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The perfect business card design

Written by: Mark Oborn

Article Overview: Do you business cards generate a measurable return on investment for you? NO.. then redesign them!

The perfect business card design

t's strange how sometimes you make a quick comment without really thinking about it, and all of a sudden it turns in to something bigger.

Thought 1:

What are business cards for?

Thought 2:

Can the same thing be achieved in other ways? With modern technology.. oh yes! If someone asks me at a conference nowadays for my details I can instantly email them from my crackberry, ALL the miriad of ways of contacting me are then in my email signature. I could also SMS them my contact details direct from my mobile phone, I could give them my web address where once again the mirad of ways of contacting me are there... and failing all that, when they get home they can simply google my name and find me in 0.44 seconds. No. People still ask for them and like to 'collect' them in their neat little holders.

Thought 4:

Can I still have that little bit of card that looks like a business card, but turn it something that DOES something!

You need to understand your market and target customers, what problems are your customers trying to solve by using your business? Think about your customers now... what problems are they trying to solve?

Now you know the problem, what emotion does that evoke? Fear, worry, stress? Now you have the problems and a related emotion THIS IS what goes on one side of your business cards.

A dentist might put "Do you fear your smile lets you down?"

A marketing consultant might put "Do you worry your marketing is haphazard and pot luck?"

A plumber might put "Do you worry about leaving your home in case a pipe bursts?"

This way your cards instantly talk to the prospect, you instantly create a link in their mind to their problem. Now on the other side you put your name and contact details AND POINT THEM TO YOUR WEBSITE where they can download a free guide you have written that goes someway to solving their problem. Once on your website they will need to fill in their details, you will then email them their free help guide. Tell them to put the reference 'business card' in to the form. Now you can:

Market directly to these people as they have given you permission to by providing their details

AND

Measure the return on investment from your cards.

This is the perfect way of combining offline and online marketing and uses the benefits of each in a unique way.

There is of course a bit of work that need to be done. You need to write your free guide, and it has to be compeling enough to make the prospect want to provide their details. You also need a robust system of collecting the data from your website and a good follow up system to ensure the prospect is followed up and converted to business.

But on balance I have found this style of business card and excellent resource in my marketing armery and for a small entrepreneurial business it serves me very well... and I know it can for you too.

Mark

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Article Tags: address phone, aha, business card, business cards, character message, classic business, contact details, crackberry, email signature, followers, google, little bit, mirad, miriad, mobile phone, modern technology, nbsp



Related Forum Posts
Always Follow Up - I follow up on every single business card I receive with a greeting card in the mail and a overview of what we talked about. On average I'll get about 10-15 business cards if I get to have an intimate 5 minute conversation with the networker about their business and his/her needs. When I network I'm always asking then "How can I help you succeed?" or "If there was someone I could introduce you to can you describe that person?" At the event if they ask me for a card I will usually ask them for their's first and then advise them that I will send them my business card by mail. When I get home I immediately enter them into my online contact management system and send them a greeting card from the System. On the front of this greeting card there is a picture of me holding my business card out-stretched, like I'm handing it to you at a Networking meeting. On the inside right there is a picture of me with a tag line. On the inside left I share with them either someone that can help them or I restate that I am on the lookout for someone they are looking for. I also ask them for their Birthday (Day and Month) so that I can follow up with them on their Birthday's automatically using my campaign system that prints the card, writes my message in my handwriting, automatically stuffs it, attaches a gift card or brownies, applies a real stamp to the envelope and then mailed. All done without any effort on my part. When they receive this it really keeps me top of mind and I know they appreciate it because I usually get calls of "Thanks" (98% of the time). All this for about $1.00/person (more if I'm attaching a gift) - sweet!
Re: No Card - No problem - [quote="jvprosperity":jco2kg3g]Kevin, I don't personally look down on someone who doesn't have a business card. I politely ask them to write down their details on the back of my card and followup with them accordingly to find out how I can help.[/quote:jco2kg3g] Sometimes I even see people handing business cards with crossed off info and hand-written phone numbers on them... or cards that don't even reflect their small business (i.e. a business card from their 9-5 job).
Online payment systems?? - What your business will be charged for processing credit cards will consist of several factors, including: • Your average dollar per ticket • Your overall sales volume per month • The type of credit card - for example rewards cards will cost you more to process than a debit card • How often you submit your batch (the batch consists of all the credit card authorizations made) daily you'll get a better rate than if you wait several days to do so • If you swipe a credit card through a terminal you'll get a better rate than if you manually key in the card information Generally, as a new merchant, you're going to get one of the best "discount" rates - the percentage fee taken out of each sale. I work for one of the largest credit card payment processors in the United States, so if you would like more information, please feel free to contact me.
New member here to help! - Hello everyone! My name is Steven and I am from Texas. I started my own Time Trial racing series called the Chrono-X. (i.e. a competitive race in the automotive industry) Here's a little info about me: Graduated from Mcoy Business School, degree in management with an entrepreneurial focus covering marketing, finance, economics, public relations, and business plan development. Before switching to business I majored in graphics design and 3d animation. I also have had jobs where I was trained in digital portrait retouching, mailer card designs, photo album layout design, and graphical arts. More recently I was trained in next generation graphics design and advertising arts. I also do website design and have a few websites out there of my own. I currently am the VP of Marketing in charge of promotions, collateral material, and public relations at Harris Hill Road. In my last job, I was trained in website traffic generation and promotion. I am currently working on a new type of business plan for the future, one that gets the information across quickly, efficiently, and without pain. I'm working on getting it official by the end of 2010. BLAH BLAH! I know, I'm not trying to make anyone fall asleep but I didn't think you would read the whole thing anyway! So ask me any questions, I'd love to try and help with anything! I also love to photoshop stuff for fun, so if you have anything you want help with let me know!
No Card - No problem - Kevin, I don't personally look down on someone who doesn't have a business card. I politely ask them to write down their details on the back of my card and followup with them accordingly to find out how I can help.


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