, it helps create referrals.

The recipient person can refer your business and skills to someone who is looking for those set of skills. This is important that you come across with people from a variety of backgrounds. They can refer your business to others.

But first, make sure that your card design is good enough to compel referrals. So, hire competent graphic design services provider who can create the desired impact from the design.

Use the elements of colors, text, images, and logos wisely to convey your brand message effectively. If the card recipient is impressed, your chances of getting more referrals go higher.

07.

Building Trust

Because of a highly competitive market environment, customers must have trust in a company and its products. If they do not have faith in the offerings of a company, they will just buy. Business cards can bridge that trust deficit to some extent.

Since there is a lot of warmth and personal greetings exchanged when sharing the cards, it helps in building a fair amount of trust. Moreover, a professional graphic designer knows how to incorporate colors etc. in the card design to evoke trust. A card design that appears as organized speaks well for the business.

08.

Turn It Into Your Networking Tool

Most businesses happen virtually in today’s digital world. This has helped in expanding the network of companies tremendously. You can make virtual contact with hundreds of people through emails etc. quickly.

But this eliminates the chances of meeting customers personally. There is no alternative to the face-to-face networking that has been the proven conventional method of building relationships.

Business cards play a significant role in creating opportunities. They help increase sales due to the power of personal networking. Remember that with a solid networking plan, your business can build a true brand identity. Business cards help significantly in creating a chain of personal relationships.

So, these are the key reasons for businesses of all scales that they should use the power of business cards for their growth.

But the results will depend on your ability to explore the cards’ potential in building your network. These are undoubtedly great marketing tools if you can make them as part of your overall marketing plan.

If you are looking for great design ideas to create your business cards, Designhill, a leading marketplace is the right place. You need to launch your design contest at this site. Then, dozens of creative designers will work to win the contest, giving you many exciting design solutions in the process at one affordable price.

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Conclusion

Business cards have retained their significance in today’s virtual world. The cards help establish a warm personal relationship with clients. It is a marketing tool to create trust, establish brand, and convey a message to the potential customers.

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