In today’s digital era, almost everybody carries a smartphone and has internet access, leaving many people wondering about the practicality of traditional business cards.
Do we still need them as our offline marketing tool? Are they practical? How do they promote the business in a digital era?
Technology may have transformed business models due to online communication. But written cards still have a more significant impact due to the professional and personalised touch.
Business cards have been around for years. But they will be a part of the future because of their practicality. In addition, professional business cards help build a good first impression as they are a formal way of displaying your business status at business meetings, trade fairs, and conferences.
Let us learn what makes business cards effective today and why they are essential for a business.
What Makes Business Cards Effective?
Business cards are the simplest method of sharing contact details with prospective customers or business professionals. These are versatile and handy. You can carry them everywhere and leave them wherever you will likely find prospective customers.
Once you start carrying business cards as your offline marketing tool, you’d be surprised when you’ll come across numerous opportunities of handing out these cards.
Plus, business cards are easy to carry. When you hand them to people, they often tuck them away in their wallets or pockets. These cards are a memorable takeaway as potential clients carry a physical representation of your business.
They can look into your card to contact you when they need your services. The efficacy of business cards goes beyond generating leads. It also helps market your brand at trade shows, conferences, meetings, etc.
Here are some reasons why business cards are essential business tools.
Marketing Your Brand
Your business card is a physical representation of your company. It doesn’t only convey contact details but also is the first physical exposure of your business to the client.
Since the card carries your name, title, email, website, and office address, the customers can quickly locate you for consultation. They can also look you up on social media or visit your website to learn more about your business.
When customers visit your website, this increases the traffic, which works better for your business. Moreover, the card carries your business logo, which helps build brand identity. If your brand has a catchy logo, it will attract customers.
About 39% of customers don’t deal with businesses with poor-looking cards. As your business card reflects your company, you must only use specialised printing techniques, accurate information, and an eye-catching design to attract potential customers.
Professionalism
Business cards are essential in many industries due to professionalism. You may use digital cards. But suppose you’re attending a business conference and your mobile phone runs out of battery.
In this case, you won’t be able to share your contact details, business information and other links with people, resulting in a loss of potential clients.
If you want to share your contact details more professionally in social settings, it is best to use business cards.
Handing out business cards displays a sense of professionalism even in today’s world because it establishes the impression that you know how to build business connections appropriately.
Moreover, your business card carries your logo, representing that you have put effort into building a brand image. This practice further represents your business professionalism.
Allowing People to Follow-up
When you meet new people and promote your business, you need to give them a chance to follow up. Your business cards are an effortless way to ask people to reach out to your company again.
You will often meet new people and find a chance to promote your business. However, if they do not carry a device, a pen, or a piece of paper, it’s challenging for them to follow up.
Handing out your business card to them is a straightforward way to enable them to contact you later for your services.
Build Trust
As a business has a highly competitive market, you need to gain your customer’s trust. If your customers do not trust your offering, conducting your business dealings is pointless.
Business cards can help build trust between customers and business owners. When you share your business card with a customer, you can hold an interesting conversation and gain your customer’s confidence. Once they believe in your business values, they can use your card for a follow-up.
Direct Marketing Tool
Business cards are a direct marketing tool. Therefore, distributing them in places with potential customers is an effective strategy. However, if you want to share your contact and your phone’s battery dies, you won’t like to rummage through your bag to find paper and a pen.
Business cards are an excellent way of introducing yourself to other professionals. Directly handing a printed business card to another professional helps grab their attention. It also builds a professional impression and convinces them to consult you for your services or a business partnership.
Besides this, business cards are a direct marketing tool because they help create opportunities where you can strike a conversation after handing the card to others.
Business Cards Make You Referable
Good business cards don’t only carry your name and job title but also your skills. There are hundreds of opportunities where you encounter random people and share your business cards.
If they are not interested in your service but know someone who might need you, they can refer you. Thus, the extra detail of personal skills can make you referable because people can pass on your business card to recommend your products and services to others.
Moreover, your cards are the only item that people carry with them after conferences, trade shows, etc. Your business card acts as a physical reminder of your products and services.
Your services won’t matter to the people you meet regularly without your business card. Therefore, handing out your professional business cards to people can make you referable.
Adds a Personalised Touch
When you meet someone new at a business conference, meeting, or anywhere, it isn’t quite fitting to flip out your mobile phone and share your contact details.
If you’re busy looking into your smartphone’s screen, you won’t get another chance to strike up a conversation with a potential customer. Therefore, keeping a handful of cards with you is best to share your contact details instantly.
Since your cards have a brand logo, it represents your business. But remember to add extra details to add a personalised touch to your card.
Moreover, when you share the business and contact details via business cards, you can utilise the time to have a face-to-face conversation. This way, you can personally build business connections.
Differentiates You From Competition
Every customer receives numerous cards from business owners. But you need to stand out from your competitors. So how are you going to do that with the help of a business card?
Creatively designed business cards can immediately grab a client’s attention. If your business card has a more professional look, it will make a significant difference as people like to think of your card as a physical representation of your business values.
A concise and direct business card looks neat and professional. It successfully represents your brand and differentiates you from your competitors.
Many Customers Remember You Because of Your Business Card
A business card is how a customer can contact you. But you’d be surprised to know that it also serves the purpose of your customers remembering you.
For example, you meet someone at a conference and hand them your business card. They tuck it away somewhere in their wallet.
After a few days, they take out your business card. It will remind them of your conversation, and they’d be more eager to consult you for your services.
Since a business card is the only item your prospective clients take with them, it is a clever way for them to remember you and your products and services.
Another smart strategy for business cards is that many people leave the back side of the card blank. Instead, they use it to pen down a personal message to the recipient.
This strategy helps you build a more personal connection with your prospective customers and makes it easier for them to recall you.
Final Words
Business cards are affordable and portable. They are the fastest, simplest, and most straightforward way of sharing your contact details.
Business cards are cost-effective direct marketing tools that help you build connections in public settings. Moreover, they efficiently promote your business, represent your business values, and differentiate you from your competitors.
Besides this, if you mention your website and social media on your cards, it can help increase online traffic to your business sites which in turn helps gain prospective customers.
Then with clever online marketing strategies, you can convert prospective customers for a better business conversion rate! Thus, business cards are essential in every business as various industries and cultures still greatly respect these old-style offline marketing cards!
Ready to select from one of our handpicked business cards? Check our selection of business cards by Occupation or Design here.