 Business
Card Death Wish - Maximizing the Life in
Your Business Card
By Sharon Neufeld of Been Around the Block Marketing
- July/Aug 06Let me tell you about the time I was winnowing my
business card file (bet I’ve got you fascinated already, eh?). As I tossed
out at least three quarters of that particular stash, it occurred to me that
there were hundreds of other people out there making the same decision about
MY business card. Yikes!
Like all of us, I spent a lot of time making sure that my business card was
elegantly designed, and not only had beautiful typefaces, artwork and colour
but also would stand out without being weird, tasteless or ugly. I had
consulted the visually sophisticated, the successful in business plus the
ordinary folk among my acquaintance (who gave me nothing but raves). But as
I gaze at my fabulous rectangle of text paper, representing to the world not
only the highest of my ideals about my image but also the purest of my
intentions about my business goals -- I began to doubt. Wasn’t my bin piled
with business cards almost as glorious?
The urge to think came over me. (Sorry. It’s something that my family and I
have just had to learn to live with.) I began to wonder about the core
mission of any business card. I looked at my small re-filed stack. I looked
at my waste bin with it’s much larger pile. Stack...pile. Stack...pile. Not
much difference in looks. Stack...pile. Not much difference in purpose.
Stack...pile. Why did some cards get tossed, and others not? Stack...pile.
It hit me: even the most effective business card gets tossed in six weeks
because I’ve forgotten why I ever had it in the first place.
Goodness! They never mentioned THAT in business, accounting, banking,
retail, volunteer, tailoring, renovating, art, massage, counseling schools
or, AHEM, the marketing courses attached to them.
I re-sorted very consciously through the toss pile. It contained some from
incompetents and one from an idiot/ psychopath. As for the rest--I had no
idea who these people or businesses were. I was suddenly ambushed by another
thought process. I had only three reasons to resist a card’s suicidal leaps
toward the recycle bag.
The first way to avoid the business card death wish is to be part of a firm
that I “need” for my business, like my law firm or branch of city hall. If I
must have every contact possible with lawyers or the civic licensing or
permit department, I’m never going to throw away any card with that logo on
it.
Or, as a corollary, offer a service that I “gotta, gotta” have to maintain a
bearable life. Be the great seamstress or the elusive handyman. Again,
either you are or you aren’t.
The second way is to create an aesthetics free but sales effective card. It
will feature your photo (preferably one that actually looks like you), your
company name, a slogan that describes exactly what you do and five different
ways to reach you, all on an almost but not quite blindingly bright
background. When I’m clearing out my card file, I’ll know exactly why I have
your card, so it won’t get tossed unless I can’t imagine ever needing your
service or ever knowing someone who might. And it could sneak onto the save
pile just because I actually remember who you are.
The third and last way has several steps (some of these can be added to the
above, but are absolutely imperative to this one.) When you hand out your
card, write something personal on it that will trigger my memory of you,
such as:
“Met you at Suzi’s--loved your info on geology.” (Or shorten to,
“Suzi’s-talked rocks.”)
“Loved sharing dance talk at the O&G convention” (”O&G meet - dance talk.”)
Adding a memory peg is even more important if you’re at an event with 236 of
your closest new best friends who have gathered for the sole purpose of
“networking”. Or if you’re one among hundreds trading cards at a
professional convention.Or if you’re exchanging cards at a class, protest,
volunteer event or riot that has nothing to do with your business. Really,
now. How many of these people do you expect to remember in a couple of
months after the blur of rubber chicken and rubber bullets has faded?
This means that your card must have room for you to jot a few words without
making the whole thing look like an old laundry list. You could write
something on the back, but it might not get seen before it’s tossed - though
the back is better than nothing. You can also consider personalizing it with
info deliberately left off. For example, your e-mail, hours of operation,
etc.
When you give out a card, ask for one of mine. Make any notes on it that
you’ll need to remind you why you should add it to your data base or share
it with others. If I don’t have one, ask permission to take down my contact
information on the back of one of your own. At the least, within a week,
send me a “Nice tuh meetcha” note. Within a few days of that, send a special
introductory offer.
While you’re with me, ask if it’s okay to send an info package or if I’d be
interested in your newsletter. By the way, have an info letter and a
newsletter, it’s harder for you to be forgotten by me amid periodic
reminders.
It’s always a blow to my ego to look at a pile of business cards and know
that there was a good and happy reason that I picked them up in the first
place--and now I haven’t the slightest clue. But it’s an even bigger blow to
the someone else’s business because they’re losing my business and my
referrals.
Sharon Neufeld of Been Around the Block Marketing has been sharing her
“marketing gene” during 5 years of giving workshops. For FREE Reports, call
403.850.5836 or visit
www.solidgroundenergetics.ca |
