Business cards and brochures. What do they say about you and your business?
If done correctly they can say a lot. If done poorly they can say a lot also, but not necessarily what you want.
Your business card is your customer’s first impression of you and your business and you want to make it a good one. Your card should state who you are and what you offer. So many businesses go cheap on their cards and it shows. While there are places to get cards printed very economically, they don’t always offer the customization that is truly needed to make you and your business stand out from the crowd.
Don’t be afraid to enlist the services of a PROFESSIONAL graphic designer, they’re not as expensive as you think and well worth the investment. Spending a little more upfront and having your cards and promotional products “branded” can be an added expense initially, but once that has been done you will not incur that cost again unless you wish to change your image. This branding, however, can mean the difference in the customer’s impression of your business versus the guy who uses the ready-made templates offered on the generic website. Nothing is worse than attending an event and EVERYONE has the same card style.
Your cards represent you and the quality of your work. If your cards look sloppy, the customer assumes you don’t care about your work either. That’s not a good thing if you spend hours on a product only to have the customer walk away because of a bad impression.
Be sure your cards are LEGIBLE, avoid frilly fonts that may look pretty but in a smaller format are very difficult to read.
Keep it SIMPLE – state your business name, a BRIEF tag line describing your products/services, your personal name (yes people want to know who you are), address, telephone number, and email address. If you have a website include that information too.
Don’t be afraid to use BOTH SIDES of the card. Yes, it will cost a little more but is well worth getting the information in the hands of the customer.
And don’t forget to create a LOGO. A logo can tell your story faster than words. Look at Coca Cola, Nike and others who have created great logos and are recognized by the consumer just by looking at their logo.
Any brochures or flyers should follow the same format. While with a brochure or flyer you can give the customer more information about what you do and sell, still keep it simple and easy to read.
Make sure every customer that stops by your booth walks away with a card or brochure. They may not purchase today but by putting yourself in their hands, trust me, they will remember you more than the vendor who looks like everyone else and are more likely to contact you because of that initial impression.
