Business Cards

[complete civil]

Want to know what others think of exspensive business cards, are they worth the extra money. Do clients realy care if your card is above average? I think it doesnt really matter as if i am impressed by the person or the work the person is doing i put there number into my mobile phone. Any thoughts.

[Sef]

Horses for courses as far as I am concerned.
If you are a graphic designer, a good looking business card portays the quality of your work.
If your in a highly competitive market with lots of competition, it may pay to stand out and have a 'point of difference'. A business card that people remember might just be the tonic.
On the other hand if you provide a niche service in a specialised field (like myself) a business card just gives your contact your personal details and the design (and cost) of the card is almost immaterial.
As a whole the value of a paper business card has greatly diminished with most people carrying electronis records of their contacts.

[Publishing428]

Hi,

Business cards are not too expensive these day if you shop around.
It is worth spending the time and money to make sure your business cards look professional and say what they need to say about you and your business.
Sometimes, your business card is the only way you will get to make an impression on a prospective client or business associate.

[mike@engagemarketing]

Originally Posted by complete civil

Want to know what others think of exspensive business cards, are they worth the extra money. Do clients realy care if your card is above average? I think it doesnt really matter as if i am impressed by the person or the work the person is doing i put there number into my mobile phone. Any thoughts.

G'day,
I place a high value on quality business cards from my company because for a marketing company like mine, its really practicing what you preach. There are that many quite ordinary marketing companies out there that i don't want to be categorised with, so I choose to spend the little bit extra (its not all that much) to fit the quality image that i want to portray.

What kind of business are you in?

Cheers,
Michael

[JodieR]

I started off making my own business cards. thought they were great at the time, but since having some made professionally... I will never look back. i think they're important, and good quality biz cards will last longer in the wallet too.

Try Vista print... http://www.vistaprint.com.au get some free biz cards using their templates or upload your own logo.

[LeelaCosgrove]

Business cards are kind of like the way you do your hair or the shoes you wear.

You might not THINK these things are important.

You might not THINK that you even notice them.

But everyone judges a book by its cover.

If you give me a free or home made business card, I immediately think you're not making any money ... and then I wonder why ...

It's NOT expensive to get nice cards done - you can do it for under $100. And it's worth every cent.

You can say that what impresses you is the work someone is doing - but let's try this one ...

You meet two people at a networking function. Both of them do the exact same thing - let's say they're accountants.

One - arrives early. Has hair done nicely. Is wearing polished, unscuffed shoes. Walks around the room talking to everyone and handing out their $100, full colour, doubled sided, gloss business cards.

Two - arrives a little late. Is flustered, hair everywhere, shoes scuffed. When they finally get around to talking to everyone, hands out homemade business cards or free ones with www.vistaprint.com.au printed on the back.

You need the service they provide.

Who are you going to trust with your money?

You can dislike it all you like - but perception is reality. If people perceive you to be unprofessional, they'll believe you are.

Accountant Two could be the best accountant in the world. But 90% of people will never know that.

Most of your clients will absolutely judge you on your appearance - and that includes your corporate appearance, which includes your business cards.

[JodieR]

Maybe you'd like to recommend where you can get business cards done for that price, double sided and how many? Personally I don't think vista print is that bad, certainly some of their products are very very good (and professional). You have the option of getting average biz cards or professional ones. Still a viable source.

From memory I paid $195 for 1,000 business cards from our local printer here.

here's another online printing place I've been looking in to:

http://www.cmykonline.com.au

[KenD]

Totally depends upon your line of business if you ask me.

As a photographer, I spent a small fortune on mine "image is everything when you are in the image business". I'm sure the same would apply for graphic designers, marketing companies, fashion, media etc.

If you are in a business where you are competing on money / value rather than image, expensive cards might backfire. I wouldn't hire a plumber that can afford expensive business cards for example!

[LeelaCosgrove]

Originally Posted by JodieR

Maybe you'd like to recommend where you can get business cards done for that price, double sided and how many? Personally I don't think vista print is that bad, certainly some of their products are very very good (and professional). You have the option of getting average biz cards or professional ones. Still a viable source.

From memory I paid $195 for 1,000 business cards from our local printer here.

here's another online printing place I've been looking in to:

http://www.cmykonline.com.au

http://www.martinprint.com.au/

$115 for 250 full colour, double sided business cards. Or if you only want one sided, you can pay $88 for 1,000.

And the quality is significantly better than Vistaprint.

Vistaprint are cheap because they use poor quality paper in everything they do - that's WHY they are able to sell so much more cheaply than everyone else.

I get my cards done with Martin Print and they're excellent quality.

Ken - you're right. I was thinking about professional services, not trade - I got a card from a tradey the other day that's clearly a cheap, printed template - and that makes no difference to me.

[Burgo]

Leela is spot on 'perception, perception, perception'.
Look the part , feel the part , get the part.

I'm not a big fan of business card as I use magnets in stead, however the last time I went to a networking event at the Australian Institute of Management, some of the business card I recieved were on average ' shockers'.

I would have thought that anyone in a managemnet possition in a large organisation would at least have a decent business card. the best card of the night was from a young bloke who was into Ice blasting. It was high quality, good graphics and it just stood out and virtually said you have to have what I am going to show you.

So dont scimp on a quality business card and please see a graphic designer and get it done right, it will cost you more initially, but if it brings customers to your door what a great INVESTMENT.