Business Cards Best Practice

Standard Business Card Printing

What you should and shouldn’t include on your business cards

Business cards are still a vital means of sharing your business credentials with customers, clients and people within your industry or network. While it is now possible to connect with virtually anyone around the world in an instant and at the tap of a button, the humble business card still holds an important role when it comes to the connections you make on a day-to-day basis. 

Having a physical and tangible connection not only endears your recipient to you, it also tells them that you are willing to go that little bit further to meet their needs. Your business card is a more personal gesture than simply an add on linkedin or an email introduction. Your business card is a permanent reminder of a personal connection you have had with someone. And no matter how brief that connection might have been, ultimately, your business card remains a more personal option than the more disposable online add to your network. 

So how do you ensure that you make the right impression with your business card? What details should you ensure are added to it, and what can be left out? Here’s a quick list of what you should and shouldn’t include that we’ll delve into in a bit more detail just below.

What to include

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  • Logo
  • Name & Title
  • Company Name 
  • Telephone Number
  • Email Address
  • Website

Logo

Your logo is the ultimate poster or symbol for your brand. When your customers or clients come to think of your brand, it’s very likely that your logo will spring to mind first (if it’s doing its job right that is). Ensuring that your lgo is on your business card and looking its very best is an absolute must from a branding perspective. 

Name & Title

Depending on how formal or informal your business is, it may be that you can afford to leave off the title from your business cards. It goes without saying however that what you absolutely cannot leave off your business card is your name. 

Company Name 

As with your name and title, your business card is there as a reminder of who you are and what you do, so this will always be required. Ensuring that your company name is stated clearly on your business card is a must.

Telephone number

While the majority of communications now happen via email or other messaging platforms, a simple phone call is sometimes the most effective and personal means of getting in touch. As your business card is intended on providing that additional personal touch, you should ensure that you also include your work number on your business card. Avoid adding your personal number to your business card where possible however, as you’ll want to still seem professional in your approach. It’s also preferable to avoid using personal numbers on business cards for personal reasons. You’ll want to keep work in work where possible and try to avoid bringing it home with you.

Email Address

Again, you’ll want to avoid using your personal email address for this one. No-one wants [email protected] as the email address they give to clients, customers, or business acquaintances. And even if your personal email isn’t quite as unprofessional as this example (it’s probably not), it’s still far more professional to have an email address ending with the business you work for. Not only does it tell the recipient that you are professional in the way you present yourself and your business, but it also gives you that extra opportunity to remind them what your business name is.

Website

Your website is the first place that you’ll want your client or customer to go to after speaking with them. Your website is your key selling tool, and so your key objective is to get your clients and customers to investigate further by checking out your site and everything it has to offer them. Including your website is therefore critical for any business card

What not to include

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  • Address
  • Social Media Account
  • Fax number 

Just as there is information you will want to include on your business cards you also want to be careful not to overload it with information. After all, you don’t have a great deal of space to work with, so you need to be really selective about the information you include. You want your business card to look slick and smart, not cluttered and cheap.

Address

Your email address, telephone number and website is more than enough for your customer to get in contact. A physical address is overkill and unnecessary. 

Social Media Account

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Unless your business is specifically to do with social media, or it is the hub that you would prefer your audience be directed to, applying your social media account is again likely to overload your business card. So long as you provide your web address, they can investigate your online presence further than that themselves if they wish to. 

Fax number 

Gone are the days of the fax. You don’t want to seem out of touch, so just stick to the main means of contact and avoid that fax number. 

Your business cards

At Kaizen Print we are experts in the design and printing of high quality cost-effective business cards. To find out how we can help you with your business cards needs you can visit our business cards page, or get in touch via our contact form, or by calling 028 9002 2474