At a conference yesterday I managed to snag nine business cards. Not actually a good thing as I didn’t ask for any. I guess I stuck my had out when they were offered so I got what I deserved.
Of the nine, only one conformed to the old standard of name, job title, company contacts, logo. Not including the mandatories the word count splits like this: 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 18, 18, 48, 52.
The 2 card – “wooden jigsaws” – nails the point of a good business card. I might not remember the name of the fella or his company, but if I ever want some wooden jigsaws I’ll know where to start. One of the 18s – not the worst – says “Benefits realisation through user involvement”, the other thirteen words don’t make it any clearer. Will I call this guy? No. Why? I don’t know when I should.
If you’re going to put some extra love on your business card, make it count.
Business cards aren’t clever, they can’t do your job for you. It’s a very rare sole who will squint their way through your printed verbiage to work out why they should remember you. If you’re not sure what to write, ask your customers – they normally have a pretty good handle on why they give you money.
Mr Jigsaw tells you what his company is up to, great. If the best you can do is just filling in the white spaces, leave it blank.