The history of business cards goes long back to the times when the Chinese used cards to tell people of their intended visit, and merchants from Europe used it to advertise their goods. Even today, though many aspects of a business have gone digital, the business card is here to stay and will remain popular in 2020. Read on to know why.
Business Cards Look Professional
When you meet a prospect for the first time, it is always considered professional to give them your business card because:
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- If you share your contact info verbally, it is most likely to be forgotten
- Writing contact details on a napkin, or on a sticky note, looks clumsy and unprofessional
- People may not be able save all of your details on their phone correctly (email, office address, website, cell)
- A business card is an extension of your brand’s image. So, a high quality card will create a great first impression about you.
A good business card makes you look professional, and ensures you leave a physical record of your contact info with your prospects.
You Can Easily Save or Export Contacts by Scanning Cards
Business card data can easily be converted to digital format by scanning the business card. If you use a business card scanner app like ScanBizCards, you can do it swiftly and accurately. So during meetings or events, when a prospect hands over their card to you, you can easily scan their contact information and save it on your phone’s address book, or export to a .CSV file or to a CRM system.
Exchanging Business Cards Does Not Need Internet Connectivity
Imagine a scenario where you are at a convention and internet connectivity is lost or your phone runs out of battery. In fact, often, there’s little mobile internet connectivity at events. So how, then, do you share contact information? While writing contact info down on a paper form is an option, it comes across as clumsy, and there might be errors of interpretation due to noise, crowd, time rush or bad handwriting. Hence, business cards are super useful because you don’t have to depend on technology and contact information can be easily exchanged physically.
Exchange of Information is Quick
If you’re at an event, you will have hundreds if not thousands of people coming to your booth. All these prospects will also have visited many other booths. Time is of essence in such scenarios, and so if people have their business cards with them, the exchange of information is quick. In fact, if your prospect is in a hurry and has no time to chat, you can always request them to leave their card with you and you would have still captured a potential lead for follow-up without even having a full conversation. All you need to do thereafter is use a business card reader app like ScanBizCards, to safely store the leads to your database of contacts.
Business Cards Help in Brand Recall
Business cards reflect your brand’s identity. Hence, design your card such that it reflects your brand’s value proposition and also highlights the logo of your organization. When you have a card that is unique:
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- Your prospects will remember your brand positively
- If your business card stands out from the rest, they might even pass it on to others in his network, thus generating more referral leads for you
Take time and give thought to the fonts, colors, and design that you use. Some of the trends that will dominate business cards in 2020 are:
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- Heavy cardstock, as it makes cards look premium and hence, build a strong brand image
- Minimalisric with only the most important information, as congested cards confuse customers
- Unique designs that stand out from other cards. For example, if you operate in the hospitality industry, premium colors, typeface and paper would make you stand out
- Textured cards as this lends an element of style
- Puns or quotes, if you’re in the social media entertainment space, can make your card eye-catchy and the audience thus remembers your better
- Larger typeface, as it draws immediate attention
Business Cards Help Overcome the Language Barrier
There will be times when you meet someone who does not speak your language and you are unable to understand their language. In such cases, a business card would at least help you to exchange contacts without a language barrier. This is where a business card scanner app comes to use. For example, like ScanBizCards, the best business card scanner app for this purpose, can scan cards in 22 different languages other than English.
Handy and Perfect to Store
If you write your contact details at the back of your collateral, like pamphlets and brochures, it will get difficult for the prospect to store it and your contact might get lost or discarded. On the other hand, a business card easily fits into a wallet or a pocket. Hence, if you hand over your business card, it’s less likely to get lost. This means there is a greater probability that our prospect will get in touch with you in the future.
If you want to ensure you don’t lose your business card leads – which isn’t uncommon – use a business card scanner app like ScanBizCards.
Business Cards Are An Inexpensive Branding Strategy
Consider making your business card a part of your branding strategy. This is because your business card not only has your contact information, it also carries your company’s logo and brand image. Hence, giving your business card to people helps to build your brand’s image and helps them to remember you. As printing business cards is not as expensive as organizing an event or advertising online or offline, it will be easy on your budget as well.
Business Cards Are Here To Stay
Networking and building your professional relationships is key to the growth of your business. When it comes to doing this, technology plays a big role in augmenting your efforts, but traditional tools like business cards are here to stay and will continue to be popular in 2020 and beyond. After all, they are convenient to use, make you look professional, and build on your brand’s image at little cost.