Why A Well Presented Business Card Is Better Than Advertising

Advertising is a very costly business and many small businesses find that money spent doesn’t necessarily turn into profitable business growth.nnWhen I first started my first business I had little money to spare so I really had to challenge myself to find the best ways to market my business without parting with lots of cash. I happened to stumble upon business networking and the rest “as they say is history”. I’ve generated thousands of pounds from business networking and all for the small price of sign up fees to a number of group networking events.nnHaving said that, and contrary to many of the get rich quick schemes you see advertised, attending a business networking event doesn’t guarantee you overnight success. You have to work hard at it and there are many business networking techniques that you can apply to increase your hit rate for referral generation.nnDon’t underestimate the value of a well presented business card, let me explain:- nnHave a think about your business cards and what they are designed to do. A business card is the one and only thing that anyone has to remember you by when a networking event is over and inevitably it’ll be one of many so how do you make it stand out?nnYour business card must achieve three essential things:-nn1. It must explain accurately and concisely what your business is about and the service that you after. It should also reflect the image you want to portray.nn2. It must provide all the information needed to get in contact with you after the eventnn3. It must ensure that you are rememberednnLook at your business card. Does it truly do all these three things?nnCritique it carefully to ensure that it includes the minimum essential contact details such as your name, your company name, your address, telephone number and e-mail address.nnDoes it accurately convey your service details? Have you really used those keywords that convey the basic message about what you do? Don’t forget that a business card has two sides, only printing on one side is a waste of valuable advertising space so use both sides. You may want to consider putting a photograph of you on the card – a sure fire way to make it stand out as someone flicks through cards trying to remember who they met. What better way to ensure someone can put a name to a face?nnNow consider how your business card looks. From an image point of view does it accurately reflect the type of business that your are in/ is it eye catching? It’s worth considering using a graphic designer to really make it stand out from the run of the mill business card. nnHaving said that, don’t get carried away with the graphic design. Many business people (especially the really good networkers) will use your card to make notes on so always keep the background colour light. There’s nothing worse that trying to make notes on a black card with a black pen!nnConsider the quality of the card used and the print – does a home produced card really project the image that you want to convey?nnAvoid laminating your cards - as I’ve said good networkers like to make notes in cards and if yours have a shiny surface they may struggle to write those notes that will help them remember you.nnYou don’t have to spend the earth on business cards, there are some great deals on the internet but just because you don’t spend a lot of money doesn’t mean that you can’t make the most of it. It’s as close to free advertising as you can get so just like any advertising space, use it wisely.n