We all know that a business card can help spread the word about you and your business, but can it do better? Most business cards are boring, they have a name, telephone number, email address, a website address and possibly a logo on them, but rarely do you see one that actually contains a call to action. So here are a few ideas that can help you get more business using your business card.
1) Use both sides!
Very often you’ll see business cards with nothing on the back, this is a waste of marketing space.
There are lots of things you can do to increase your marketing/branding efforts using this space, even if you are a corporate giant.
You could, for example, use some teaser text that will get the recipient curious and wanting to learn more about our business and offerings. Or you could add the benefits of your flagship product of or service, followed by a call to action.
2) Link to a mobile friendly website page
With over 40% of Internet searches now being made on mobile devices, it is without doubt, a good idea to have a mobile friendly version of your business website, especially when you are giving out your business card.
For instance, if you are at an event and giving out your business card, some of the recipients may check out your website there and then, on their smartphone.
However, if your website is not mobile friendly, and they go to your normal website, they will most likely have to zoom in and scroll around to get the information they are looking for. Not good.
But if your website has a mobile friendly version, they will be able to easily see your offering and find the information that they seeking, even whilst holding a drink in the other hand!
3) Use QR Codes
Most smart phones have the ability to scan codes, be it bar codes for price comparison or, in the case of websites, QR codes.
QR Codes are a quick and easy way of getting interested people to your mobile optimised website. Simply scanning the code on the right here, using your smartphone, you will be taken to this websites home page, where you can find out more about me and my WordPress Training. Try it and see.
The great thing about this is that they can be used anywhere in your print advertising, be it on an advert in a local paper, on your business card, in brochures, or flyers and within seconds people can find out more about you, your business and your products.
In the example below, I’ve added a call to action along with the QR Code and the destination page is an example of what can be achieved, if I were running a competition, scan it and see.
If you are already reading this n your smartphone, tap on the QR code above. If you don’t have your smartphone handy and are reading this on your laptop or desktop computer, just click on the QR Code to see what happens!
You could also use a QR code to take people to a newsletter sign up form on your website, and build a list for your email marketing campaign, or as in the example above, use it to run competitions or provide discounts, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.
Alternatively, you can use a QR code to link to your LinkedIn or Facebook profiles, the possibilities are almost endless!
4) If you work for a larger company, or have employees
If you work for a larger company or you are the owner of a company that has employees (especially sales people), you could put an address to a profile page on your website that is unique to the person on the business card.
For instance, www.mycompany.co.uk/johnsmith, this gives the person receiving the business card a place to go and find out a bit more about that sales person; don’t forget people do business with people, not companies!
Conclusion
In most cases, business owners are very creative in the way they use their print marketing, but not many are creative in their use of their business cards. Here I’ve provided four simple ideas that you can put to use and they may bring you new business.