Business exchanges, transactions, and partnerships are taking place online more and more often these days. So, if people are sharing all of their business contact info via social media, smartphone, email, or app, do you still need a traditional printed business card?
Absolutely!
There are still several compelling reasons to have a professionally-made business card design ready to share when you’re out and about.
Let’s dive in.
Professionalism
It is true, we have become accustomed to entering new contact info into our smartphones, or sending contact info from device to device. But, what happens when the Wi-Fi or cellular connection is unreliable? Waving your phone around in the air while turning in circles searching for a signal doesn’t exactly project professionalism and the alternative is making awkward small talk while you wait for the slow connection to load your info and make the transfer.
On the flip side, having a supply of pre-made business cards with all of your business contact information printed on the card allows you to smoothly and quickly hand over your contact info like the confident and suave business pro that you are.
Of course, quality matters. Your business card is a physical representation and reminder of your business or brand. Generic templated business card designs aren’t going to project a confident business persona. You want to make sure that you make a great first impression by sharing your contact info on a high-quality business card with a stylish and memorable design.
International Appeal
The business marketplace is broader than ever before. While there are still local mom-and-pop operations, most businesses will have at least some contact with customers or business contacts in other countries. The digital business exchanges that we are comfortable with here in the United States, are not viewed as favorably in some international business markets.
In Hong Kong, business cards are viewed as the proper way to provide your professional contact info to another. Exchanging a well-made business card is expected, and a failure to provide one will hurt your brand and business reputation. Japan takes it a step further. In Japanese business culture, your business and brand reputation may be judged by not just your use of a business card but the quality of your business card design and the material that it is printed on as well.
Free Advertising
A well-thought out business card design can provide a lot of info about your business or brand in one small, and infinitely sharable format. This means that business cards can easily serve as not just a means of sharing your contact info with business contacts, but also a form of free advertising for your business.
Visiting a business that overlaps with your own in some way? There is a good chance that their customers, or clients might find additional value from your service. You can strike up a conversation with the business owner or manager and offer to leave a supply of business cards that they can provide to interested customers. This form of word-of-mouth or referral advertising is generally a win-win for both businesses as customers are appreciative that the original vendor would go the extra mile to provide them with a referral and your business gets the chance to win over a new customer.
Do a bit of market research to determine the local businesses in your area who may have a customer base with an interest in your products or services and start visiting owners and building mutually beneficial business relationships. Many business owners are more than willing to swap a supply of business cards so each entity can expand their referral advertising reach.
How To Get Professional Business Cards
So, what do you do when you need a business card design that will really wow? You could hire an in-house graphic designer or agency to handle your business graphic design needs. However, this option is usually not in the budget for the majority of small business owners, entrepreneurs, or startups.
You could go the DIY route by using a business card design template. This is certainly the most affordable option but it will generally result in a generic business card that won’t stand out in the minds of your customers or business contacts.
Good business card design is tricky. You want your card to be visually appealing, clearly display the necessary information, and present a positive impression of what recipients can expect when they choose to work with your business. Your business card should reflect your careful attention to detail and your commitment to quality. That means you will want a stand-out high-resolution design executed in the correct format, and sized appropriately for your card.
Freelance marketplaces offer a middle-ground between hiring an expensive in-house designer or agency, or attempting to DIY your own business card. That being said, this option can be a bit of a gamble. Freelance marketplaces are generally something of a wild-west environment with a wide range of talent from all over the world. Vetting is extremely limited and it can be difficult to gauge the professionalism and quality of the individual designers on the site. This means you may end up with an amazing designer who produces awesome results, works with you to revise the design until you are totally satisfied, and delivers your final product on time, OR you could end up being ghosted by a designer who takes your payment, delivers a low-quality or generic design, and refuses to perform any revisions.
Waiting weeks for a freelance design that you may not love, breaking the budget to hire an in-house designer, or muddling through your own business card design all sound pretty unappealing. Fortunately, there is another option that will allow you to get your business cards designed by professional artists at an affordable rate without sacrificing quality.
Flocksy’s flat-rate monthly subscription service gives you access to a team of vetted, professional designers able to supply all the high-quality marketing assets you need to promote your brand, including business cards, posters, web design, social media ads, and landing pages. You can also get help with content creation from Flocksy’s expert video editing, illustration, and copywriting teams.
A Flocksy monthly subscription delivers the professional work your business needs for one flat monthly rate. No added fees, no surprises, and no contracts. You can tackle the other important business tasks while Flocksy creatives deliver your graphics, copywriting, video, and more.
The no-contract, all-in-one platform means every creative project is managed from one convenient location. The Flocksy dashboard lets you monitor all of your creative projects at once, and provides you with an easy and organized way to contact individual designers about specific tasks as needed. You’ll also have a project manager who can help you keep things running smoothly.
Getting Your Custom Business Cards At Flocksy
With Flocksy graphic design services, starting a “business card design” project is easy. Just visit our intuitive dashboard, request your card design from our graphic artist team, and you’ll get results in as little as 24 to 48 hours.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you start your Flocksy “business card design” project.
First, go to the main dashboard and click on the “Create new project” button. It’ll open the project request page. Then select the “graphic design project” option to open up the subcategory menu. You’ll want to find “business cards” in the drop-down.
From there, fill in all the necessary information about your business card design project. You’ll want to be sure to explicitly state what you need from the design, including any references the team should use, the necessary info to display, and your brand style guide or the fonts and colors you’d like to see. You should also include information about what types of designs you do and don’t like and the overall style you’re going for, like modern, elegant, flashy, or minimalistic.
Your assigned graphic designer will create a professional business card design that meets all your needs because they’ll get to know your brand’s purpose, style, and personality. Your new business cards will create a lasting impression whenever you hand them out.
Plus, you’ll also be able to work with the same designer over and over again. That way, you’ll always have a consistent design style in all the designs you have Flocksy produce, just like having an in-house designer, without the large price tag.
Allow Flocksy’s team of professional designers to create a business card that impresses prospective clients and encourages recipients to partner with your business. You’ll be able to sit back and relax as your creative team goes to work on your business designs.
Start your business card design project today!