I just returned from the Women in Sustainable Ag Conference (WISA), followed by a glorious vacation. Now that I’m back, I’m cultivating relationships with all the wonderful people I met. The business cards I acquired make this an easy task.
Which leads me to ask, what do you think of business cards? Do you still use them?
In the Be a Better Self-Promoter workshop I presented, I specifically mentioned the importance of business cards. I greeted the attendees at the door with my card and asked them to leave theirs behind after the workshop. Even though some believe business cards are dead, here’s why I see lots of life in these small, printed exchanges of information.
1. Personal Touch
Yes, technology is all around us but there’s something truly personal about giving and receiving business cards. The tactile-ness of a card says you care enough to go the extra mile and give something of yourself. When you receive a business card and take a moment’s pause to look at it—perhaps even comment on it—it says you care about the person doing the giving.
2. Tangible Expression of Your Business
When designed well and according to your brand, a business card speaks loudly of who you are. I had my cards printed on a heavier grade of linen stock and I love how it feels in my hand. A quality card reflects a quality business.
3. Physical Reminder of Who You Are
One of my attendees approached me afterward with a question on web design. She gave me her card and wrote her question on the back so I could respond later with more information. There’s no way I would have remembered otherwise.
4. Quick Exchange of Information
When attending events, conferences or meetings, there’s no quicker way to exchange information than business cards. Yes, you could get their email and type it into your phone, but that’s certainly not as fast. Plus you have to look away from the person to do so. How rude.
5. Opportunities for Repeated Connection
The more ways we can connect with people, the better relationships we can build with them. The physical act of exchanging business cards is a wonderful debut to digital followups in the future. Those followups then become a permanent way of managing contacts. Unless they’re exceptionally creative (I am a graphic designer, after all), I don’t keep my contact’s business cards. Instead, I make a digital input and have all the information I need right at my fingertips.
Need new business cards? I’d love to help you with a great design and advice on cost-effective printing. Drop me a line!