How you could use personalised business card printing to secure more sales and contacts
In the world of business, first impressions are vital. This involves what you say, how you dress, how you come across, what your website says and also what you give out. These staples of face-to- face networking are always judged, and can either work for you or against you. Great quality details and materials
instantly show recipients that you are professional and take pride in how your company comes
across, and if you invest that much detail into something as simple then you’re likely to also pay such
attention-to-detail in your services and customer relations as well.
However,
if advertising products look cheap - with thin material, misshapen edges and
blurry print detail – then potential clients may ask themselves why the
owner hasn’t been willing to invest in presenting themselves in the best
possible manner, and may also ask whether they could cut similar
corners when it comes to their products and services. That’s
why the team at FastPrint take producing printed products seriously, and
only offer such low prices and fast print speeds when it’s backed up
with superb quality and customisation options such as die cut business cards which help to make your
networking and business meetings more successful.
Bespoke business card design examples, inspiration and ideas
Whilst out of the box thinking is a key way to get you noticed, it’s important to have the basics in place so they fulfill their primary purpose of helping people to connect with you. Your company name, phone number, e-mail, website address and postal address give prospects a multitude of ways to get in touch to make sure that there is always a method of communication which is suitable for everyone you network with.
It’s also important to include your logo and brand to instantly make them more recognisable and easily associated with you. The use of double sided business cards can offer one side with contact details, and then the reverse side with more information or branding such as a large logo. If you find you are struggling to fit all the information required to only 2 sides, why not try our folded versions they offer more space for extra advertisement and when folded are still the same size as your standard business card!
Where could you use yours?
As business card printers, we’ve seen our clients use them for literally dozens of uses. Many use them during general network meetings where they discuss their products or services with other people and then swap them to connect and potentially conduct deals or sales. Another great use is for appointments, many people use them to arrange meetings and conduct visits, this in turn creates a larger, more professional brand exposure for your company. Read More
Many people also use their cards as a marketing tool by leaving them in key locations where their target audience may be located. For example, someone who operates a dog walking service could leave them in veterinary practices and pet stores. Finally, many people simply keep them for day-to-day use. Sometimes, deals are all about being in the right place at the right time, and if you unexpectedly meet someone you could work with, it’s great to have thick 350gsm – 400gsm high quality business cards on hand to give people an easy way to connect with you. If you’re looking for low cost printing company which still offers great quality, speed and customer service, try FastPrint now by entering your order requirements for an instant online price!
History of Business Card Printing
Traditionally a small printed paper given to someone to convey information about the bearer, the earliest form of this product was for personal calling, first seen in high social circles in 17th Century China. The practice spread to the European aristocracy, especially in France. Early versions were often highly decorated, but as the practice spread, they became simpler, until by the 18th Century they generally only showed a caller’s name and sometimes the name of a gentleman’s club.
When someone called at an upper or middle class house, they would hand the servant who answered the door one and the servant would take it up to the drawing room on a tray to announce the visitor. If the host was out when the visitor called, it would be left so they would be able to return the visit. There was even a polite code involving them – a folded corner meant the owner had come themselves, while a fold down the middle showed a visit to family. A series of letter codes could be written on it to indicate why it had been left, based on polite French phrases, from ‘p.r’ for pour remercier, to say thank you, to ‘p.p’ for pour presenter, a request to be introduced. Sending one upstairs to your host, only to be told they were ‘not in’, was a considerable social slight.
Soon, they began to be used commercially too. An early form of printed business card was for trade, a small printed advert for the services of a company with details of its location. In the days before street numbering and standardised addresses in cities, a card with a map of a shop’s location was a crucial sales tool. They were originally produced on wood presses as early as the 18th Century. Ornate designs and copperplate engraving were often used, with long descriptions of the company, coats of arms and details of appointments to royalty or the nobility.
Later they used a new printing technique, lithography, developed in the 1830s, to produce detailed images in more than one colour, related to the business advertised. Newspaper and magazine printing was still relatively crude, and in black and white only, so these colourful cards were a useful advertising medium, and often used detailed cartoons and paintings. The personal calling and cards of well-known people are valuable collector’s items today – among the most desirable are Walt Disney’s, Andy Warhol’s, and an early one from Apple founder Steve Jobs. Illusionist Harry Houdini had many of them – one of the best known advertises a film he starred in, The Man From Beyond, and is triangular.
The modern version is still going strong, still seen as a essential for networking even in the digital age. In Japan, it has even more ritual significance than in the West, and going to a meeting without one to offer is like forgetting to shake hands. There is an etiquette surrounding how a Japanese card should be handed to the recipient, and how they should be read. Some companies have taken a creative approach to the concept – Lego have issued its executives with look-alike Lego figures instead of cards, printed with names and contact details. One landscape architect has handed them out seeded with ready-to-grow watercress and a yoga company has produced ones that look and feel like yoga mats. But it’s still the simple and effective traditional business card printing that’s doing the job for most of us – and is likely to continue to do so for a long time!
