Learn 15 best ways to improve your business cards and make you and your business more memorable.

1. 15 Ways to
Improve Your
Business Cards
(15 Ways to Change That)
By Rupesh Patel

2. Why?
STOP! You might be wasting money every time you hand out an empty business
card?
In this article, I share why you could be losing opportunities and what you can do to
make connections with customers, using a "memorable" business card.
Ok, let's test my theory. Pull out your business card and look at the back? Do you see
anything that builds your business and your brand? Worse, are you staring at a blank
page?
Since business cards were invented, we've been solely using them for the primary
functional purpose they were created for – a more formal way of introducing
ourselves and disseminating our contact information.
However, times have changed! Business is tougher and you need to use your existing
marketing assets in more creative ways. A few years ago, leaving the back of your
business card blank was okay, but today, it’s a wasted opportunity to market your
business better.

3. 1. Promote Your Social Media Pages
• One of the easiest ways to make your business cards more
marketable is to add your social media profiles at the back.
Include your Facebook Page, your Twitter Page, Google+ and
LinkedIn. This prompts your customers or clients to interact
with you socially and continue the discussion from there.

4. 2. Highlight Key Features and
Benefits of Your Products/Services
• Select three key features of whatever product or service it is
that you are offering. Why three? According to neuroscientists,
the brain can only remember three information at any given
time. Don’t be hard sell. Just enumerate in plain simple terms
what it is that your product or service represents.

5. 3. An Unexpected and Attention-
Grabbing Line
• Did you know that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s first
business card said “I’m CEO, B*tch!” Although the profanity
may be too much, you have to admit that it’s head-turning.
We’re not saying that you should be really aggressive, but your
customers and clients will remember you more if your card can
command attention like this.

6. 4. Ask Them for Reviews
• Word-of-mouth is an extremely important aspect of marketing,
especially now that customer reviews spread like wildfire
online. Your calling card is one of the best assets that you can
use to take a more proactive stance when it comes to asking
your customer for reviews. If you’re a hotel, include a logo of
TripAdvisor on the back of your card and your hotel’s
TripAdvisor listing URL. If you’re a restaurant, ask them to
publish a review on Yelp. If you’re a retailer, ask them to post
a review on Amazon.com.
Learn how to get custom review cards.

7. 5. Testimonials
• Testimonials or third party credibility is proven to increase
conversions and sales. Don’t just put them on your website.
Put them on your business cards as well! It’s a great way to
build trust right off the bat.

8. 6. Your Picture
• With all the people that your customers and clients are
meeting every day, there is a possibility that they will actually
forget who you are… and what you look like. Human beings
are hardwired to be visual learners, so they will recall who you
are better if they can see your face than just your name and
contact information.

9. 7. Share Something Personal about
Yourself
• Sometimes, business owners and entrepreneurs deal with their
customers and clients too professionally. While there’s nothing
wrong with a high level of professionalism, people are also
craving to be treated more humanely. By sharing some
personal information about yourself (i.e. your hobbies) at the
back of your calling card, you are developing a more personal
connection with your customers.

10. 8. Your Tagline
• Something as simple as putting your tagline at the back of
your business card will already get you ahead of those who
just leave it blank! It reiterates who you and what your
business stands for, which let’s face it, is the start of building
brand awareness.

11. 9. Images of Your Products or
Services
• As mentioned above, humans are hardwired as visual learners.
So, by putting images of your products or services, you create
a better chance for recall for your offerings.

12. 10. A QR Code
• In this day and age when everyone owns a smartphone with a
camera and access to the internet, putting a QR code on your
business card that will redirect your customers or clients to
website. It’s fun, interactive, and it creates the impression that
you are technologically up-to-date.

13. 11. A Motivational Quote
• Yes, it may sound cheesy, but every once in a while, people
need cheesy sayings to get motivated and get through their
day. As long as the motivational quote that you choose is
related to your business, you’re good to go!

14. 12. A Special Offer
• Most of the time, you give your business card to potential
customers and clients, and what a better way to reel them in
than with a special offer? It can be a discount, a freebie or
whatever it is that you can offer in goodwill.

15. 13. Offer Benefit In Advance
• Benefit in advance means you’re already giving your potential
customers something valuable before they even purchase. For
example, if you’re selling weight loss product, you can share a
scientifically proven tip to help your customers lose weight
without starving themselves.

16. 14. Encourage Free Trial
• Offering free trial is one of the best ways to turn someone
from a lead into an actual customer. If you can offer
something that can encourage trial, you can print this offer at
the back of your calling card.

17. 15. Direct Them to a Landing Page
• In order for you to really develop a relationship with your
leads, you need to get their email address and communicate
with them constantly. You can do this by directing them to a
landing page where you offer them something of value in
exchange for their email address.

18. Other Tips
• Here are other tips that we have to really make sure that your business card
stands out:
• Don’t scrimp on printing
• Don’t use cheap paper – it will create the impression that you will sacrifice
quality to save money
• Have different sets of business cards for different purposes (i.e. for socializing to
be given to peers, for customers to promote special offers, etc.)
• A business card can be a mundane thing to a lot of us, but when maximized, it
can actually be an effective tool to promote your business better. Want to
update your cards? Click here for custom business cards with your marketing
on the back side.
• Have a successful day!
- Rupesh

19. Hospitality Marketing Tools
www.smartguests.com