Your Business CardExecutive Pacifier or Marketing Tool?

 by: Al Hanzal

Do you remember when you started your business or you got a new job? The excitement you felt when you the business cards arrived to match your new business or new position? The cards became your rite of passage.

Now you realize business cards are part of every business boiler plate, one of the many adult pacifiers we all have.

This article show you how to use marketing principles to re-do your business cards. You can turn your cards into a powerful marketing tool. If you want to avoid the dreaded “They dropped my card in the bottom of their drawer syndrome”, use the following marketing principles to redo your business cards into an effective marketing tool.

• getting the attention of your prospects

• showing them benefits

• making it easy to contact you

• giving them a specific call to action

• testing your ideas

Getting your prospects attention

You need to grab the attention of your prospects. Your business cards can accomplish in a number of ways.

1. Color gets attention. Your photo gets attention. Experts still undecided on whether the added expense of color and photo’s increase prospect attention or retention.

2. You can get your prospects attention by using different forms of business cards. Today, you can print your name on anything. Pens, mouse pads, jackets, letter openers, coasters, calendars, CD versions of your business card, musical business cards are only a few of the possibilities. You limited your options only by your imagination.

With these attention getting methods, ask yourself this question, “Do I want to be cute? Or do I want to be effective?” If you want to be known as cute, then pick out something cutie and make that your novelty business card.

If you want to be effective, pick out something that is different but meaningful to your business. For example, a person in the furniture business has their information on a piece of wood for their business card. It relates directly to their business rather than just being cute.

3. The heart of getting the attention of your prospect must be your heading or tag line. No matter what form of business card or what color, your heading or tag line should command your central focus.

Show me the benefits!

The heart of marketing is letting the customer know what benefits they will receive from using your business. It’s not your company logo. It’s not your company’s business name that is most important to them. It’s what they will receive.

Make sure your business card in one sentence, in one phrase tells the reader the biggest benefit they will receive from your business. This is your chance. If you don’t catch their attention with the headline, you card will probably go into the drawer with all the other cards. Give them a powerful one line reason to stop, to read and to keep your card.

Make is easy to contact you

Imagine, receiving a business card without the person’s name on it. At a recent networking meeting that happened to me. I actually became embarrassed to call the company because I couldn’t remember the person’s name.

Make it easy for recipient to contact you. If you prefer email than focus on your email. If cell phone, then cell phone. Have all of the appropriate information on the card. If you are store front business, they will need your address. Rather than putting tons of information on your card, ask yourself, “How do I want these people to contact me?” And then make it very easy for them to do this on your card.

Call to action

What do you want them to do? Effective marketing always tell the prospect exactly want they want them to do. “Pick up the phone” “Go to my website.” Tell people on your business card what you want them to do.

Testing

Experiment with different messages and formats. Today, you can go online (Vistaprint.com) to choose from standards design cards. You can get 250 cards for $10.00. Use this as testing models until you find the right combination that works for you. Once you find something that works, text, layout and style, you can explore more expensive and better looking options.

Using your business card in a marketing process

Here are just a few creative ways you can use your redesigned card to make your marketing more effective.

1. Have some fun, especially if your cards are the low cost items. Send them out with every piece of mail, including your bill payments and other correspondence. You will stop people in their tract.

2. Give two cards at once with the simple explanation. “I’m giving you a couple of cards. You may know someone who can use (share with them your benefit).” Now you have the recipient thinking about making an extra step.

3. Print a special offering or a coupon on the back of your business card. It gives the person it another reason to keep your card visible. This is what you want.

4. Enclose your business card as part of the thank you notes you send. You can print thank you cards, with appropriate business information on them. The inside can be blank for your personalized thank you and also include a place for your business card. Now you are combining two marketing strategies, the thank you process and the business card.

Conclusion

You have a way of turning your executive pacifier into an effective marketing tool. This is not a high expense item. It also makes your business card more consistent with other forms of marketing, giving you greater marketing power.

If you want more detail information about how to actually craft your next business card, click here for a free report “My Business Card” and I will send you an article which walks you through the business card making process.

Copyright Al Hanzal, 2004. All Rights Reserved

Hanzal Enterprises, Inc.

4191 Granite Court

Eagan, Minnesota 55123

651-485-3340