Cheap Business Cards

[UKRay]

Every one has a opinion, All I have seen so far on this site is every one trying to justify why their opinion is the right one. That is so sad to see.

You all have a good day, this was the last straw as they say. I won't bother with people that are that closed minded.

My sincere apologies if you are offended by anything I have said but I really don't know what you are offended by. This is simply a place for discussion and trying to work out ideas. People do need to justify their ideas to others and I'm looking to be convinced by sound arguments. Your contribution is as valuable as anyone else's.

Instead of saying you 'won't bother' why not add something of consequence to the conversation instead of walking away. You might be surprised at the response.

Ray

[BustedThumb]

Don't sweat it Ray, I'm rereading 4 times now and I still don't see the burr under the saddle. Forums are a lot different than a conversation.

Cards are very cheap, and you can get as little as a couple hundred at a time, and it looks much more professional, no matter how simple the design. I've had a bad experience with vistaprint the last time I ordered. Hidden costs so a good deal turned into a gouge, all the stupid popups and offers to get stuff I didn't want, then it took 2 weeks for delivery. I'll probably go back to uprinting.com next time, or even a local print shop. I design my own, color printing both sides.

In my experience (non-leather businesses), you have to take yourself seriously before anyone else will. That means a clean presentation - layout, cards, website, even the clothes that you wear. If your work is top notch, you're doing it a disservice if you half ass how you deal with customers. If all you do is great work but crap presentation, you might stay busy. But most people out there don't know quality if it bit them in the ass - you have to do a bit of dancing to get their cash.

[gary]

Ray,

This is an edited version of this post as I just re-read my original in 'preview post' and it was a rambling, off the point, sack of whatever.

My experience says that you may need to produce the card that suits your potential customer pool.

We run a small family B&B as well as me doing some leatherwork.

We've had 2 lots of cards produced. The B&B card is colourful, loads of information, printed on both sides and on plain white card. Had 1,000 made and we throw them around like confetti.

For the leatherwork business the cards are on a parchment style paper, two colours only, discreet logo and with sufficient information for people to get in touch. I hand these out usually face to face after a quick 'elevator pitch'.

Perhaps you need two types - a 'bespoke' card for personal distribution with a cheaper one for places like shows where people have seen the quality of your work and just want to know how to get in touch. Something like Vistaprint would be fine for the latter option.

We use a local print shop and they are a lot easier to use than an internet company. They provide us with photos, the right type of paper, our choice of font and so on at no extra cost. Okay, they aren't free but they are reasonable and reprints are easy to get and changes are easy to make.

Just my tuppence.

Gary

[iwannabeacowboy]

Why stop at business cards. What about your clothes/car/home/shop/wife/husband/kids. Do they speak quality! As far as the cards go, as long as the information is correct and to the point I don't see someone losing business over the fact that some cards cost a few penny's or a quarter each. Get a custom stamp made and make your cards out of leather. I could buy the best cards there are and do bad work, but would the cards fool some people? My thought has always been, My work speaks for itself even with home printed cards.

charlie

[colttrainer]

Charlie

I agree with you 100%. It is to bad that most people these days have to have every thing bigger, better & fancier than the next person. An older gentleman told me those people are unhappy with their lives.

Edited March 23, 2010 by colttrainer

[UKRay]

Why stop at business cards. What about your clothes/car/home/shop/wife/husband/kids. Do they speak quality! As far as the cards go, as long as the information is correct and to the point I don't see someone losing business over the fact that some cards cost a few penny's or a quarter each. Get a custom stamp made and make your cards out of leather. I could buy the best cards there are and do bad work, but would the cards fool some people? My thought has always been, My work speaks for itself even with home printed cards.

charlie

I don't think the issue is how much the cards cost, Charlie, and the rest is a tad unworthy of you. Nobody is suggesting anything like that.

The first point is that cost doesn't enter into this. The issue is that many prospective customers do judge a person on first glance and don't bother to look deeper. Why do you think people buy branded goods and pay more for them? The supermarket's 'own brand' is cheaper and often identical but they like to buy the best 'name' and will pay a premium price for that. If they bothered to look a little harder they would save money, but no - they want the one with the impressive looking packaging.

Okay, some folks may be happy to pitch their stuff at 'branded goods' level but I want to sell mine - which is no better or worse than anyone else's - for top dollar. Hence I want to find the best way of impressing the guy with the money. I don't care if it is a cheap way or an expensive way as long as it makes my stuff sell for more money than I'm getting now. Is that wrong?

