Business Cards
February 4, 2009I’m a big fan of business cards especially in meetings. This is due to an undesirable capacity to INSTANTLY forget people’s names sheer seconds after introduction. I also studiously type the full details onto the Outlook Contacts thing for replication to the phone etc. as soon as I get back to the PC (it’s a ritual).
Recently I’ve been receiving a number of business cards that (ahem – and excuse the stationery reference) push the envelope. One is square – certainly stands out in a stack of business cards. One is half-height AND has a photo of the Business Card owner on it (monochrome against a City skyline). One has a strong graphic on it.
Initially my reaction was no but in retrospect why not have a different format? Sure we are all going to go .vcf in the future and business cards will be a thing of the past but for the time being….
I’m working on a new business card template with a designer now prompted by a change of business address (does a business card need a postal address any more?). Not sure about putting a mugshot on it but I certainly hope to do something out of the ordinary.
channelcentral Blog 
I did see some good ones – related to that person’s hobbies – I think it was marketing again. It was a picture of that someone fishing or something (done in a nice way) – but it became a talking point, which became and act of rememberence, which became part of the promotion plan.
Around the world (especially in Asia) the business card is part of a formal act, where even the guage and feel of the paper/card is a form of evaluation/measurement. Either way as long as the person can bl00dy contact you over and above remembering your name – job done! (unlike so many bl00dy emails from people who do not put a signature on it to phone them or contact them any other way than email)!!