Through the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), I discovered this video from CBS, obviously produced before the devastating Japanese earthquake. The video suggests that time, effort and care in business card production could make a difference in your marketing effectiveness, though maybe the earthquake puts this issue into true perspective. Are great business cards really that important?
I?m not sure. Certainly, a ?stand out? business card can have an impact, but there is plenty of evidence from those in the business development/selling space that the biggest issue is not the cards you give, but the ones you receive. The outbound card is either trash or a minor aspect of your relationship-development process. The inbound, or received, card, is, well, a potentially useful lead ? especially if the card is given to you by someone of influence or authority.
You can clearly plan innovations like creative printing, tokens, digital cards and the like and these tiny pieces of print media might help draw attention to your business. They also can be your most effective and inexpensive advertising media.
Certainly, you should have some properly designed and produced business cards. However, I think for most contractors, the truly inexpensive cards from places such as Vistaprint are suitable. (We earn a small commission for Vistaprint orders through this link.)
