Is Your Business Card Stupid?

I am designing some new business cards for myself and I realized that Land Surveyors have some of the worst, most UN-unique business cards I have ever seen. Some look like they are printed on a color printer in their office and cut-up with scissors. They all seem to have a tripod or a north arrow or some kind of compass. BLAH!

Before you fire off and say that business cards are a thing of the past, let me continue. I won’t disagree that business cards are not as critical as they once were in the business world. However, that doesn't mean they are obsolete. Think of them as a mini marketing brochure that you carry around in your pocket. Granted most people will enter your info in their smart phone and toss the card, or maybe they won’t. If your card isn't stupid.

Make your card unique and maybe they might leave it lying on their desk and show other people. One thing for sure, in this competitive market, you need to take advantage of every marketing tool at your disposal. Make your card an odd shape, texture or color. Something to make it different than the other 1000 cards one might encounter in a year.

Don’t go crazy and make it fold out into a little surveyor’s transit or GPS receiver (actually that's a pretty cool idea); Don’t make it larger than a regular business card so that it won’t fit into a wallet or business card holder. Even something as little as making it read vertically instead of horizontally. It doesn't take much to be unique. Business cards are cheap. Putting a little creative thought into it doesn't cost any more.

One other thing, change your card up from time to time. If you have a branded logo, image or color, you can still use those and change your business card every couple years. 

Remember, your business card might be the first impression someone has of you and your business, even if they do throw it away.