Knowing how to choose a good business card has always been essential. However, it has become even more critical in the last five years, as technology and new trends have advanced so much that a simple cardboard card is no longer enough for printing and business.
Usually, one of the most important aspects of choosing the right business card is keeping our target group in mind. Once this is identified, the next step would be to select your business card’s colors, paper, and design based on your group target and corporate image.
Now, keep in mind that apart from having the target audience in mind, the colors, the type of paper, and the design, there are other factors such as your geographical area, budget, and marketing strategy that you must consider before making a final decision. In this blog, we will give you a complete guide to choosing the best possible business card for your business.
How to choose the right business card? Including you and your type of clients
So, as I explained at the beginning, the first step would be to ask yourself questions that can help you identify who your target audience is:
- Who is your target audience? Think about their age, gender, things they like, etc.
- What kinds of things do you think they would like to see? Based on the first question, what do you think people in your target audience would like to see when deciding whether to work with you or not? Consider things like: Are they looking for a stable, reputable business, or are they looking for a creative, fast-paced business?
- What kind of colors are they going to most likely to like? I’ll give you more details about choosing the right color later in this post.
- What type of material would they like to have in their hands? That’s also another thing I’ll give more insight about later in this post.
Do not skimp when creating that fictitious client or character in your mind and go far beyond what can be predictable or inclusive real, since what we are looking for is to be unique.
Once you’ve finished illustrating what you think your target audience might like, that’s when we start bringing reality to the table. For example, many of our customers at Japan Print ask us about letterpress business cards using thick paper. And although these business cards will 100% stand above industry standards, the cost to make these cards is considerably higher than the industry average. So based on this, if you think weight on a card would be something your audience would like to see, it may not be the best option for your business if you don’t have a big budget for your business cards.
If you’re looking for a place to print business cards in NYC, feel free to send us an email at info@japanprint.com or call us at 212-406-2905! Our NYC business card experts will be glad to assist you in getting your business card order ready.
Lastly, in this step, save this list of things you think your perfect card should have and make sure to incorporate them as your business grows.
Pro Tip:
Don’t put your customers’ opinions to one side. It’s always a great idea to ask them what they think of your ideas and business card. In this way, you can be sure that your card works as an effective tool that will help you get more customers.
Choosing The Right Color For Your Business Card
Now that we finished the first step let’s move on to the next thing: analyzing the answers to the questions and reaching our ideal client.
To start with, we’ll look at how to choose the right color for your business card. The color is crucial because the first thing your clients will identify is the color, followed by design and content. Hence, if people don’t find the colors of your business cards attractive or professional, they might get a poor first impression of your business or services, even if these two do not have a real connection. This happens because humans, evolutionarily speaking, judge by appearances; we did not always have the correct information about everything in the past, so we had to make decisions based on how things looked. So if your colors are unattractive or don’t catch people’s attention, chances are your customers will assume your services or business has nothing special.
How to choose the right color?
Simple. Check how other companies in your industry use colors, gather some options and pick a color based on your findings. Reading about the companies you selected might help you understand their brand personality and why they chose their colors.
We also recommend that you read books on the psychology of color and how to choose the best colors for your business.
Choosing The Right Design For Your Business Card
Before choosing the paper, it’s crucial to make sure you can print your design in the business cards you envision. In printing, it’s important to note that not all papers can print any design or produce the same finishes, so it is always better to first design and then find a paper that can accommodate your needs.
Considering that people instinctively judge many things by their appearance, your design must catch your customer’s attention. However, you have to keep in mind that the person with whom you are communicating may not be interested in what you are saying, and that is not to mention that suddenly you may not have enough time to explain all your services. For that reason, it is ideal that a professional marketer guides you in the design you choose for your card, not just a graphic designer. A graphic designer will make your card look pretty, but they tend not to know how to develop a good sales strategy. In a nutshell, the market expert is the head, and the graphic designer is the hand. When the two experts work together, they can create an incredible result.
How To Create The Best Design For Your Business Card?
We understand that not all of us have access to a professional marketer and a graphic designer, so we will give you some ways to create some great designs and a basic yet effective sales strategy.
For design, if you aren’t a designer, the best way to get started at it would be to look for inspiration. The Internet is vast, and it has hundreds of places you can use to find awesome business card designs. We’ll give two places to look for business card design inspiration: our business cards template page or business card gallery and dribbble.com. Find something you like and change it to meet your needs.
If you aren’t a marketer and need to create a sales strategy, the best way to approach it would be to focus on a simple objective: make the person you hand your business card to take action. There are many ways to do this if you have any digital presence; for example, if you have a nice portfolio, you can add a message like: check our latest work! And then provide a link to your website or social media. That extra interaction will make people remember you and your business even more.
Choosing The Right Paper For Your Business Card
Paper also plays a significant role when choosing the perfect card for your business. Depending on the type of work you do, some materials will be more suitable than others. For example, if you work in plumbing, there is a good chance that you will have to get wet; this means that if you are not 100% dry, there are chances that when you touch your card, you will damage it. For this reason, a waterproof card would be a better idea for your business. The same happens if you sell houses, there are so many house agents that if your materials are simply the same as everyone else, you will go unnoticed, at least in this aspect.
Based on our experience, we have realized that among our clients who sell houses, those who do better have advertising material that is a little more expensive or premium. Apparently, this aspect helps them show themselves as people with better taste and more knowledge. Which often makes their clients with more purchasing power choose them over others. This makes a lot of sense since, as humans, we are inclined to work with people who are more similar to us or who share the same tastes. So our advice is to invest a little more in yourself and show your best face whenever possible (if the clients you’re looking for would identify themselves with that).
How To Choose The Right Business Card Paper?
To choose the best business card paper for you, it would be ideal if you feel them firsthand. If you’re in New York, you can visit our office at 48 Wall Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10005, and we’ll be glad to show you all your possible paper options. If you aren’t in NY, you can look for reputable local printing companies, visit them and check their paper options.
CONCLUSION
It is vital to note that the first step is the most important of all of them: make sure you identify the target group you want to reach before deciding what’s the best business card. The ideal business card is the one that connects and catches the attention of your ideal clients.
If you still have other questions related to this, you can continue reading our blogs or contact us via email at info@japanprint.com or call us at 212-406-2905! Our NYC business card experts will be glad to assist you in getting your business card order ready.
