Business Cards - Still Relevant ?

[asphaltgambler]

So in the new year I want to promote selectively - my side business of classic vehicle valuation / inspection / brokering. Currently I have no 'social media presence' other than here. I want to control who contacts me and eliminate people from wasting my time and resources who do not intend to spend money.

I have done this in the past but in a limited way. I am considering business cards to hand out on a case-by-case basis. Not just any kind of card but something that is really unique and different. I am looking at a company that does real stainless steel cards with custom designs including laser cut-outs / punch-throughs. If you can think it, they can do it. They look and feel unlike anything you've seen.

The cost is @$2.25 / per card. There is a slight price break when ordering more than 300+. My thinking is that the card material and look is so different from anything else that it would make a lasting impression and likely a card that would not go into the trash.

So my initial order would be 100 and see how that goes.

For the record, this is a cash only, word-of-mouth service that supplements / partially funds my hobby. I have limited time and at least for now want to keep it that way.

So the question is are business cards still relevant today? Do people really look at them and then keep?

[VincentVega]

Who is your target market? Old guys? They might like business cards. Metal ones? I would save my $$. I get them from a vendor but only to get their email/phone info. Then it goes in the trash.

[GH85Carrera]

Yes.

BUT, when I get one I only keep it long enough to go home and enter the information into my contact list on my computer in Windows 10 Pro in Microsoft Outlook. My iPhone is synced 100% with that email contact list. It instantly shows up in my iPhone, and I can edit it on my cell phone, and it is updated on my computer instantly. I can add an address, photo, look up their web site, and add that information in.

Then I trash the card.

If I meet a person from the 21st century, they just text me their contact and I add it in. That can sometimes be a challenge if they are not using an iPhone. Same for giving out my information. I have the old analog business card. It has my cell number and email and that is all anyone needs to contact me.

I can't see spending a lot on any analog business card.

Get a basic web site. You don't need much, but a way for someone to do a Google or Bing search to find you.

[asphaltgambler]

Generally speaking - men - late 30's and up but there is a core group of people in the 50's and up with a fair amount of disposable income for all things car / motorcycle related.

[Laneco]

A card is just a card no matter how utterly cool it is...

If you can incorporate the card into a useful item, like punchouts that are common nut sizes, small sawblade edge, something that makes your card into a tool that a person can keep in their wallet.... Now THAT would be worth the effort.

angela

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Laneco

A card is just a card no matter how utterly cool it is...

If you can incorporate the card into a useful item, like punchouts that are common nut sizes, small sawblade edge, something that makes your card into a tool that a person can keep in their wallet.... Now THAT would be worth the effort.

Agree...I use business cards all the time, the paper variety, given and received.

Why on Earth would you spend over $2K on a gimmick that may have zero ROI?

[Laneco]

Something like this - at $1.70 each....

angela


https://www.4allpromos.com/product/18-1-credit-card-sized-tool?default-tier=7day&default-qty=150&mkwid=sKS6V37kZ|pcrid|109436166363|pmt||pkw||pdv|c |product|376-TOL4|slid||&pgrid=31686852963&ptaid=pla-61865531738&st-t=ppc&vt-k=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAiA9JbwBRAAEiwAnWa4Q8JCppYFM8ZY-8rAFKGCuv5yzDqEBn126JqeNv3m48CbPX8cwYs3eBoChJEQAvD _BwE

[Seahawk]

^^^

[jcommin]

I have a serious art hobby - Last year, I created an Instagram account just for art - I have the ability to pick and chose who I wish to connect with. And I struggled to understand the hash tag link. I am also in the process of creating a web site for my art hobby too. Between both, I don't feel the need for cards

There is power in social media - it is almost scary.

[Baz]

My thoughts:

1) If you get most of your business by word of mouth - the fancy business card would only serve as an ego boost to you. Not saying that's a bad thing.

2) Business cards do come in handy if you want to give someone your contact info. Mine has my business website address on it as well...something I worked at and does a wonderful job representing who I am and what I do.

3) I always made my own cards on my computer using the perforated business card printer stock and Microsoft Publisher. I could fool around and tweak them as desired without having to use a second party - something I liked. Yes they are kinda thin and not glossy - but who cares if it is artistic - which mine were.

4) I met a fellow Porschephile who was in consulting and he gave me his "card" which was a mini-CD like this one (see below) and it had on it a flash program that represented what he did - pretty cool.

[GH85Carrera]

That CD card is already out of date. Most laptops, and many desktops don't have a CD player anymore. Just a link to a web page is way cheaper and easier to view. If I am curious about the services of any company, I look at their web page.

A simple web page address is all most folks want now days. They can punch that in on their smart phone and know way more than any CD or DVD will have on it. I have our web page at the bottom of all my emails I send.

[asphaltgambler]

Ok - interesting

[wdfifteen]

My 2 cents - I used to lose them all the time. Now, I take a photo of the card and ask if the person wants their card back. I’m not the kind to be impressed with a fancy card. But then I’m not the kind to buy and sell exotic cars either.

[herr_oberst]

[87maniac]

metal cards for a client. These were NOT thrown away, very effective!

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Laneco

A card is just a card no matter how utterly cool it is...

If you can incorporate the card into a useful item, like punchouts that are common nut sizes, small sawblade edge, something that makes your card into a tool that a person can keep in their wallet.... Now THAT would be worth the effort.

+1

Make it thick enough to double as an emergency ice scraper but still fit in the wallet? Something useful and crafty.

Just a tad off topic but a locksmith I have used always has old school music playing in his little shop with a guitar at the ready to play. Sometimes he is playing it when I get there.

He programmed a key for my van and put a guitar pick on the new key chain. No name. No nothing.

Every time I use the key, there is the guitar pick.

[kevin993]

Still use them and glad to have them. Beyond the utility of the front of the card, don't under estimate the value of the back of a business card as a writing pad. It can be easy to scribble a reference to a book name, a website or instagram handle, a meeting date and time, a third party's email address or phone number, or even a quick sketch of directions.

[Jeff Alton]

Yes, relevant. We go through about 50/month being picked off of our holder at the service counter. We go through another 50/month through card dropping when staff/family see a car we could service (very decent call rate). When we meet new people outside of the shop, they often ask for a card. Sure, it likely gets tossed once they get the data they need from it, but it sure is handy.

cheers

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by kevin993

Still use them and glad to have them. Beyond the utility of the front of the card, don't under estimate the value of the back of a business card as a writing pad. It can be easy to scribble a reference to a book name, a website or instagram handle, a meeting date and time, a third party's email address or phone number, or even a quick sketch of directions.

Dude, move out of the 20th century and into the 21st with the rest of us. Your cell phone has a notes function. Just add a note, you can even add a voice memo if you can't type fast. Then back at your office or wherever add the data into the contact list. And your phone has a map and just ask it how to get to any location or surf the net.

Of course I still scribble on the back of cards as well. The analog world is hard to leave. And no batteries needed!

[herr_oberst]

Tasteful doesn't necessarily have to mean expensive. We've all seen nice business cards that have an interesting graphic, or a clever shape or just a good feel to the touch that are a better indicator of good taste and style than just spending lavishly on something for the magpies.

Also, consult with an advertising specialties dealer. Maybe there's some trinket that you can embellish with a logo like a zippo tape measure or a small calculator or just a pen that writes well and feels good in the hand that you could imagine a client using daily.