Point two is that nobody is trying to fool anyone else. That isn't the intention. This is simply about trying to hold the attention of the prospective buyer long enough to get a piece of work in front of them. I guess, if people are dealing in $5 pocket items made from Tandy kits that isn't too much of an issue, but if they move up a grade or two and start talking about $500-$1000 dollar deals then they want to have the best chance possible to sell. It is obvious that buyers are a lot more discerning about who they deal with as the cash stakes rise...

I like your idea of a custom stamp a lot and maybe that is the way to go. A card that accurately represents the quality of your work - now wouldn't that be a cool thing? Expensive though - wouldn't you say? Very classy looking but much more expensive and a definite improvement on a home printed card. Nice idea and it would say a whole lot more about the person who made it. Maybe along the lines of a 'trading card' like people made for the PIF. Thanks for the input. I'm obliged.

John, your idea of raised ink printing caught my attention and now I've seen one of your cards I am very impressed. Nice, classy and low key. I'd do business with you! LOL

I'm also impressed with the idea of two cards... a bespoke leather card for people who really matter and a 'lesser' card for everyday use. Thanks for that Gary.

You are quite right, this is just about 'doing a bit of dancing' to get bigger and better orders, Bustedthumb - and it sounds like you should add a bit more to this discussion...

Ray

[Denise]

Who is your audience? Are they people who give out embossed cards with raised print? Then that is what they expect a "quality" business to do. Are you headed for a more "artisitic" audience? The the cards should have a more "artistic" flair. Are they more "practical"? "Why waste your money on fancy cards? I just need to know you phone number!" Then you should have plainer cards with the information in a plain font. Matching the card to the customer's expectations would be the most important. Finding that out is the trick.

[colttrainer]

I was going to stay out of this, But I keep reading. So here goes all have good points, some maybe don't make sense to me, but who am I. But after having worked all my life as self employed, I do know that what is on the card ( design, info etc. ) is by far the most important, if you can achieve the look you want at home on a inexpensive card that is great, some may not. I my self pass cards out like they cost nothing, the more that are out the better the chances. Somebody said they are a tax write off, yes they are but rule one you have to make money to be able to write them off. So the less I have to spend the less I have to make!

AL

[UKRay]

Good point, Denise - who are the audience for our business cards?

Do we ever know who we are going to do business with?

I think sometimes we do. For example, I know that I'm only going to sell a top of the range hand-stitched leather bag to someone who has quite a bit of disposable income - essentially they will have plenty of money.

I like customers like this because they tend to spend what it takes rather than be penny-pinching. I hate a tight-wad! In fact, I would go so far as to say I would choose to make stuff for this kind of customer every time if I could. The problem is that because they have money they can choose to go anywhere for their purchase. In order to get their business I almost have to impress from the outset to get the order.

These are the hardest customers to win, but like I say, I would only work for them if I could. They are less hassle and they spend more. The profit is better and the work is more enjoyable. But how do I interest them in looking at my work when they have never seen me before?

In these circumstances I would probably choose a very good quality business card or maybe even a handmade leather one (I love that idea 'cos if it is nice enough they won't be able to throw it away so easily).

At the other end of the scale, I make straps for cat baskets and bicycle baskets. They sell for little money but I do tend to sell them to stores in quantity. The store just needs my contact details so I currently use a VistaPrint card. It looks neat and tidy and is quite distinctive in a mass-produced sort of a way. It works.

Although it seems to bring success for some people, personally, I don't see a shotgun marketing approach working for me because although it allows you to reach out to lots of people, you generally have to strike lucky on the day to make a sale. I'd rather target 'qualified' potential customers more closely - niche marketing has always been more effective for me and tends to bring good results quite quickly if I get it right.

How long do people keep cards for - I don't know.

I'm also not sure if people keep hand-made or mass produced business cards as long as they do nicely printed ones which is why I started the topic.

I'm almost certain that a leather card will stay around longest... ...and cost most to make!

What do you think?

Ray

[colttrainer]

Let me clarify what I meant by handing them out like candy. I don't just give them to everyone. But when a happy customer leaves they leave with a hand ful of cards. I will also leave cards with other businesses that have a clientel simalar to mine (if they will allow it) and I return the favor.

Al