Less than 10 percent of the business cards people receive are kept by potential customers. There are many reasons for this. One of them is the perception that the quality of the business card graphic design did not exceed their expectations of the service that would be provided to them.
Anyone can come up with a business card graphic design they personally like. They can print it out on their home printer with materials from the local office supply store. That's the easy part. The hard part is convincing the sales prospect you handed the card to that you are serious and professional with the design you like, but they don't. Some people specialize in building relationships and selling, others in the art of business card graphic design. Know which one you are. If you are not the designer, one of the best options is to look for a business card designer and printer on the Internet. A little known fact is most local printers send out the orders for high quality business cards to a wholesale printer. They are just the middle man, increasing your costs.
There are hundreds of printers on the Internet. Do a search on Google for instance for "realtor business cards" or "unique photo business cards" and you will get a gazillion links. Only a few of them are capable of meeting your expectations if you do not possess specialized skills in business card graphic design. Otherwise, you may be paying cheap, but you're not going to be getting excellent quality for the price you paid. At the end of the day the price you pay for the cards is less important than the lost sales from not having the best cards! Just to make sure that you can find the right business card designer to work with here are some of the best characteristics to look for:
Business Card Branding
The printer must be able to deliver the right kind of message. Your glossy business cards are not only meant to provide contact information. They can be used as the first piece of business branding materials, marketing collateral from your company, that the prospect sees. Business Card Genius is one printer that understands business cards and branding and will work with you to keep it all in sync. They are not the only one. Send me an email and I will give you a few more!
Creative Business Cards
The printer's designers should be creative. Creativity can go a long way, and your chosen business card designer must have a knack for artistry. A professional should be able to include logos, photos, and other graphics your business cards. The more eye catching the business card is, the more it will be kept by your client. You can browse through the printer's portfolio page for impressive samples in different categories like automotive, realty, mortgage, and retail. If they don't care enough to show you their graphic design work, you should consider that before you establish your printing relationship with them.
Good Value For The Price
The printer should be cost effective. Business card printing is not expensive nor is it reasonable to expect to get effectively free business cards to sell a product that costs thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Business card graphic design is expensive. Designers with an eye for the business, the flair and creativity that goes into it, are not THAT common. From a business perspective, it costs more to staff the designer for a job than it does print the product. If you are paying under $100 for 1,000 business cards, you probably did NOT have a designer involved. In other words your cards are based on a template they give to everyone. There is no unique message customized to your business. You won't stand out. Your NOT in the 10% of cards that will be kept. I hope you close the sale on the spot!
The printer should never "save" you a few bucks by using reduced quality materials if your target sales prospect is an affluent buyer. It costs you sales. There are different types of papers that can be utilized by a business card graphic designer, including uncoated and coated stocks and various specialty treatments. The best companies make use of coated stocks for glossier as well as a more professional and impressive appearance. Moreover, their card stock is 16PT, which means they are very thick and will resist being bent out of shape better. They also stand out in the typical stack of 10PT and 12PT business cards. The sides of the business cards may also be coated to further increase the thickness.
If you spend $100 or $200 for a few thousand business cards, the cost of the card is pennies per sale. Invest in the very best business cards. If you are a realtor splitting an 8% commission on a $300,000 sale the marketing collateral costs are very minor. Same thing for other sales people targeted at the affluent buyer market.
Patrick lives and writes on a variety of topics in Connecticut. The principal behind Business Card Genius, an Internet Printer catering to sales professionals focused on affluent target markets, he is deeply involved on a day to day basis with technology and small business operations. He can be reached at pjc@businesscardgenius.com
source: www.ezinearticles.com
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