How to Supercharge Your Business Card

Perhaps one thing that most people neglect is their business cards. If you collect other people’s business card (some even have those little albums for them) try to see which ones stand out. The problem with business cards today is that many of them are too lame. Home-made ones are a dead give away with those jagged-edged borders.

Companies should also take a look at the how business make an impact. For one, it one of the leave-behinds that you bank on for recall and further contact with potential clients. Here are some tips on supercharging your business card.

• Sit down with a graphic artist and review the key messages that you want to convey. Corporate branding is very important.
• Check out a good color scheme that stands out in a good way (not like a sore thumb). This can be a challenge since companies can be limited to their own logo and color scheme. But a good artist can get one done for you.
• You might want it to be hip and cool but don’t over-accessorize it too many images. Business cards must spell out “professional”. Believe it or not but the best business card I’ve seen so far is that of the coyote’s character in Looney Tunes that spells out “Wile E. Coyote - Genius.”
• Review the job title. Most companies have made it a point to give out profound-sounding job titles to give their people more credibility. For some reason, authority appeals to people. So if you brand your sales people as “account executives” instead of “salesperson,” your people can command respect not only from other people but it boosts their morale as well.
• Keep the information brief - name, job title, company name, office address, telefax, mobile number, e-mail address.
• Use quality printing on good paper. Getting a professional printer will be the best way to go. Some of my artist friends make DIY cards and use photo paper. The colors stand out and it’s quite durable too.

Believe it or not, I do collect business cards. And when I observe myself when choosing the the first one to call, I always end up calling the best designed one. So business cards are really effective for recall value and to re-establish contact. Well, what goes from there is another story. At least you’ve made a good impression.