A picture is worth a thousand words. Who would you hire to landscape your beautiful new home? Bob's Landscaping Company that has a black & white card or Bill's Landscaping Company that has the picture of a nice landscaped garden that he created? A custom designed full color business card can help you beat the competition.
There is a lot to the psychology of color, color affects shopping habits. Impulse-shoppers respond to red-orange, black, and royal blue. Shoppers who plan to stick to budgets respond to pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastels. Bolder brighter colors appeal to those with lower incomes. Higher incomes ore attracted by more subtle colors. These tips must be used when designing your full color business card.
Your business card must have a Unique Selling Proposition. Simply stated a Unique Selling Proposition differentiates you from your competition. If you don't have something different to offer, you better find something or save yourself a lot of aggravation and go work for your competition. It tells your prospects why they should do business with you versus the other guys. No, scratch that; it SCREAMS at your prospects why they MUST do business with you. Don't make it hard for someone to conduct business with you.
Use the back of your business card. If your paying a penny a square inch for the front and the back is only going to cost you 2/10 of a cent per square inch, isn't that a good investment? The back of your business card can be used in several ways. Entice your prospects to visit your business by placing an offer on the back. For example if you own a restaurant offer a free desert or appetizer. If you own an auto repair shop offer a free oil change. Be creative and stick out from your competition.
Print a memory hook on the back of your card. I know a distributor of air purification systems that prints “We Have A Solution To Your Pollution” on the back of his card. The phrase just begs you to ask him to explain it. A memory hook is a catchy phrase that will create enough interest that a person will ask questions. A memory hook also helps your prospect remember you.
Always hand your card to someone upside down. This will cause the person to turn the card over and read it, especially if you give them a reason such as a memory hook. How many times have you handed someone your business card and it barely gets a glance?
Your business card can double as a punch card. The restaurant can offer a free meal after purchasing ten meals or maybe movie tickets. Ask your local theater manager about some joint marketing efforts. The auto repair shop can offer a free oil change after purchasing ten or a free car wash. Again, a joint marketing possibility.
You are already paying for business cards, don't waste them and get the most bang for your marketing buck.
Design A Business Card
Business cards are the most popular marketing tool for any business, big or small. But their familiarity can oftentimes result to it being overlooked or under-utilized when advertising strategies are implemented.
Here are some ways on making some “make-overs”:
Use your mind to “pinch” the existing card. Add a sticker, write your name or a discount offer on the back, emphasize your guarantee, use fancy scissors to dress up the edges, or put a hole in the card.
Anything you can do to personalize your business card will increase its chances of being kept and remembered.
Wrap up your card imaginatively. Use removable adhesive to stick it inside a classy note card or deliver your business card with style in an attractively wrapped box for immediate impact.
With the business card presentations, apply some memorable actions. Handing your business card to someone with both hands, for example, is a simple way to add psychological importance to the card. Learning a magic trick using business cards or using an unusual business card case are also effective tactics.
Also try to consider:
Adding more color to your cards. The vast majority of cards are printed in black ink on white card stock. Use colored card stock and your card is immediately more noticeable than 90% of your competitor's cards.
Printing more than one card. Many entrepreneurs accomplish more than one role, own more than one business, or use business cards in different situations. It is not a good idea to try and put all information into a single card.
Use your business card not only as a marketing tool but as a means of conveying contact information. Design a business card that explains what you do and why someone should hire you to do it.
For many people, an address is not anymore an essential information on a business card. The space for that one could be best utilized by putting on your benefits, store hours and other guarantee.
You do not have to wait for someone to tell you to go and change your cards. No other better time than today to have a look at your business cards and plan the changes you can do with them to better improve your changes of being recognized.
You just might be missing out on the bigger things business cards can do for your business.
Both Mark Hannah & Florie Lyn Masarate are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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