12 Business Card Laws
Intro
When doing business, your business card serves as an extension of you and your brand. So, naturally you want to make a positive impression on the people you meet—your potential customers. What about you do you want them to remember?
Dr. Lynella Grant is an expert in visual communication and the author of The Business Card Book: What Your Business Card Reveals About You—And How to Fix It. She put together these 12 laws to explain the fundamentals of an effective business card and how to make it best represent you.
Everything from the information on the card to the design and style should reflect the impression you want others to have of your brand. Is it professional? Is it stylish? Or does it make you appear dependable and trustworthy?
The main point: Your business card speaks for you. Make sure you are sending the right message about who you are and what your business is all about.
12 Business card laws
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A business card is the smallest package your business comes in; make it as good as you and your business are.
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A business card is a handshake you leave behind; create an impression they’ll remember each time they see your card.
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A business card is a team project, distilled from your vision, the designer’s skill and the printer’s craft, all arranged to speak in a meaningful way to your customer.
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The life’s work of your business card is to make you memorable and desirable. Both you and the card must work together to create a strong, positive, and consistent impression.
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Use your card to build others’ confidence about you and what you do.
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Developing your card also helps you invent yourself and highlight what is unique about what you provide.
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Your business card is part of a strategy to position yourself in the minds of customers and peers; it is effective when it makes them want to do business with you.
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Effective cards are memorable because they are all too rare; invest the interest to make your card as interesting as you are.
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Your card will become memorable if you involve both the emotions and the senses; give people a reason to care about you.
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A business card can be your most effective marketing tool, but only if you get them into the hands of those who need what you offer.
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There are many messages on a card besides the printed worlds. Eliminate those that undermine your desired image.
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Your card should grow and evolve as the business changes.
The takeaway
Through Dr. Grant’s study of business cards and how they work, we see that effective communication depends on sending the right message. Your business card is a powerful tool in communicating to others why they should trust you and do business with you.
Making a good impression is always important if you want your business to succeed. These 12 laws provide valuable information on how your business card can be a vital part of building a solid reputation for your business.
If you’re wondering what to put on a business card to make sure it sends the right message and gets your prospects’ attention, make sure to check out our ‘5-high performing elements to put on a business card’ article.