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Essential Components of a Successful Business Card

The Japanese Business Card and its Importance in Work Culture

If you think that in the Digital Age your company doesn’t need any business cards to thrive, think again. Business cards are essential for establishing your brand image and attracting new customers. They are universal tools that provide your prospects with an opportunity to quickly find your company and avail themselves of its services.

While paperless communication is gaining more ground, business cards remain indispensable for exchanging business data and contact information wirelessly. Make no mistake, business cards are not going anywhere anytime soon. So, you definitely want to ensure your business card is up to par. How can you do that? Follow five simple rules outlined in today’s post.

A Few Words About Business Cards…

A business card is essentially a small card printed with one’s name and contact information and is often the first place your prospective customers will look when searching for ways to contact you or your business.

A standard business card is about 3.5×2 inches in size. Despite its small size, you can still get your message across without packing the card with superfluous information. Not only should your card be visually effective but also encourage your recipients to take action. So, as a business owner you want your card to reflect your brand identity and overall business philosophy. For this, you want to use the right colors, fonts, and calligraphy, at the same time keeping your text simple and straightforward. A well-designed card will mean the difference between someone picking up the phone or throwing your card in the trash. Therefore, you need to invest enough time and creative effort into designing your business card.

Let’s take a look at the five things every business card should have.

Your brand should be easily recognized at a quick glance. Since the logo is a visual representation of your business name, it’s the quickest name for a person to identify what business your card represents. On average, your logo should take between one quarter and one third of your business card space. This makes the logo the most prominent element of your business card.

#2 Your Name

When you get a business card from someone, it’s expected that you include your name on it. It lets the recipient of your card know who to contact when they want to reach out to your company. And just in case they forget your name, because let’s face it that happens, your business card can refresh their memory.

#3 Contact Method

What to put on a business card? Here are some tips

Now that the person possessing your card knows who to contact in case they require your product or services, the next thing you need to ensure is to provide your potential clients with contact options. Your contact methods should be legible. It can be your phone number, email address, or social media. We recommend including several methods because different people have different contact preferences. So, you want to let the recipient of your card decide which works best for them.

When it comes to phone numbers, it is also best to include only one number but no more than two. Your customers will definitely want to know the best way to get in touch with you. And sifting through different phone numbers can really discourage them from cooperating with you. If you list only one number, make sure it allows for voice messages. This way your customers can easily reach you and if they don’t get a hold of you right away, they’ll be able to leave a message.

#4 Website Address

These days, it’s expected that your business has its own website, which should be an extension of your business card. It will offer your card recipient a way to find more detailed information about your brand online. It’s pretty well known that all websites start with http://. So there’s no need to include this in your text. Such unnecessary information will only take up space and add clutter.

#5 Physical Address

Whether to add your physical address depends on the nature of your business. If you operate virtually without a brick-and-mortar location your customers can visit, such as an independent contractor, yard maintenance service, or ecommerce shop, don’t bother to list your physical address. However, if you do operate out of a physical location frequented by your customers, such as a restaurant, beauty salon, or a tailor shop, you should definitely include this information in your business card.

Other Info

There may be some additional items you will want to put on your card. The back of your card can be a great place for extra info such as appointment slots or important social media links. If this information can be found elsewhere including your business website, just leave it off. You want to maintain a clean look of your card that will include only vital details. Remember, legibility is key here.

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