10 Tips to Design the Perfect Business Card

Published on: 04 October 2017 Last Updated on: 22 July 2024

Handing out business cards is a good way to promote your brand and foster personal connections.

But, the creation of perfect and memorable cards clearly remains a challenge. Research shows: 88%—or 9 out of 10—of distributed business cards will be thrown out within one week.

How to Design the Perfect Business Card

So, what makes these tangible objects impressive?

A lovely design.

The perfect business card doesn’t only present your contact information. It also communicates your brand’s professionalism.

So, if you’re interested in making a positive impression, consider the business card design tips below.

1. Adhere to the Principles of Good Design

The perfect business card is a visual representation of your brand. It’s a determining factor in whether people trash your card.

And, the following elements of good design are important in capturing people’s attention:

Alignment and length
Color scheme
Content hierarchy
Typography
Kern
Layout
Tracking
White Space

2. Avoid Complexity in Design

When designing the perfect business card, you should aim for simplicity.

Simplicity in color and contrast to prevent overwhelm. Simplicity in fonts to prevent difficulty in reading.

Remember, you want a prospect or customer to reach out to you for help with their needs. And, by avoiding complexity, you make it easy for them to read your contact information, call your number, and partner with you for your services.

3. Provide Key Information

Above, we discussed simplicity in design. And, you can keep it simple by only presenting the information required to communicate who you are, what you do, and how to contact you. Details such as:

Name
Title, role, or function
Business name and logo
Physical address
Telephone number

If space allows, for social connections, you can also add virtual information. For instance, you can include:

Professional e-mail address
Website landing page or blog address
One or two professional social media handles
QR code

4. Emphasize Benefit and Value

You should also take it a step further and emphasize your benefits. In other words, the perfect business card should do two things:

Tell (or remind) people about what you can do for them
Tell (or remind) people about the value you offer

Limit your explanation to a line or two, describing your service, specialization, and value statement.

5. Consider a Nontraditional Shape

Can you choose the standard 3.5×2 inch horizontal rectangle/square?

Yes. But nowadays, you also have more creative options available. With die-cuts, for example, you can choose from a variety of shapes:

Circle
Folded
Half-Circle
Leaf
Oval
Rounded Corners
Single Rounded Corner
Slim
Vertical

6. Improve Your Card’s Appearance

Additionally, you can improve the look and feel of your business card, through imprinting. Again, you have several methods to choose from:

CMYK or Four-Color Printing
Embossing
Debossing
Foil Stamping
PMS or Pantone Matching System

Depending on your chosen imprint, “finishes”—such as lamination, UV, and spot coatings—can also positively enhance your card’s quality and design.

7. Invest in High-Quality Materials

Presentation is an important part of designing the perfect business card.

And, the quality of your chosen material impacts your brand’s impression.

You have a few choices, when choosing your card’s paper, weight, and thickness: regular, plastic, textured, thick, thin.

But, high-quality material is a better investment. How do we know? The National Institutes of Health’s research on haptic sensations found: physical touch can influence the impressions and thoughts formed about people and situations.

8. Ensure Branding Consistency

What you shouldn’t do, when designing your business card, is display a lack of cohesion in branding. If there are style, color, and typography inconsistencies in your marketing materials, then people will notice.

Remember, your brand identity helps customers and prospects recognize your business. And, when consistent, your business cards reinforce your visual elements.

9. Double-Check for Errors and Unreadable Text

You want customers to take you seriously. To trust you.

So, double-checking your business cards, before printing, is critical. Read, reread, and edit. Search for spelling, punctuation, grammar, layout, and omission mistakes.

But, don’t stop there. Also, make sure your business card is readable by:

Using at least 8 point fonts
Using font colors complementary to its background

10. Beware Printing Specifications

When designing the perfect business card, you must ensure optimal printing.

Many printers stop at a certain point. So, it’s important to consider the following specifications:

Bleed Area. You should include at least a 1/8” bleed area as it eliminates white space during printing.
Safe Area. The center of the business card is the safe area, so you want all your readable text and graphics there.

Ready to Design Your Card?

Now, you’re armed with 10 good design tips for creating the perfect business card. Use this Vistaprint coupon code to save on your next order. Will you apply them? If so, you’ll have what you need to increase your brand awareness, make a memorable impression, and even attract new clients.

