You’ve probably heard the phrase “Don’t Judge a Book by it’s cover” many times.  And while the expression reminds us to look beyond mere physical appearances when judging the character of a person. And while that might hold true when talking about people, it’s definitely not true when it comes to business cards.  When it comes to business people WILL tend to judge you based on the quality and design of the business cards you hand out.  According to a recent study, 72% of people say they will judge a person or a business based on their business card.  And equally important, 39% said they wouldn’t do business with that person or business if they had a cheap or poor-quality business card!  This tells you a lot about how important business cards are in helping you make a good first impression with a potential new customer.

When it comes to helping you increase sales research shows that sales can increase by about 2.5% for every 2,000 business cards that you pass out. It may sound insignificant but when you consider that a typical website conversion rate is only 2.86% it’s a decent return for a less than $100 investment.

7 Critical Components of a Business Card
Here are the must have pieces of information that your card should include:

• Your Name
• Your Job Title
• Business Logo
• Phone (work & cell)
• Address
• Website
• Social Media Links
• Tag Line that Conveys What Your Business Does
• Some Kind of a Call to action

Business Card Options
Here are options that you might consider that would enhance the look and feel of your business card:

• Consider adding a picture of yourself
• Eye catching enhancements such as foil stamping, debossing, spot UV
• High quality premium paper gives an air of sophistication
• While most business cards are a standard 3.5” x 2”, consider an odd size or shape to differentiate your card from all the others

Business cards may be small in size, but their importance to your business is huge!