You’ve got business cards, so why bother calling up a design firm to help you with a redesign? You hand them out, and people call in. It’s working. But, is it working as effectively as it could? You constantly tweak your other advertising, don’t you? (hint: you should). If one of your ads converts 10 percent of prospects, but another ad converts 30 percent, which ad would you use?
Obviously, you’d want the higher-converting ad, right? But, you won’t know which ad is the highest-converting one without constant testing. This is what redesigning your business card is like: an ad test.
Update Information
Many businesses go through changes periodically. Maybe you’ve changed your phone system, gotten new numbers, or added numbers to your existing numbers. Maybe you have a new call centre and are using your old telephone number as a fax line now.
Maybe you built a new website, moved into a bigger office, and changed your email. Is any of this reflected on your business card? Don’t make the mistake of waiting for your current card supply to run out before you update the information. Do it when it happens.
Some things to consider: If you’re primarily a web-based business, it’s probably not crucial that you include your physical address. Your website URL is probably sufficient. Also, include your phone number.
If you’re the CEO of the company, consider printing up two types of cards – one with your name on it, and one with the business name only (no individual’s name). This allows you to hand out cards to people personally with your name on it, but also have a stockpile of general cards that can be left in an office at the front desk.
Update the Design
If your business card is 10 years old, it probably shows its age. Design practices that were popular 10 years ago aren’t popular anymore. Also, the market may be used to seeing certain design elements in business cards – old cards will look old fashioned and dated.
Most businesses make the mistake of going cheap on business card printing. They believe that their message is timeless, and they don’t need to update anything. The message might be timeless, but the design isn’t.
Design firms wax and wane on various philosophies. Right now, minimalism is in. But, in 20 years, it might look way too sparse. Remember business cards in the 1990s? What about the 1980s? Both eras conjure up two very different “feels.” You get the impression that cards look very different in both decades – and you’re right. They did look different, very different.
Update the Stock
If you started out using 14lb card stock, because that’s all you could afford at the time, now might be a great time to go with 20lb or, even better, 30lb. The heavier the paper, the higher-quality your card will be.
Ultimately, improving the weight of your card will translate into a more solid feel, better ink uptake on most cardstocks, and more durability of the card itself. Ever received a card that you could easily bend the corners on? Most cards are pretty flimsy. Try doing that to a 30lb card. Not happening.
Hire a Professional Designer
Unless you are a professional designer, hire one. Lots of business owners balk at this, but it’s one of the best investments you’ll make – seriously. Yes, there are pre-designed templates out there. But, these templates are generic. They’re open to everyone. Do you really want your business to look like potentially everyone else’s?
Big, successful, brands are big because they design a strong brand image and logo, trademark it, and then market the heck out it. They don’t use templates. Neither should you.
Author: William Dawson
Source: B2C_Business
Want an Awesome Business Card? It’s Time for an Upgrade
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