How can you create an ideal business card to market your company?

In a competitive business world, first impressions are crucial. Business cards are generally the first impression any potential business partner or customer has about your company: it tells anyone who may be interested what your company stands for and what it does. It goes without saying then that if you’re contemplating whether or not to create a business card or thinking about updating your existing one, you should spend some time thinking about the design and layout before committing your idea to print.

What’s the best way to ensure you create the perfect card?

• Carefully consider what you want the business card to say about you or your company and keep the message appropriate. If your company specialises in the use of eco-friendly materials, use recycled card. You might also want to think about the shape of the card – it doesn’t always have to be oblong you know. Consider using shapes that might match your company’s profile or products: if your company manufactures nuts and washers, why not make the card hexagonal? It’s slightly more complex to do, but it will make it memorable.
• Make sure you have a clear understanding of the purpose of your business and its hopes and how it would like to be perceived by its target market. That might sound so obvious as to be almost ridiculous, but, if your thinking is muddled on this one, imagine how your potential customers might feel.
• Decide on which font type you’d like to use. You don’t have to stick to the ordinary or conventional. The internet is crammed full of interesting fonts that might just be appropriate for your business and a careful and inventive choice might just give you a competitive edge.
• Always include your company name, email address, phone number (if appropriate) and company logo. If the contact details aren’t immediately identifiable, you might miss out on potential business and be wasting your money producing your card.
• Visualise how your card will look before you commit to print. Make sure that any text you include on the card doesn’t overlap or interfere with any images you might also want to include. Bear in mind that the space is limited, so the placing of all relevant information is critical. The use of shading, italics and underlining can also create problems, so there may have to be a trade off between creativity and practicality.
• Request samples before you finally go to print. Make sure the quality of the paper and materials meets with your expectations. Don’t be afraid to shop around either and compare your sample to those offered by the competitors.
• Send your finalised design off to your chosen printer. Most printers will accept your design by email to upload to their website. Turnaround is generally very quick, so you could have the cards back in a day or two.