Imagine how many business cards exchange
hands every day. Now, imagine how many of those cards have some kind of correction on
them; address scratched through, phone number changed.
You wouldn't go into a business meeting with duck tape
holding your sleeve together, and you shouldn't hand out a business card that is corrected
instead of correct.
Business cards are the most underutilized and misunderstood
marketing tool in business. Many people spend the bucks for cards and don't make an effort
to get them into the hands of those who can hire them or buy from them.
Compared to the other forms of marketing and advertising,
the mighty business card hardly makes a bump on the chart. All the more reason for you to
have thousands of miniature billboards out there working for you night and day, not stuck
in a half-full box in a bottom drawer.
If you design your cards as a marketing tool and plan the
distribution, tossing unused cards in the trash should become the exception rather than
the rule. If one item on your card changes, the cards are obsolete and should be pitched.
Don't even think about using a business card with a black
or blue marker blotting out a line of type and a new name, address or phone number written
(or typed) above the black line. Ugh!
Some even cut tiny strips of computer labels printed with
the new phonebook size type and stick them over the outdated information to save a few
bucks. How much are they really saving?
Car dealers are famous for finding ways to save money on
business card expense. With the revolving door turnover of salespeople, many dealers
stopped ordering individual cards for new hires. They print a master card with color
dealer logo and phone numbers and leave a big space in the middle for the new
salesperson's name to be penciled in. That way, when the would-be fast-talking,
glad-handing flannel mouth doesn't work out, no new cards need be printed.
A swell image: handwritten business cards.
Take a look at that stack of business cards you have been
collecting for years and flip through them, you will see at least one with a correction.
Your card says a lot about you. And if it is corrected,
your card is SHOUTING a lot about you.
To learn more about how to make your business card the most
powerful tool in your marketing arsenal, visit http://bigideasgroup.com/html/business_cards.html
©2006 BIG Mike McDaniel, All Rights Reserved http://BIGIdeasGroup.com |
