Think Business Cards Are Dead? Think Again! -

Lego employees carry adorable mini-figures crafted in their image to pass around to their contacts in place of more traditional business cards. Some landscape gardeners have produced cards on which you can grow your own watercress, divorce lawyers have improvised with counterparts that tear down the middle, and other businesses are also learning how to play their business cards wisely. However, despite being anchored by a history stretching back over 500 years- having its roots in China before being accepted by the European aristocrats in the 17th century to mark their visits- some people now tout the demise of business cards, with younger and tech-savvy employees preferring to exchange Twitter handles or connect on LinkedIn. According to them, business cards are the last vestiges of the former epoch of print and paper.

Those people couldn’t have been more wrong!

Contrary to popular belief, a survey of over 1000 businesses, conducted by the global crowdsourcing marketplace, DesignCrowd, reveals that the dawn of business card is far from waning. In fact, the meek business card is taking on a new lease of life; embracing new technologies, evolving in style and design, and catering to the needs of the wave of entrepreneurs and start-ups flooding the market place. The study revealed that more than 84% people still hand out business cards when they come across new contacts, while those on the receiving end also find it useful, with more than 65% either placing the card in a rolodex or entering the details into their smartphone immediately!

In another survey studying small business owners and main target owners, business cards are considered a ‘very impactful’ element of networking by one-third of SBOs and about one-fourth of Main Target. In fact, small business owners are twice more likely than Main Target owners to credit ‘most of new business’ to networking. SBOs also hand out more business cards at more locations and more frequently than Main Target. These groups were found to be considerably more prone than their ‘less impactful’ counterparts to credit business cards with:

• Critically vital for effective networking
• Exhibiting my personal brand/style
• Helping me get my foot in the door
• Reflecting what I represent and who I am
• Helping garner more work

Business Cards Galore

For those who think print media and social media are poles apart, here’s what some of the Twitterati had to say about business cards recently:

@IndieDevM Try to keep mine simple & classy. Lacks my twitter though :s #indiedevhour #businesscard pic.twitter.com/tfKRXY8IOu

— James Coote (@JamesACoote) September 7, 2016

Each one of my business cards is hand painted!♥☺#_HappyVillage #handpainted #businesscard #design #branding #art pic.twitter.com/DLBIHxVtx6

— Happy Village art (@_HappyVillage) September 7, 2016

Latest project. #Logodesign and #businesscard design for Ease of Elegance #wedding and events#graphicdesign pic.twitter.com/dF4C1DL4Ua

— Denishia (@GrandioseLadii) September 9, 2016

When your #businesscards arrive from @moo & you remember how awesome they look 👍 / artwork by the amazing @skebz pic.twitter.com/Xk5LVdpFrG

— Toms Whisky Reviews (@TomsWhisky) September 7, 2016

@SalesXpert Those are great looking cards, and we’re glad you love them! 🙂

— Vistaprint (@Vistaprint) August 29, 2016

#amen #makeupartist #businesscard #ukmakeupartist #london pic.twitter.com/nHwN7cw78n

— Geminee (@ElementsOfGem) August 28, 2016

Doing it like a professional. #businesscard pic.twitter.com/roZxIa2jn5

— Tim Gruver (@T_TimeForce) August 28, 2016

Got to use my new business cards tonight at a conference!❤️#vintagelibrarycard #printingpress #businesscard #design pic.twitter.com/HOg2RZjZSb

— Laura Gardner (@LibrarianMsG) August 26, 2016

Coop’s Kitchn has officially been enhanced on behalf of the team @ #JustRightGraphics. #JustRightLogo #BusinessCard pic.twitter.com/Lnxj5Y4tRU

— Just Right Graphics (@Just_R_Graphics) August 25, 2016

Your #BusinessCard is one of the most important marketing tools for your business. https://t.co/nGm7yFm4s9 #Bizitalk pic.twitter.com/Z1LtkIurYl

— MRP Nottingham (@MRP_Nottingham) August 22, 2016

Why Business Cards Are Still Relevant?

