There are as many different ideas for business cards as there are for any other type of promotional material you can think of. This should not be the case because business cards are promotional material. They should do more than just tell people how to contact you. They should do no less as well.
Non-conformist business cards can be eye-catching and memorable but they can also be less convenient to keep, scan, and find. I have thousands of business cards from thousands of companies. I would say that 10% don't help me by making it hard to transfer their data. The question becomes one of value. Do I want to spend time typing in this person's information when I can just toss the card in the box and hope to remember that I have it later on? Usually the answer is no. I have too many to keep track of. If you don't want me to contact you again, don't give me a card. In addition, I do not like to install software to see your multimedia presentation. Do not give the recipient reasons to look for someone else.
Your business card is part of the brand statement you make, company or personal.
A well thought-out, organized, and easy to read card may not make a thundering positive statement but you are already ahead of the ones that make a negative one. The company logo should be clear. The tagline should tell why anyone would want your card. The information has to be readable to even begin to do that.
Once you have a card that is readable, you need to have one that fits in standard holders if you want people to retain it. The exception could be when it is so noteworthy that people post it. Now you have a viral effect going. That does not happen so beware of illusions of grandeur. More than likely -it's just a card. You can make CD/DVD cards that go in those nice sleeves and are a one-time use before they are put in a drawer and forgotten. Pairing that with a standard card can accomplish the long-term and short-term goal of such a product. Typically the CD/DVD is a way to get your multimedia message across in your absence. The backing card gets you into the persons contact list.
Maybe you are so famous, or sought after, that you don't to make it easy for others. Maybe you are so creative that you forget that form and function make good design. Perhaps you want to be cute so that you can create a buzz about your card or business. There are some great business card competitions. Perhaps you can win enough in one of those to offset any business lost because the profitable contacts could not find your phone number quickly and easily.
I once had a card that folded over. Inside was a diagram to explain our business (See page 7 of the Introductory chapter on Don't Eat the Steak lens). Our phone number was placed on the bottom edge and the cover portion was shorter than the back so that the number could be seen if the card was open or closed. We heard from many people that they tore the card along the crease and just kept the top. That made it easier to scan and store. We made sure then that all the relevant information was always on the top part.
The message is only a portion of brand marketing. The method, the effectiveness, and the style are as important as the intended message.
I probably make as many mistakes as anyone else. Business cards are often a last minute thought or a quick "this will do" kind of thing that they show the effects of such neglect. We may hand out more cards than we consider and they can hang around for a long, long time.
Quite often business transformation is not about doing some grand thing, a Purple Cow if you will. It begins with doing the basic things correctly. 80% of the existing companies don't get the basics right. If you do, you are already ahead of the game.
I've been wanting to get new cards for ages but can't make up my mind as to how much info should go on it and what design. ARGH.
Posted by: Hsien Lei | June 4, 2007 1:54 AM | Permalink to Comment