How is Your Business Card Search Engine Working?

This article by Donna Dahl first appeared in the Marketing Section of the 2005 September/October Issue of Rising Women Magazine.  The business card continues to be an important print communications tool in the world of small business.  As an attention grabber it becomes a successful search engine for the entrepreneur.  This article focuses on the enormous capacity for marketing your business within an internationally standard, confined space. 

Business Cards: 
Your Ticket to the World of Doing Business

By Donna Dahl

Ever think of your business card as a ticket?  If you have ever deposited your business card into a draw box, you have used your business card as a ticket. 

It could be your ticket to win a free lunch or launch a new success. It could be your ticket to enter into a delightful discussion post-handshake and introductions.  It could be your ticket to referrals that could help you grow your small business enterprise.

The Biggest Littlest Marketing Tool
Business cards have a multitude of purposes.  Here is a list of some of the purposes I have discovered for business cards:

1. As a way to stand out in the crowd!
2. As a means to exchange contact information without grappling for a pen
3. As a tool for building a data base
4. As a way to identify you in connection with, yet separately from, a large corporation
5. As a call to action
6. As an invitation
7. As a coupon
8. As a fridge magnet
9. As a sign or miniature billboard
10. As a map
11. As a listing in the recipient’s directory of references when giving referrals
12. As an identification device such as a calling card
13. As a sort-of letter of introduction …as support for a referral
14. As a catalogue
15. As an order form
16. As a means to record an appointment
17. As an advertisement

The business card has become the most widely used tool of identification among people who are serious about doing business.  It says, “I have arrived.” …entrepreneurially speaking, and here I am.  Ta Da …here is my card.  People notice a lot when you hand them your card.  The strength and clarity of your business image is measured through everything from the font size, colour and type to the organization of the content and the quality of the paper. 

 A business card can convey huge volumes of information in a small 2x3 inch space.  The standard size of the card allows it be stored conveniently. There are those who even collect business cards the way some collect postage stamps or baseball cards.  Would your card blend into the mix or would it capture attention?  Which way serves you better: blending or captivating?

Memorability

What strategies are you using to convey your uniqueness?  Some opt for a business card with an aluminum-like mirror finish.  Others opt for a distinct logo woven into the fabric of the text.  Some incorporate a landscape photograph or a special transparent “cardstock.”  A traditional format using raised lettering may help a card that communicates conventionality to stand out.

When artistic interpretation and function are combined in just the right mix for you, your business card becomes one of your most valuable business assets.  It is then capable of simultaneously being your smallest messenger service and your largest search engine for recruiting new business.

What does your ticket say?  Is it an invitation?  Does it communicate boldly or timidly? Can it be read without reading glasses?  Have you included a tag line that helps the customer associate your business name with what it is you do?

Some design their own business cards while others hire professional services.   A graphic design artist is trained in incorporating your message into a visual impression.  If your business card is your signature for conducting business, your investment in the development of your “corporate” brand, may be just the boost you need to take your business to another level.

Is your “ticket” also your ad?

How many calls are made each and every day asking the advertiser to simply purchase an ad using their business card as the content for the ad?  This is an easy way to fill up a page dedicated to advertising …no need to get the on-staff designer to create an ad when the business card will do.  If this is your preferred method of advertising, perhaps there is a need for at least two designs of your card.  Would your advertising dollar work better for you to reprint your usual business card or to create a new card that contains your call to action?

I learn so much from the people with whom I share my card.  Whenever I ask for feedback about my card, I discover new things about what I am saying with my card.  This information will help me edit my business card for marketing purposes when I order my next set. 

Did you know that people who do business in more than one language will often have two cards or will print the card on both sides with each side being in a different language?  Apparently, it used to be common practice to employ the service of two cards: one for business and one for social reasons. 

How many different ways do you use a business card?  Does one business card say it all?  Are there some additional ways you might utilize a business card if you used two or more cards?  Examine your own card.  What changes will you make the next time you have cards printed?

Your Turn

So what does your ticket say?  The message you want to be sending may not be the message that is being received.  The following experiment may be helpful to you.
Ask ten people today what they notice when they first see your business card.  What words pop out?  What else do they see?  What is it about your business card that stands out for them?  What message are they receiving?
Risky to ask?  You bet.  It takes courage to change…to grow…to improve...yet, this is a very easy way to learn what it is you are really marketing.  Every time you extend your hand with a card you are taking the opportunity to deliver your artistic identification combined with your business message.  This is, after all, your ticket to the world of business.  Here’s to your success! 

Donna Dahl is an author, speaker, trainer and entrepreneur.  She may be reached here.