Take a while to think about what your business card says about you. After yourself, this will be the first impression of your company to many people you meet. If it's badly produced and amateurish then people will assume the same about your business, but it's easy to make your business card work better for you.
Here are The Design Mechanics top 10 tips for creating the perfect business card:
1. Say what you do!
Let's start with the obvious. So many business cards simply don't state what a company does. If you have a non-descriptive company name such as "A & J Associates" then make sure your company card actually tells people what you do.
People retain business cards for a long time and will forget your name and company name soon after meeting you. Therefore your card needs to remind them you are the people who print company logos on USB sticks.
2. Don't lose sight of what your card is for
Remember that the main reason for a business card is for people to get your contact details. As such make sure that your phone number, email address and website are all clearly legible. Make sure that phone numbers especially are in easy to read fonts. Many creative typefaces have poor numerals meaning numbers such as 1 and 7 can be mixed up.
If you have a long website address, then make it more legible by using different weights to break up the words, eg: www.mywebsiteaddressislongerthanyourwebsiteaddress.com
Also consider a QR code, where people can scan your card with a mobile phone and it gives them all your contact details in a digital format.
3. Don't use a non-business email address
Business email addresses are cheap to set up. Make sure the first thing you do is buy a domain name and hosting facility so that you can operate from a commercial email address from day one - nothing says you have only just set up or that you might not be here tomorrow than displaying a Hotmail, Gmail, BT Internet etc email address on your business card.
4. Don't print your cards yourself
No matter how tight your budget, don't be tempted to home-produce your company cards. Even if you have a colour-printer that can print on card, once they are in a card holder with your competitors' cards you will regret trying to save money on them.
Home-produced cards just don't wear well. The ink isn't fixed (so it will fade, or even worse run!) and the card will become tatty very quickly. The cost of commercial printing has really come down over the past few years, and with digital printing you can get anywhere from a couple of hundred to several thousand cards printed at really affordable cost, usually in a couple of days.
5. Get new cards if your details change
The last thing you want to do is apologise when you hand your company card over. If your details change, don't scribble them out and write your new number on just because you have a box of them left. Put them in the recycle bin and get some more. Do you want people to think you are doing so badly in business that you can't afford to buy new cards? If your details are likely to change, just buy a couple of hundred at a time.
6. Resist "free" card offers
We've all seen the adverts for free business cards from Internet-based printers. These offers seem too good to be true, and often they are.
Although the business cards are free (plus postage), they are not be printed on premium card stock and also have an advert on the back from the printing company who provided them - why would you promote someone else's company at no benefit to yourself, and why scream out that you are just starting up or not successful enough to be able to afford to buy business cards for your company?
Some companies also offer pre-templated designs for you to choose from. These can seem like a good idea until you turn up at a networking event and meet the 5 other people who chose the same design as you...!
7. Keep your business card "on-brand"
Your business card should carry the same visual look and feel as the rest of your marketing material. Make sure that if you lay out all your corporate material together it looks like it all belongs to the same company.
If you already have a "brand" in place, make sure that your designer is aware of what your other literature looks like and what your consistent marketing messages are. When someone visits your website after viewing your business card they should see the same logo, colours and visual elements. This is called "visual synergy", and the repetition will help clients remember your brand.
8. Make your card much more than a business card
Think about making your business card into a flyer for your company. Consider a fold-out card to show a portfolio or list client testimonials, or use a stand-up (tent) business card that can be some kind of quick-reference guide.
If you take appointments, make sure you use your business card as an appointment card, or use the back of your card to give instant written quotes or provide receipts.
9. Include a photo if people are buying "you"
If you are a consultant or in a business where people will be buying "you" rather than a product, then put your photo on your business card. Don't just take a photo on your phone; find a local photographer who will do a head-shot at a reasonable set price.
Think about how you want to present yourself, do you need to be in a shirt and tie with a plain studio backdrop, or do you want to portray a more casual appearance by having your portrait taken in a park for example?
10. Never accept a business card from someone without giving them yours in return!
Finally, never let anyone give you their business card without taking one of yours. A good way to give someone one of your business cards is to ask for one of theirs and make sure your hand extends at the same time with yours.
It would be a very rude person who wouldn't accept your card whilst expecting you to take theirs!
