About Business Cards

I really enjoy business cards. I have a grand collection of the little things, about 150 different cards. They sell sheets of plastic holders at most office supply stores. I alphabetize them and snap them in a three ring binder. Seems a little OCD, but I learn a lot from my business card portfolio.


Your business card says a lot about you. It is often a first impression. Hopefully it is a reminder after you’ve parted ways. It is a place for your contact information. Additionally, it is a marketing piece. Your business card should motivate the holder to take action.

Your card should include more than pertinent info. If most of your work is online, do you need a physical address on your card? Instead, could you highlight your results, a product or service, your guarantee, or USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?

Of course I’m not saying you should fill every available space with content. On the contrary, your card needs to be easy on the eyes. Consider the shape, color, paper, and design. Would your card stand out as I flip through my book? What if I don’t remember you and can only form my opinion of you based on the card?

My card has rounded corners. I recently received the only other card I’ve seen with rounded corners. There are few black cards, six to be precise. The hot pink one looks cheap, but the blaze orange card of the local Harley Davidson dealer “works.” Some cards feel thin, others thick and high quality. An attorney’s card is light, translucent. It feels like velum paper. The text is embossed. It’s different, but simple – one of my favorites.

One card is very heavy on the content. It has 52 words on the front side alone. It’s still is a great card because it is easy on the eyes. The text is of varying sizes and the card has lots of graphic enhancement. The minimalistic cards can be highly effective, especially with a high quality image and an intuitive company name.

Some cards are stuffed back and front. I understand your desire to make use of space, but many people like to write notes on the back of business cards to help them remember who they met. A blank back can also be used by you. It’s a great place to write info for the recipient, perhaps additional contact info, or a service that would benefit them.

Please, unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, don’t cross out your phone number or email address and handwrite the correct one. This looks so tacky. I understand if you have to do this for a day or two, before you get new cards, but don’t try to “use up all the old ones first.” Recycle the old ones, give them to your children for a craft project, wallpaper your office with them, but don’t hand them out.

Be wary of using an online business card printing company (especially very inexpensive ones). I have two of the same cards with different company names. Not a good way to differentiate yourself. Not a good way to look professional.

I think my next card will be black; my website will be dark when I redo it. The materials that present you should have a common denominator; they should look like you. And it is okay to update now and then, even a drastic change is called for once in awhile.

Please snail mail me your business card. I’d be happy to give you my thoughts on it or help you design a new one.

Terra L. Fletcher
Fletcher Freelance
518 South Union Street
Shawano, WI 54166

P.S. Marketing Predictions for 2011 will be published in my newsletter tomorrow! Sign up NOW! Simply type your email address in the box in the left column. My newsletter is only once a month (no annoying daily or weekly emails). And of course, I never share your info.

Business Differentiation Strategy - Your Competitive Advantage

Are you saying the same thing as everyone else?

In this hyper-competitive global market a strong business differentiation strategy can give your business a competitive advantage. Read my latest article to learn the basics of differentiation.

Key(s) to a Successful Business

The three keys to a successful business are: location, location, location. Or are they?

If you want to make your business more profitable, easier to market, and attract more customers- you need to differentiate from your competition.

The average American is subjected to as many as 5,000 commercial impressions each day. According to the Media Inter Center, 245 of those impressions are ads. Television accounts for 108 ads, 34 we hear on the radio, and 112 we see in print.

Take a look at your current business/marketing strategy. If you’re doing and saying the same thing as everyone else, how are your potential customers going to remember you and go to you for products/services?

Every business owner I’ve met with wants to improve their bottom line. What many of them don’t realize is the potential to draw customers from many miles outside of their immediate physical location. In fact it is easier to become a “destination” in the minds of consumers from distant locales than it is to hold that same place in the minds of your neighbors. Why is that?

How many of the “tourist traps” in your town do you visit? When something is ever-available and ever-present it is easily taken for granted. (It can’t be that great; it’s in Shawano.)

When on vacation have you gone to see some of the unique attractions that I have? How about the World Famous Mustard Museum in Mt. Horeb, The Southernmost Point in Key West, or the Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas? Have you visited the closer to home destination business, Doc’s Harley Davidson? (Check out the exotic animals and the antique car/bike museum; it is well worth the trip. Hopefully it inspires you, too.)

These locations are not easy to forget because they are unique. When your company has a memorable association it’s talked about, it’s sought out and it is successful. What is your signature? Is your brand vision compelling? What makes you so special?

If you want to compete on price, stop reading. There will always be someone that can do/sell what you do for less. If you don’t think you can carry the inventory or offer the vast selection of services that the national chains do, you’re probably right. But if your customers want what everyone else has, let them go to the big-box stores or franchises.

These stores operate under the principle of creating multiple, identical units. Wherever you go, you’ll find the same thing in the same stores. (Incidentally, I hope you don’t go to Wal-Mart or McDonald’s on vacation.)

If your customer can get it anywhere, why get it now and why get it from you? Consumers seek out specialized, exclusive, and hard-to-find items from people that know their stuff. Consumers will travel fifty, seventy-five, even hundreds of miles to find what they think they cannot find anywhere else.

Craft your unique selling proposition, cut out all clichés, be memorable, and not afraid to take a risk. With ease of travel and the Internet, location isn’t what it used to be. The real key to a successful business is becoming a destination in the mind of your customers.

For more information on becoming a destination business you can sign up for Jon Shallert’s Destination Boot Camp (for a hefty price, plus travel). If you want tips to improve your marketing strategy from a local professional (sometimes local is good) call 715-584-6773 or email terra@fletcherfreelance.com.  Your first consultation is always free.

Watch for future blogs on Destination Business Tips, Business Differentiation Strategies, and How to Market to Tourists.

Don’t forget to enter Fletcher Freelance’s Marketing Material Makeover contest.