Read also:

Tips For Small Businesses To Raise Funds For Their Projects

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The Importance of Writing Business Reports in College

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Remember everyone will be looking for you to meet these requirements with a high level of precision. The best way out is to present your facts in the form of a business report. Most modern organizations rely on the finance department to assist in the decision-making process and offer critical support to the business. There is an increase in the demand for fast and transparent reporting and most finance practitioners aim towards minimizing the time they use in compiling data to provide high-quality information at a fast pace. However, they cannot meet this objective unless they have a deep understanding of the concept of business report writing. You need to gain these skills at the college level and then sharpen them once you go to the field. Here are some of the benefits of writing business reports in college. Business Reports Provide Students with Deeper Insights : Business reports have an integral role to play when it comes to the active management of organizations. The management team uses them to track progress and attain organizational goals. Business reports can also help managers in controlling business expenditure and increasing revenue. Analysis of business reports will help both students and managers gain useful insights into the prevailing business trends. This knowledge ultimately helps business practitioners to put in place effective strategies that enhance the overall performance of the organization. Managers normally review the business reports and check for any abnormalities. Students need to have these insights from the onset for them to become better managers in the future. There is a definite format for writing business reports. Students should learn this before they get into the field. You have to understand the various sections of a business report and the information to include in each paragraph. As students write a business report, they get to understand the importance of this document to the management. 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How To Choose The Best Legal Structure For Your Business

Starting a business can be exciting, scary, and - let’s be honest - confusing! You don’t need an MBA or any other business degree to start a successful business. But, there are other important things that you need to make right from the beginning. While there are many things that need to be done correctly from the start of the business, there is one thing where you cannot make a mistake Choosing The right business structure. Your business structure is important in many ways. It decides how your business will showcase in front of others, what power you will have over your business, and most importantly, what type of taxation it will fall under. Seeing how the current entrepreneurs are so hung up on sole proprietorship that they do not see the benefits of other business structures. Today, we have come to take you on a journey and make you see the different business structures and what each offers to a business. What Is A Legal Structure Of A Business? 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All the members are responsible for making business decisions, and whatever the profit business samples, it is shared among the members. A cooperative business structure offers the following advantages. Low taxes. Increased funding. Better discounts and services. Factors To Weigh Before Choosing A legal Business Structure While an individual can choose any business structure they like, there are a few considerations you need to look into. 1. Complex Procedure Businesses with fewer people don’t need complex procedures to rule their business operations. Instead, they can just follow a simple business format. However, if your business has many employees and offers different types of services, you must select a business structure that can support all your business requirements. The best way to understand what kind of legal business structure you need is essential that you understand the goals and a business structure that help you achieve the least complexity. 2. Continuity Of Existence You are not starting a business with a lifespan of only a decade. That means, while you are planning for your business, you must plan for its continuity. Hence, it is important that you see how a business is concluding. If you are thinking of securing your business for future financial security, you must also look into the right business structure to support your needs. 3. Control Business is all about control. If you cannot control how your business is operated, you will never be able to calculate the ROI at the end of the day. Hence, it is essential to decide how much control each individual requires to operate the business. For instance, if someone wants to have more control over their business, sole proprietorship might be a more suitable business structure. 4. Liability When running a business, you need to ensure that your personal liabilities are not tied down with your business. In that case, what will happen is that your personal liabilities will be used to cope with business losses. Hence, to separate your business from your personal liabilities, choose a legal business structure that protects your personal assets. Conclusion Choosing a business structure is dependent on what you want to achieve from your business. Depending on what you want from your business, you can go with any legal business structure. While you are free to decide for yourself which business structure you want to go with, it is a good idea that you take help from a business lawyer. A business lawyer can help you understand the differences and benefits more detailedly. They will even help you with all the paperwork needed to establish your business as a legal entity. Read Also: 6 Steps to Starting a Business in Michigan Why Do Businesses Need Lawyer’s Advice? 7 Ways to Plan a Smooth Business Succession Having Business in Foreigner Country, Advantages and Disadvantages

