A business card is one of the tools for promoting a business. Receiving a business card on the street or in a store is a common practice that potential customers have long been accustomed to. The paper version is destined for the trash bin. After all, there is no point in collecting hundreds of flyers in a wallet or pocket. Business owners understand this but do not stop making business cards. They wait for a miracle, hoping that the customer will throw away the unnecessary card, leaving a more colorful and informative one just in case.
Making Business Cards: An Exclusive Solution for Business
It turns out that the task of an entrepreneur is to prevent the client from throwing business cards into the trash bin. And this can be achieved not by exclusivity in the form of elegant fonts or bright colors. A different approach is needed here. Manufacturers offer VIP business cards made from valuable materials. And they don’t necessarily have to be noble metals. There is a simpler solution.
- Wood;
- Metal;
- Leather;
- Plastic.
Yes, producing such business cards will cost 3-4 times more than paper ones. But the likelihood that a customer will mindlessly throw the card into the trash is minimized. Such solutions have long been practiced in Europe and China. Marketing research shows that 90% of consumers carefully store wooden, metal, and leather business cards in their wallets. Plastic options have a lower retention rate — only 70%. And the paper version is 95% likely to end up in the trash within 5 minutes after receipt. A true businessman who knows how to count his money should be convinced by this statistic.
Metal Business Cards
Relatively inexpensive materials are chosen as the base: stainless steel or brass. Stainless steel is preferable because it allows playing with the color of the base. Silver or gold are classics. But there are solutions with blue, green, or red shades. Text or graphics are laser-engraved onto the metal base. The engraving is no different from that on identification tags. Those in the know — wear and tear from friction and physical damage are minimized to zero.
Wooden Business Cards
The base material is veneer from inexpensive types of wood. This is classic. But many entrepreneurs believe that a business card should attract special attention and prefer exclusive solutions: spruce, linden, pine. The advantage of such a solution is in the smell. The business card is no longer just advertising for a business — it becomes part of the potential client’s everyday life.
– “And find the company’s phone number, dear, for furniture manufacturing”;
– “One moment! Which cabinet smells pleasantly of coniferous forest?”.
Jokes aside, but it works. Once, the French cognac house Martell presented its regular clients with wooden business cards made from oak barrels. The very barrels in which the best cognac in the world was stored for decades. And believe me, clients carefully stored the card and could always find it quickly by its aromatic smell.
Leather Business Cards
The material is expensive and definitely suitable not for any type of business. Leather business cards are often made in the form of keychains for house or car keys. This is called POS material. It is used by wealthy brands targeting affluent customers. These include car manufacturers, pool companies, log house builders, and producers of elite products and alcohol.
Plastic Business Cards
Often, a customer deciding to produce business cards confuses products made from pure polymers with the paper version that has a polyethylene coating. The difference lies in price and hardness. Polymer options are durable and long-lasting, resistant to moisture and physical damage. Plastic business cards are actively used by entrepreneurs aiming to capture the mid-price segment of the market. Household and European computers, entertainment and leisure industries, transportation service companies. By the way, most discount cards are made of plastic. Advertising and discounts combined in one “bottle” — very convenient and economical.
In general, the development vector of business is clear. Investments in advertising should be justified. It is impossible to allow business cards to go from the hands of the client directly into the trash. That’s not how business works. If you want to earn — promote advertising properly. Any savings are a loss of a potential client.
