Are Your Business Cards Effective ?
By Steven Reddy , Select Marketing Steven @ selectmkt . com
Business Cards have the opportunity to effectively identify you and your business . The information that is provided on business cards varies from card to card . Most folks put little thought into their business cards . Employees of a business may have little or no say as to those Business Cards . The one exception may be the name used , for instance Tom or Tommy , instead of Thomas . Other than that you get what your employer gives you . Small Business Owners employ the majority of American workers . They have the flexibility and opportunity to create very Effective Business Cards . Don ’ t be fooled and design your cards in an odd size . Stick with the American traditional size of 2 ″ x 3.5 ″. When you deviate from this it annoys many people . Odd sizing makes it difficult to handle , file , and keep . Odd sizing is an example of a Non-Effective Business Card .
So what information should my cards provide ? 1 . Business Name – Use the correct name of the Business . Be accurate .
2 . Your Name Used – Don ’ t use Frederick if the name you go by is Fred or Rick or Freddy . 3 . Contact Phone Numbers – Include Office , and Cell if necessary . Use as few as possible . 4 . Occupation – Help folks know exactly what you do for the XYZ Company . 5 . Address – Especially important if you conduct your business at this address . If you don ’ t work out of a specific location it is far less important . Servicing the “ Houston Area ” may be all that is needed .
6 . Products and Services – The back of the card is ideal to showcase your products and services if it is not apparent by your Companies Name and your occupation .
Full Color Business Cards , Pictures , Personal Photograph , Call to Action and your Logo are other items you may wish to consider . Use the least amount of information as possible . Clutter and unnecessary information makes a business card far less effective . Use the back for information as well . The cost is negligent . “ White Space ” makes for easy reading . Don ’ t use tiny font sizes . Hard to read cards are horribly non-effective . Include what information is important only . Remember , business cards are for contact information , and helps market your brand . They should not be used as brochures . Also , stay away from cheap paper . I like a 14pt . or 16pt . paper weight for Business Cards .
10 MOMENTUM / March 2017