5 Reasons You Should Respond To Every Customer Complaint

Any business encounters a customer complaint at some juncture. Despite the best of intentions, there will be situations when a client leaves feeling dissatisfied. Such a customer may initially try to seek resolution from the business itself, but increasingly, they are more prone to air their grievances on social media platforms. When such negative feedback is published online, it becomes a permanent fixture. This puts business owners and managers in a position where they must make a choice: either overlook the complaint or use it as a platform to exhibit their c for everyone to witness. Here Are Five Prime Reasons You Should Respond To Every Customer Complaint Here are some reasons why responding to customer complaints is crucial for your business's success. 1. Forge Strong Connections Customers tend to be doubtful, particularly regarding reviews. Research indicates that only 39% of consumers believe retailers seriously consider their feedback and an additional 22% feel this simply never happens. Making public responses to your reviews is the initial action towards alleviating these suspicions. Don’t solely concentrate on responding to negative feedback. Yes, one and two-star reviews should be addressed first, but recognizing customers who have given you positive reviews, even with a plain “thank you,” can greatly enhance brand loyalty and demonstrate to the world that you value every piece of customer feedback. Ensure your responses strike the right note. This is your opportunity to initiate dialogue with your customers and exhibit the personable side of your brand, so think deeply about the image you want to project. 2. Motivate Employees When your entire support team commits to elevating customer satisfaction by gaining insights from customer interactions, it naturally leads to fewer disgruntled customers and boosts motivation. Employees feel more motivated and their morale improves when they're not constantly dealing with negative feedback or hostility in every interaction. If you're overwhelmed, you could outsource professional answering services from Absent Answer to handle any high volumes of customer interactions. 3. Complaints Help to Pinpoint Defective Products Regrettably, despite rigorous quality control measures, defective products occasionally reach consumers. Organizations need to be informed about these flawed items by customers to rectify similar issues that might exist in other products. This scenario is especially relevant when a discourteous employee interacts with customers over the phone. Many individuals would prefer not to expend the effort to report such instances of rudeness. However, without this feedback, a manager may remain oblivious, potentially resulting in a single employee driving numerous customers away. 4. Complaints Pave the Way for Service Improvement Opportunities Studies indicate that a customer whose concerns have been addressed satisfactorily tends to be more loyal than a customer who has never had any issues. Complaints provide a chance to demonstrate to the customer that their satisfaction is a priority for the business by implementing service recovery measures. Numerous businesses implement a service recovery strategy to handle those occasional yet significant instances when customers feel their expectations have not been met. A well-executed service recovery program can potentially convert a dissatisfied customer into a loyal patron, who may be more satisfied than if they had never experienced problems. 5. Improved Digital Presence Complaints on review sites and social media are becoming more common. While it might be disconcerting to publicly display a customer's dissatisfaction, remember that potential customers expect to see some negative feedback. The key is demonstrating that your business is proactive and committed to satisfying its customers. Responding to complaints by regretting any less-than-positive experiences shows potential customers they can trust your service. In your response, highlight your eagerness to rectify the situation. Once you've addressed the issue publicly, follow up privately as well. This prevents the possibility of an extended discussion overshadowing your initial response. Generally, you'll be able to resolve the problem and, apart from maintaining a positive public image, you'll also enhance your reputation with the affected customer. Tips on How To Effectively Handle Customer Complaint Responding to customer complaints as soon as possible is crucial as it sends a message to them that the business or organization values their concerns and feedback. Moreover, ensuring customer satisfaction also helps in building and maintaining one’s brand reputation. However, handling and responding to customer complaints is not an easy thing to do. Here are some tips on how to effectively handle customer complaints. Go Through The Complaint The first step to effectively handling a customer complaint is actively listening to the customer and trying to understand the issues that they are facing with your product or service. If you are reading online reviews feedback or complaints sent via email, then don't just skim through. Make sure to read the review thoroughly from top to bottom. While reading through the reviews, you should also try taking notes such as product or service number, day and date of the incident, and any other information that you think is relevant. Carefully reading or listening to the complaint will help you to understand the issues and determine a suitable course of action. Stay Professional and Apologise to the Customer It can be difficult to accept criticism, be it online or face-to-face, especially if it is about your business that you have worked hard to build from the ground up. However, it is crucial that you stay calm while listening to or reading customer complaints, even if you think that they are wrong, lying, or being unreasonable. Getting emotional or worked up over customer complaints and then reacting angrily in front of customers will only escalate the situation and harm your brand’s reputation. So be professional and apologize to the customer even if they are the ones who are in the wrong. You should also be courteous and thank them for reaching out to you and voicing their frustrations and assure them that you are looking into the issue. Most of the time, apologizing immediately to the customer can go a long way toward defusing the situation. Formulate A Course Of Action To Resolve the Customer Complaint Once you have carefully heard or read the customer complaint and understood the issue, try to formulate a suitable course of action. Some problems can be easily resolved, while others may take some time. If the issue can be fixed easily, then you should get back to the customer as soon as possible with the solution. The customer will appreciate the promptness on your part, and it will go a long way in ensuring customer satisfaction. However, there can be issues that cannot be resolved quickly. In that case, you should determine how much time it will take for you to fix the problem. At the same time, be honest with your customers and tell them that you will need some time to fix the issue and provide them with a timeline. Here are some additional tips on what to do after the complaint is resolved: Follow up with the customer after the issues are fixed and make sure they are happy with the outcome. You can ask for their feedback on how you handled the complaint and what you can do better next time. Try to exceed their expectations by offering them something extra, such as a discount, a freebie, or a referral. This will help you turn a negative experience into a positive one and increase customer loyalty and retention. Endnote If you've been neglecting your reviews, feeling too anxious to reply, or simply haven't had the opportunity, there's no more suitable time to start than now. Responding to all your reviews, whether they are positive or negative, can contribute immensely to strengthening trust in your brand and depicting your company as one that genuinely listens and deeply values its customers. Read Also: 5 Most Common Digital PR Mistakes And How To Avoid Them The 7 Steps to Create a Storybrand to Ensure Marketing that Works How Customer Success Can Help Grow Your Business

10 Tips to Design the Perfect Business Card

How to Design the Perfect Business Card