First Impressions Count and Lasting Impressions Sell! Bet Your Business Card on It

By: Karen Saunders 

It’s the Spray Foam Conference of the year, and you’re poised to meet, greet, and network up a storm because the precise buyers for your product or services are here. Business card? Check. Sales brochures? Check. Product samples, informational literature, other appropriate peripherals? Check.

But wait. Let’s go back to item #1 — both in the list above and for the all-important first step in creating a strong, lasting, and favorable impression. In other words, what you looked like or said may not be remembered when potential customers are back home; but, your business card will be in the pile they’ll sift through to separate the wheat from the chaff, the business they’ll want to follow up on.

What’s your card saying about you and your business? Here are some of the most common mistakes you’ve no doubt seen and reacted to negatively. With these marketing mistakes, tossing the card into the wastebasket is inevitable.

•    Using paper that is too thin. This results in a business card that is wimpy and bends or crumples in your hand or briefcase. And it screams “cheap.” Unfortunately, some prospective clients might view this as an indicator of your coatings business practices and products.
•    Using pre-printed, perforated cards run through your computer printer. This also creates a “cheap” impression. Additionally, your card may look like dozens of others because of the limited preprinted designs available. Your coatings business stands out among your competitors — your business card should, too.

But wait — there are many more common mistakes that make a business card forgettable. Boring design. Bad choice of typeface and size. Too much or too little information. No focal point. Muddy graphics — the list goes on.

Your business card is often the first, and perhaps only, impression prospective clients may see. Will it encourage them to find out more about you and your coatings contracting business? Having a good logo design and a clean layout leaves them with a favorable first impression that you’re a credible, professional businessperson.

Here are 13 easy ways for you to do what the professional designers do. These “insider” secrets about business card design will enhance your first impression and go right to your bottom line.

1. Create a focal point or central place that draws a reader’s eye.
2. Allow plenty of white space to help balance the layout. Don’t fill up the card with text.
3. Use a clear, strong logo that looks good when large or when reduced in size on your business card.
4. Use a highlight color sparingly. Make sure color elements highlight the one main message you want to convey.
5. Make sure that the highlight color you choose is appropriate to your business. For example, using red on an intumescent coatings applicator’s business card would be far more appropriate than using blue or green.
6. Limit your selection of type fonts to no more than two, which may also include their “families.” For example, a font family includes styles such as bold, italic, or bold italic versions.
7. Format text to be smaller, more compact, and more professional looking.
8. Choose appropriate fonts for your business, avoiding trendy or overly embellished versions.
9. Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS because they are more difficult to read and look unprofessional.
10. Use a grid when designing to align text and objects to each other.
11. Don’t use illustrations that are too detailed or delicate, because they may look muddy when printed at a small size.
12. Stay away from amateur-looking or dated clip art (unless you are going for the “retro” look). Find good quality resources.
13. Select a beefy cover stock for your paper. Sometimes 80 lb. cover stock is not enough. You can get a free swatch book from your printer or paper representative. The swatch book will give you the opportunity to examine and feel the various sheets for finish, thickness, stiffness, opacity (translucence), and color.

Impress your clients with your cards as though your business depended on it! Cards are small in size but huge in importance to your contracting business success. Using these design tips will help your cards do the biggest possible job for you.

About the Author
Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Learn the mistakes that can cost you money by signing up for her free e-course, available for a limited time.

To take advantage of this e-course and find out how easy it can be to attract additional clients, visit http://macgraphics.net/FreeStuff.php. She may be contacted at (888) 796-7300, or Karen@macgraphics.net.

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