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Is Your Business Card All That It Can Be?
Written By: Karen Deis, Publisher.
Read this article and enter the contest to win free webinars for one year, through www.LoanOfficerSeminars.com, valued at over $1,500. (See full details at the end of this editorial.)
Question: What's a compact, energy-efficient, low-cost, low-tech, and self-contained, need no license to operate, easily carried, requires no batteries and starts working automatically?
Answer: Your Business Card!
It's one of the first impressions that people have of you - and yes, even people you have NOT MET make judgements about you based on your business card. There are only 2 functions of a business card:
- Get business from the person you gave it to.
- Get your name out to the people that the person you gave it to comes in contact with.
Now, I know what you are saying ot yourself (because it happened to me) - my company won't let me change the look of the business card. They want me to use the standard logo and format that some advertising agency created. They want everything to look consistent. And, they are paying for them anyway. There is a lot to be said about "branding" but it all comes down to this important question. Does your business card get you any business? It if does - that's great. If it doesn't, then you need to take the initiative and create your own.
My solution with the company that I worked for was to have 2 business cards - one that they wanted me to use and one I created myself. I passed out both cards when I had the opportunity to do so. That appeased the company and also let me market myself in a more creative way. Here's a sample of my creative business card...
Outside View......Inside View
Card was folded over to look like money, and included my picture.
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According to Ivan Misner, author of the book entitled, "It's In The Cards", your business cards is an integral part of your marketing plan. In fact, for it's size and it's cost, it's probably the most powerful key to effective marketing. What you truly want to avoid is that your card is so "forgettable" that it gets dropped in a drawer, forgotten, or worse yet, thrown in the trash.
Granted, space is limited, but a great business card should convey the following points:
- Your Name
- Contact Information
- Why People should do business with you
- Give people a taste of your personality
- Persuade the person you are intelligent, creative, resourceful
- Sticks in their memory
- Your qualifications
- Presents the same message when passed on to another person
Stop right here. Take a look at your business card. Does it do all the things mentioned above? Your card, at the very minimum, should instantly "identify who you are", "what you do", and attest to your "credibility". Basically, why they should do busines with you versus your competitor.
Misner suggests 5 different card styles you should consider in creating your unique, memorable marketing piece.
Basic Cards - It's a no-nonsense approach that can appeal to clients and prospects that would not be impressed by fancy designs - or just want the facts (think engineers or accountants). The design is simple, clear and concise. It's printed with black ink and white or cream-colored paper stock.
Picture Cards - Having your face on the card (color picture, drawing or caricature) helps the person remember you the next time they see you. Images can also represent a product or service (a picture of a house or a bucket full of dollars) or a benefit that you provide (picture of a family in front of their home).
The business card illustrates a drawing (or sketch) instead of the usual photograph of someone.
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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This business card features the portrait of a mortgage consulting couple, and their slogan, imposed on this $1,000,000 bill, states, "the LOAN arRANGERS, in Bob and Naoko we Trust".
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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Tactile Cards - These are distinguished not by how they look - but by how they feel! The could be non-standard materials such as magnets, wood, metal, plastic unusual shapes or edges. My business card (sample above) looks like a $100 bill (because that's what mortgage lenders do - give away money). A Realtor's business card may be shaped like a house. A builder's card - like a hammer or saw. The illustration below is that of a wood business card.
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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Multipurpose Cards - In addition to the necessary information listed above, it could serve as a discount coupon, an appointment reminder, a map to your office, a list of your referral partners, or a couple of testimonials from happy clients. Usually the back of the card can be used and it doesn't cost a whole lot more in printing expense. You have already paid for the paper so why not use every inch of space.
This multipurpose business card has a map to their location,
on the back of it.
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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This business card has a great area for you to include your
referral partners, and offer potential discounts to attract
business for all parties involved.
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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Outside-the-box-cards - Of course, money is the limiting factor here, but wild, creative cards really get people talking about you. A business card made out of chocolate or candy; enclosed in glass or plastic; something attached to your card - like a key chain; talking business cards; pop-up business cards; puzzle piece business cards; fold-outs with further information; CD business cards and Lenticular cards.
This puzzle-piece business card is actually a magnet, and once you put the pieces together, you can read the greeting, and contact information.
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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Fold out business cards make an impact because they can graphically show what people can get from you, and the vivid colors are attention getting.
(Taken from Ivan R. Misner's book, "It's in the Cards!")
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The links to the websites are in no way endorsements of any of the products, but ideas for you to view and create your own, unique business cards.
Contest: Most Creative Business Card
Enter Now!
To enter, you can either scan and email your business card to Karen@MortgageSpeakersBureau.com, or send in the mail to:
Loan Officer Magazine Contest
C/O Karen Deis
327 Soo Line Road
Hudson, WI 54016
By submitting your entry, you are giving us permission to reprint in LoanOfficerMagazine.com. Entries must be received by January 15, 2005, and the winner will be announced in the January 20, 2005 issue. Winner will receive 12 free online seminars thru www.LoanOfficerSeminars.com with a value of $1,548 if you were to pay for them separately. (The winner is chosen on the sole judgement of the editorial staff.)
Here's the bottom line - Your business card should:
- Define your Identity
- Be memorable, eye-catching and entertaining
- It should "sell" you when you are not around
- Distinguish you from your competitors
- Encourage people to seek you out
Don't ever walk into a room and say you "forgot your business card".
Karen Deis, Publisher
Copyright, 2004, LoanOfficerMagazine.com
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