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.
01.
Ease Of Giving Contact DetailsA 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 TouchWhen 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 ImpressionEvery 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 CulturesIn 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 ToolsA 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 ReferableBusiness 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 TrustBecause 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 ToolMost 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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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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An attorney's business card, 1895 Eugène Chigot, post impressionist painter, business card 1890s A business card from Richard Nixon's first Congressional campaign, in 1946 Front and back sides of a business card in Vietnam, 2008 A Oscar Friedheim card cutting and scoring machine from 1889, capable of producing up to 100,000 visiting and business cards a day
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual.[1][2] They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business affiliation (usually with a logo) and contact information such as street addresses, telephone number(s), fax number, e-mail addresses and website. Before the advent of electronic communication, business cards also included telex details.[3] Now they may include social media addresses such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Traditionally, many cards were simple black text on white stock, and the distinctive look and feel of cards printed from an engraved plate was a desirable sign of professionalism. In the late 20th century, technological advances drove changes in style, and today a professional business card will often include one or more aspects of striking visual design.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 7 billion business cards were printed around the world every year. The American company Vistaprint indicates sales of the cards dropped 70 percent during the pandemic, but sales have rebounded in mid-2021.[4]
Construction
Business cards are printed on some form of card stock, the visual effect, method of printing, cost and other details varying according to cultural or organizational norms and personal preferences. The common weight of a business card varies some by location. Generally, business cards are printed on stock that is 350 g/m2 (density), 45 kg (100 lb) (weight), or 12 pt (thickness).
The advent of personal laser and inkjet printers made it possible for people to print business cards at home, using specially designed pre-cut stock. At first, these cards were noticeably lighter in weight, and the perforations could be felt along the edges, but improvements in the design of both printers and paper have made it possible to print cards with a professional look and feel.
High quality business cards without full-color photographs are normally printed using spot colors on sheet-fed offset printing presses. Some companies have gone so far as to trademark their spot colors (examples are UPS brown, Owens-Corning pink, and Cadbury's purple).[5] If a business card logo is a single color and the type is another color, the process is considered two-color. More spot colors can be added depending on the needs of the card. With the onset of digital printing, and batch printing, it is now cost effective to print business cards in full color.
To simulate the effect of printing with engraved plates, a less-expensive process called thermography was developed that uses the application of a plastic powder, which adheres to the wet ink. The cards are then passed through a heating unit, which melts the plastic onto the card. Spot UV varnish onto matte laminate can also have a similar effect.
Full color cards, or cards that use many colors, are printed on sheetfed presses as well; however, they use the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) four-color printing process. Screens of each color overprinted on one another create a wide gamut of color. The downside to this printing method is that screened colors if examined closely will reveal tiny dots, whereas spot color cards are printed solid in most cases. Spot colors should be used for simple cards with line art or non-black type that is smaller than 5 points.
Some terminology in reference to full-color printing:
These names are pronounced as "four over zero", "four over one", and "four over four".
A business card can also be coated with a UV glossy coat (offset-uv printing). The coat is applied just like another ink using an additional unit on a sheetfed press. That being said, UV coats can also be applied as a spot coating - meaning areas can be coated, and other areas can be left uncoated. This creates additional design potential. UV Coating is not to be confused with coated stock, which has a gloss or semi gloss finish that is applied before printing.
Business cards can also be printed with a digital copier, which uses toner fused onto the surface of the card; however, many modern printing firms instead utilise high end "Digital Presses," now distinct from office copiers, which range from light production units such as the Bizhub 5500 from Konica Minolta, to state of the art units such as the latest HP Indigo Digital Presses.
While some of the older office copiers may have had problems running heavy business card stock, the newest digital presses can print on stock as heavy as 407 g/m2 (150# cover stock),[6] and special substrates such as polypropylene. Available in both sheet-fed and web-fed models, many modern digital presses can emulate Pantone spot colors, print in up to seven colours in one pass, and some even contain embedded spectrophotometers and air-assisted feeding systems.
UV coats, and other coatings such as aqueous coatings are used to speed manufacturing of the cards. Cards that are not dry will "offset", i.e., the ink from the front of one card will mark up back of the next one. UV coatings are generally highly glossy but are more likely to fingerprint, while aqueous coatings are not noticeable but increase the life of the card. It is possible to use a dull aqueous coating on uncoated stock and get some very durable uncoated cards, and using UV coating or plastic lamination can also be applied to thicken thin stocked cards and make them more durable as well.
When cards are designed, they are given bleeds if color extends to the edge of the finished cut size. (A bleed is the extension of printed lines or colors beyond the line where the paper it is printed on will be cut.) This is to help ensure that the paper will cut without white edges due to very small differences in where the blade cuts the cards, and it is almost impossible to cut the cards properly without. Just being a hair off can result in white lines, and the blade itself will pull the paper while cutting. The image on the paper can also shift from page to page which is called a bounce, which is generally off by a hairline on an offset press, but can be quite large on lower end equipment such as a copier or a duplicator press. Bleeds are typically an extra 3.175 (1⁄8) to 6.35 mm (1⁄4 in) to all sides of the card.