If you want to learn more about branding your business then come and take a look at www.thedesignmechanics.com for more information regarding business cards and other related topics.
By Dave Pannell
Here are The Design Mechanics top 10 tips for creating the perfect business card:
1. Say what you do!
Let's start with the obvious. So many business cards simply don't state what a company does. If you have a non-descriptive company name such as "A & J Associates" then make sure your company card actually tells people what you do.
People retain business cards for a long time and will forget your name and company name soon after meeting you. Therefore your card needs to remind them you are the people who print company logos on USB sticks.
2. Don't lose sight of what your card is for
Remember that the main reason for a business card is for people to get your contact details. As such make sure that your phone number, email address and website are all clearly legible. Make sure that phone numbers especially are in easy to read fonts. Many creative typefaces have poor numerals meaning numbers such as 1 and 7 can be mixed up.
If you have a long website address, then make it more legible by using different weights to break up the words, eg: www.mywebsiteaddressislongerthanyourwebsiteaddress.com
Also consider a QR code, where people can scan your card with a mobile phone and it gives them all your contact details in a digital format.
3. Don't use a non-business email address
Business email addresses are cheap to set up. Make sure the first thing you do is buy a domain name and hosting facility so that you can operate from a commercial email address from day one - nothing says you have only just set up or that you might not be here tomorrow than displaying a Hotmail, Gmail, BT Internet etc email address on your business card.
4. Don't print your cards yourself
No matter how tight your budget, don't be tempted to home-produce your company cards. Even if you have a colour-printer that can print on card, once they are in a card holder with your competitors' cards you will regret trying to save money on them.
Home-produced cards just don't wear well. The ink isn't fixed (so it will fade, or even worse run!) and the card will become tatty very quickly. The cost of commercial printing has really come down over the past few years, and with digital printing you can get anywhere from a couple of hundred to several thousand cards printed at really affordable cost, usually in a couple of days.
5. Get new cards if your details change
The last thing you want to do is apologise when you hand your company card over. If your details change, don't scribble them out and write your new number on just because you have a box of them left. Put them in the recycle bin and get some more. Do you want people to think you are doing so badly in business that you can't afford to buy new cards? If your details are likely to change, just buy a couple of hundred at a time.
6. Resist "free" card offers
We've all seen the adverts for free business cards from Internet-based printers. These offers seem too good to be true, and often they are.
Although the business cards are free (plus postage), they are not be printed on premium card stock and also have an advert on the back from the printing company who provided them - why would you promote someone else's company at no benefit to yourself, and why scream out that you are just starting up or not successful enough to be able to afford to buy business cards for your company?
Some companies also offer pre-templated designs for you to choose from. These can seem like a good idea until you turn up at a networking event and meet the 5 other people who chose the same design as you...!
7. Keep your business card "on-brand"
Your business card should carry the same visual look and feel as the rest of your marketing material. Make sure that if you lay out all your corporate material together it looks like it all belongs to the same company.
If you already have a "brand" in place, make sure that your designer is aware of what your other literature looks like and what your consistent marketing messages are. When someone visits your website after viewing your business card they should see the same logo, colours and visual elements. This is called "visual synergy", and the repetition will help clients remember your brand.
8. Make your card much more than a business card
Think about making your business card into a flyer for your company. Consider a fold-out card to show a portfolio or list client testimonials, or use a stand-up (tent) business card that can be some kind of quick-reference guide.
If you take appointments, make sure you use your business card as an appointment card, or use the back of your card to give instant written quotes or provide receipts.
9. Include a photo if people are buying "you"
If you are a consultant or in a business where people will be buying "you" rather than a product, then put your photo on your business card. Don't just take a photo on your phone; find a local photographer who will do a head-shot at a reasonable set price.
Think about how you want to present yourself, do you need to be in a shirt and tie with a plain studio backdrop, or do you want to portray a more casual appearance by having your portrait taken in a park for example?
10. Never accept a business card from someone without giving them yours in return!
Finally, never let anyone give you their business card without taking one of yours. A good way to give someone one of your business cards is to ask for one of theirs and make sure your hand extends at the same time with yours.
It would be a very rude person who wouldn't accept your card whilst expecting you to take theirs!
If you want to learn more about branding your business then come and take a look at www.thedesignmechanics.com for more information regarding business cards and other related topics.
By Dave Pannell
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