After a little bit of digging out there on the web, it turns out some of the first business cards can be traced back to the 1400’s in China. Apparently, some of the more important types would carry around a ‘visitor card’ to explain why that individual was so ‘important’ and why others needed to remember them.

In the 1600’s trade cards became used by businesses as advertisements, often with directions to the business. Along with calling cards, these morphed—in about the 1800’s—into the business card we’d probably recognise to this day.

So, does the business card, so rooted in history, still have any relevance in today’s businessperson’s pocket?

I’ve heard lots of different opinions from a range of businesspeople, but as is the nature of the internet and things like blogs, here’s my opinion…

Memorability

I’ve, like many, done my fair share of business networking and I believe it’s here that a physical card can be beneficial.

I’ve lost count of how many people have shared their contact information with me using a service such as LinkedIn’s profile sharing tool (the handy QR code that pops up on your phone and you scan it with yours). This directs you to their profile on LinkedIn, the issue becomes; how do I remember that contact when my day gets busier and a maybe few days pass from that initial meeting?

Further, unless I look at their profile and perhaps dig into the company a bit, I don’t get to see those compelling reasons that encourage me to engage with that business. 

I believe that’s where the business card comes in…

Touch Points/Branding

The flaw for me in the plain contact info saved on your phone via a QR code or via something like the LinkedIn system, is there’s no reminder of who that person is, what their business is, or—most importantly—what makes their business beneficial to me—at a glance. It all requires a bit of effort.

That’s where a simple business card can really shine through—helping market your business quickly and clearly.

Not only is the business card a tangible touch point, a physical touch point where you begin to measure the credibility and professionalism of a company (quality design and materials for example), but it’s also an item that will be with you for a while, it has some persistence (certainly longer than that brief chat you had with someone) while it’s either in your pocket or on your desk. Your business and it’s branding will be around your potential new client for a while, that’s a valuable touch point right there.

In other words, your business card is making multiple hits on the consciousness of the person you left it with each time their eye lands on it. And your branding can be bold and consistent with all your other marketing collateral.

Yes, of course, some will simply recycle them when they return to the office, but even then, you get a brief chance to leave an impression (88% of cards are put in the recycle bin within a week. But that’s potentially a week it’s been there reminding the recipient of your existence, and 12% stay put much longer). In comparison your electronic impression has long gone…

Credibility

An electronic contact or a LinkedIn page doesn’t easily make one business stand out over another, it can struggle to show you the care and attention they take over their marketing materials. It’s just another pre-built template your info sits within.

When you create a business card, you can really go for it and stand out. You can show creativity, reflect several values of your business, or a unique selling point through the material used, or even just a great strapline or solution you provide—a benefit to another person or business.

Your card has a feel in the hand that can begin to help form an opinion of your business or organisation. Cheap paper and poor design will of course have exactly that perception. But do it right and you start to set the tone of your relationship with the recipient.

Talking of straplines and benefits of your business, these can be communicated quickly and succinctly on a business card, how will your contact details in a phone remind the recipient of all these things?

So why are some of us no longer using business cards? Why would you choose to remove such a low cost tool from your marketing collateral toolbox?

The Environment

This is probably the one I hear most. I totally understand this. But did you know you can get carbon neutral print, fully recycled stock and more? Yes, carbon neutral isn’t a perfect solution, but many who quote the environment as their motivating factor will eschew their environmental concerns when they embrace AI, possibly not realising how much carbon is pumped out for each and every prompt.

Did you know it’s about 4.92 grams per prompt! 139 prompts equate to roughly the emissions from one load of laundry washed and then dried on a clothesline.

Yes, business cards will come out worse, that’s true. There’s also water, chemical usage, and more to factor in. But how often do you give out a card? How long will that stack of 250 last?

If I look at how many cards I used last year, I’m looking at about 50. Do I need to worry too much about giving out a small paper card once a week, especially when you consider that I’ve probably driven or travelled via pubic transport to the network or client meeting, inevitably pumping out larger amounts of carbon and other nasty things into the atmosphere? I don’t really want to add to the planet’s troubles, but we need to remain balanced on these things. 

We do need to consider our impact, of course we do, but we also need to be balanced when it comes to rejecting a method of finding new business.

Like many, we do our best to go with Teams/Zoom meetings these days, that’s a sizable carbon footprint saving, but how far do we/can we go? And don’t forget, you can order very small quantities to help reduce waste.

What About Digital Business Cards?

So, this could be an option and for some they work quite well. Yes, they are potentially more eco-friendly, they certainly reduce paper usage.

I have though seen claims that they are Zero carbon footprint, but unless the firm running the servers that look after this option are running entirely on renewables—and so is all the infrastructure/hardware they use—then that can’t be true. But a guess would be of course that they are lower than producing a card.

The pros for digital cards are: they are cost effective in production, easy to share, you may appear to be more ‘forward thinking’, can have additional features that can be useful, and you can track them too. Lots of good points.

However, don’t forget the downsides: they are entirely tech reliant, potentially somewhat impersonal, not the easiest for the non-tech savvy to use (and there are plenty of users still out there who fall into this category), and don’t forget the initial set up time and involvement of yourself to create the card (and getting it on brand? Not easy, sometimes impossible).

Of course, maybe you could just mix the two approaches, digital cards and physical cards for when appropriate… Adding a QR code to a traditional card with full contact details (vCard) or LinkedIn profile page could also be useful.

If You Decide to Make Physical Business Cards

So, if you’re thinking a physical card may still be for me, don’t forget some of these tips:

• Make it look great. Stand out from the crowd. Make it eye catching and on-brand.
• Make your logo stand and keep the supporting branding strong.
• Consider using QR codes to link to contact details or videos.
• Don’t clutter it. Leave some breathing space in the design.
• Use the reverse side for your strapline or services perhaps.
• Make the text large enough for most to read.
• Be creative, leave an impression, make someone feel something.
• Think about options such as foiling, embossing, spot UV, die cuts, size and more.

Who knew a simple business card needed so much consideration? But I find a physical card still works very well. I have to accept some downsides but overall I’m still a great fan of printed material and the benefit it can bring to your visual communications.

Hopefully some of this information will be useful.

Caffeine Creative are an experienced team based in the Cardiff area. We help with graphic design, web development, company values, social media, branding and more. To know more please contact us.