Here’s why we are still head over heels In love with business cards:

1. Business Cards Help You Reminisce
2. Business Cards Are Roadmap To Success
3. Business Cards Bid Adieu To Downtimes
4. Business Cards Provide Credibility To SMBs
5. Business Cards Are Effective Marketing Tool
6. Business Cards Are A Paper Handshake

1. Business Cards Help You Reminisce

Business cards still matter because our memory has a way of evading us. How many times have you met someone, labored through the conversation in an attempt at sounding imposing, and then promptly forgot their names after the ordeal is over? The same scenario plagues your contacts; they are bound to forget your existence after a brief customary dialogue! According to Mitchell Friedman, Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Career Development at Presidio Graduate School,

“When you meet a person at a business event, get their business card. Perhaps even write a note or two on the reverse side of the card to capture the key points of your conversation while they’re still fresh in your mind. The bottom line here is to have a physical record of contacts you make so you can follow up as appropriate in conjunction with your broader job search/career development efforts.”

2. Business Cards Are Roadmap To Success

Indubitably, a business card is a sure-fire road map to opportunity. It could open you up to a great business partnership, lead to a new job, or help your business become more lucrative. Think up a scenario where you have don your networking pants, and are seeking to help your business grow by expanding your professional network. Suddenly, you see someone who has “potential client” etched on their foreheads. What do you do?

Decorum has it that you introduce yourself and what you do, but after a while, you will need to hand off your contact information if you wish to further your ties. In this regard, a professionally designed business card makes you look proficient, and saves you time. Not only are you saved from giving your contact a sense that this is your first rodeo, you are relieved from fiddling around with a pen to scrawl your e-mail address and number on a cocktail napkin!

Source: Unplash/Kelly Sikkema

First impressions are everything, but more important than keeping up appearances, business cards provide your contacts with tangible information. According to Sarah Brooks, business cards put a face to a business! Handing over your business card to a new acquaintance will keep your business in front of their eyes and at the back of their minds! Though they may not need your services or products today, they may feel a need of them at some time. And when they so, you should guarantee that they pull out your business card and contact you, instead of rambling around on the internet, searching for your company name and listed details.

3. Business Cards Bid Adieu To Downtimes

Your business card is an actual physical object that stays with the potential clients, and keeps you businesses from just another name that floats around in the ether! While having a professional looking business website is a must, having a business card has certain perks! As Shaun Caldwell explains on his LinkedIn blog, business cards are great because they have no downtime. They witnesses no internet outages, never have dead zones, and are always accessible. Your business card can be viewed no matter where the client is located! You can use them at an industry conference in the mid-city hotel, at a remote fishing camp, and even in situations where digital devices have to turned off, such as in hospitals or on planes.

4. Business Cards Provide Credibility To SMBs

Here’s the blatant truth; People only deal with businesses they feel they can trust. Most people are hesitant of chartering in unknown territories. When faced with businesses that don’t carry a long-established reputation or well-known names, they judge a business on its appearance and what people say about it. Having diligently designed business cards with the perfect anatomy is a surefire way to cue people that you are running a real business and they will be prudent to choose you.

5. Business Cards Are Effective Marketing Tool

Paid media, search engine optimization, and email marketing all do a wondrous Job of attracting prospects and leads but they aren’t as effectual as an in-person meeting, cemented with a business card exchange and sealed with a solemn handshake. You can encounter a prospective contact or a potential lead any time- airport lounges, happy hours, industry conferences, and tradeshows- and arming yourself with business cards will guarantee that you never skimp on an opportunity to foster a valuable business connection. Keep a few in your laptop bag, money clip, wallet, or pockets, so the next time you stumble upon a prospective client, you are more than ready.

Source: Tam Cargo

6. Business Cards Are A Paper Handshake

Business cards are easy to give away, portable, and cheap so there is not much reason not to have one. Even with Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn, people expect companies of all sizes and natures to have a business card. It demonstrates that you care and exudes professionalism. You can think of business cards as a customary greeting one ushers to a potential contact. They are a way for you to say that, “I know what I’m doing, I belong here, and you should consider me a factor.” Business cards are akin to a paper handshake that promptly gives your clients everything they need to know in order to contact you and conduct business with you!

What do you find the most challenging aspect of networking? Do you think business cards are indispensable to networking? Do let us know in the comments below.