By Janice Jenkins
It can take as little as a second to figure out quite a bit about a person once I take a look at their business card.
This is not just about the information you literally put on the card. I am not talking about your name, phone number, business name, or any of those other details you are likely to put on your card, but about how you approach marketing, and even how you might approach running your business.
Unlike other forms of marketing business cards are much closer to you and therefore say more about you. When you go to print business cards what exactly are you trying to say with your card, and what are you hoping that your card is going to say about you?
When someone hands me a very plain business card with few colors and almost nothing beyond the normal details you would expect on a card, I now know that they do not care very much about what their business cards says beyond the basic information. They got their cards made so they could get their information out there and no other reason.
On the reverse side, when someone hands me a business card that is loaded with interesting visuals and has other details I have never seen before in a card I know that when those people decided to print business cards they wanted to make sure that they got a card that best reflected exactly who they are.
When I am handed a color business card with a large picture of the person handing it to me on the card, I know the card and the business are centered more around them as a person, and that this is more of a service driven type of business. When handed a card that shows the image of the company building on it, or barely mentions any specific person, now I know the company does not focus too much on any one employee, and the business itself is what I am supposed to give the most attention to.
Each of these details are going to change the way I work with them, and each of them can be important in shaping what people think of you. What if you have a business card that does not say much about you, but you are in a service industry heavily driven by perception of your skill at the job? Your business card is now doing you a disservice by failing to provide me with enough details.
You have to know what your cards are going to say about you if you want to have any kind of control over the message. If you put little thought to what goes on the card, your final card will reflect this, and people will be able to tell. Is that really the message you want to be sending to people?
About the Author: Janice Jenkins is a writer for a marketing company in Chicago, IL. Mostly into marketing research, Janice started writing articles early 2007 to impart her knowledge to individuals new to the marketing industry.
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