(US)
1
⁄8
in bleeds)(UK)
Fold-over or "tent" cards, and side fold cards are popular as well. Generally these cards will fold to the standard size.
Cards can also be printed with a different language on each side.
Dimensions
Aspect ratios range from 1.42 to 1.8. There is no standard for the business card dimensions.[7] Sharing dimensions with other cards makes storage easier, for example banking cards (85.60 × 53.98 mm) and business cards in Western Europe (85 × 55 mm) have almost the same size.
Global variations
Japan
A Japanese business card is called a meishi (名刺). It typically features the company name at the top in the largest print, followed by the job title and then the name of the individual. This information is written in Japanese characters on one side and often Latin characters on the reverse. Other important contact information is usually provided, such as business address, phone number and fax number. Meishi may also contain a QR code to provide contact details in a machine-readable form,[8] but this has not yet become a widespread practice. According to a 2007 survey, fewer than 3% of Japanese people own a meishi with a QR code printed on it.[9]
The presentation of one's meishi to another person is more formal and ritualistic than in the Western world. The card should be held at the top two corners, face up and turned so that it can be read by the person receiving the meishi, who takes it by the bottom two corners using both hands. Placing one's fingers over the name or other information is considered rude. Upon receiving the meishi, one is expected to read the card over, noting the person's name and rank. One should then thank the other person, saying "choudai itashimasu" ("I accept your name card") or "choudai shimasu", and then bow.[10] When meishi are being exchanged between parties with different status, such as between the president of a company and someone in middle management, it is proper that the person of lower status extend his or her business card in such a way that it is underneath or below the meishi being extended by the person in a higher position.
Meishi should be kept in a smart leather case where they will not become warm or worn, which are both considered a sign of disrespect or thoughtlessness. A received meishi should not be written on or placed in a pocket; it is considered proper to file the meishi at the rear of the leather case. If the meishi is being presented at a table, the recipient keeps the meishi on top of the leather case until they leave the table. If several people are involved in the meeting and one receives several meishi, the one with the highest rank is kept on the leather case, and the others beside it, on the table.
The manner in which the recipient treats the presenter's meishi is indicative of how the recipient will treat the presenter. Actions such as folding the card in half, or placing the presenter's meishi in one's back pocket, are regarded as insults.[citation needed]
Japanese executives or officials usually has two meishi: one in Japanese and intended for fellow Japanese, using the Japanese ordering of names (family name first), and another intended for foreigners, with the name in Western order (family name last).[11]
Other formats
Business card size CDVarious technological advances made Compact Disc "business cards" possible, which could hold about 35 to 100 MB of data. These business card CDs may be square, round or oblong but are approximately the same size as a conventional business card. CD business cards are designed to fit within the 80 mm tray of a computer's CD-ROM drive. They are playable in most tray computer CD drives, but do not work in slot-loading drives. Despite the ability to include dynamic presentations and a great deal of data, these discs were never in common use as business cards, though they are still available.
With handheld computers and smartphones becoming more ubiquitous, business card data is increasingly exchanged electronically via direct wireless connections (e.g. infra-red, Bluetooth, RFID), SMS, specialized apps (e.g. Bump)[12] or via a cloud service (e.g. licobo). Once again, however, these new methods of transmitting business information have yet to completely replace the traditional physical business card.
Special materials
Apart from common business cards made of paper/card there are also special business cards made from plastic (PVC), especially frosted translucent plastic, crystal clear plastic, white or metallic plastic. Other extraordinary materials are metal, rubberized cards, rubber, magnets, poker chips, wooden nickels, and even real wood. For the most part those special material business cards are of standard format, sometimes with rounded corners.
Business card software
Business cards can be mass-produced by a printshop or printed at home using business card software. Such software typically contains design, layout tools, and text editing tools for designing one's business cards. Most business card software integrates with other software (like mail clients or address books) to eliminate the need of entering contact data manually. Cards are usually printed on business card stock or saved in an electronic form and sent to a printshop. Multiple programs are available for users of Linux, macOS and Windows platforms.
Web-to-print
In addition to business card software, many printing firms now offer a web-to-print service, which allows the customer to choose from a selection of stock design templates, customize online using their own logos and imagery, select quantities, view pricing options and request them for delivery to home or business addresses. Often this process is applied not only to business cards, but also to letterheads, notepads, labels and compliments slips.
Collecting
There are several hundred known collectors of business cards, especially antique cards, celebrity cards, or cards made of unusual materials. One of the major business card collectors' clubs is the International Business Card Collectors, IBCC. IBCC members exchange cards with other members, simply for the price of postage.
For dating
Business-style cards are also used by some for dating.[13] These cards typically have the bearer's name, their contact information, and may also feature a humorous quote or piece of information about the individual.
See also
References
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