How to win at the business card shuffle

Crammed in wallets behind drivers’ licenses and credit cards or tossed into coat pockets with old gum wrappers, business cards don’t always get a lot of respect.

But with some good planning and thought, when those 2 by 3 Þ inch pieces of cardstock get into the right hands, they can be as useful as a giant billboard placed directly outside a client’s window.

By JO DEE BLACK
Tribune Staff Writer

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040126/localnews/295927.html

Good business cards include contact information, an accurate and simple description of the business or service provided and are free of clutter, experts say.

"Some people want to pack their whole resume on a card, but simplicity is better," said Katie Heitzman, a sales representative at Insty-Prints in Great Falls.

Too much information can be overkill, agrees Paula Staeven, owner of PS Design in Great Falls.

"I’ve done fold-over cards that are used as mini brochures for clients," she said. "They can include more information without cluttering up the front."

It’s important to keep the image of a business or service in mind when designing cards.

Sometimes gimmicks work.

Staeven used heat-sensitive paper that changed from green to yellow when touched for business cards for a massage therapist.

"I also created a die-cut Rolodex business card for Stray Moose Productions in the shape of a moose," she said.

Others such as accountants and attorneys need straight forward designs, said Suzie David, director of the Small Business Development Center in Great Falls.

"Don’t use a graphic that doesn’t clearly connect to what your business does," she said. "And don’t use things that are too cutesy, immature or childlike if that is not the image you want."

Montana Milling restyled their business cards three years ago, part of an image campaign designed to give customers a better idea of what the specialty grain and flour company actually does. The company carries 32 varieties of grain, conventional and organic, and will mill for clients’ needs, such as flake, cracked grain or flour products.

"Our former name was Montana Merchandising, but many of our clients thought we were a distributing company," said Greg Thayer, the company’s president.

Banik Communications helped create the new name and a logo, featuring a silhouette of Montana Milling’s plant in Conrad.

Montana Milling’s business cards include employees’ names and titles, along with the business’ telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address and Web site.

"Our tag line at the bottom reads ‘Serving the baking industry since 1972’," Thayer said. "That’s important because a lot of small companies come and go in this industry and we need our clients to know we’ve been here for a long time and will continue to be."

Deemed elevator pitches in the business world, such one-sentence lines tell people exactly what a company does. The idea is to come up with a pitch that can be given in a time window as short as an elevator ride. A good one will fit nicely on a business card.

Business card costs range greatly.

There are a number of products available for do-it-yourselfers, including paper designed for printing on home computers. It costs between $13 to $18 for enough sheets to make 200 business cards.

Another inexpensive option is to fill in information on templates offered at some discount printing businesses.

At Staples, 1,000 white business cards with up to six lines of black print using one of four templates cost $10.99, said manager Melissa Garten.

Color copiers can make eye catching business cards in batches as small as 25, said Heitzman.

"Design set up varies, but starts at $15," she said. "Once that is done, then you can print colored cards for $1.50 a page."

That process also works well when targeting audiences tied to a specific event, such as a farm or bridal show, she said.

The more color and custom design included on a business card, the higher the price tag.

One thousand business cards that include seven ink colors printed on linen paper cost $252 at Staples.

Printing for a set of 500, full color cards costs $99 at Insty-Prints, but that price doesn’t include set up costs.

One of the most important rules for business cards — make sure they don’t just sit in the box they come in. Use them.

"I hand them out on sales calls, at Chamber events and even at social events," said Heitzman. "I think it’s acceptable everywhere today, especially in my business. Everyone needs a printer at sometime, either for business or for personal events such as wedding invitations."

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How to make the most of your business card

Tips for creating a great business card from Randi Szabo of Banik Communications

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040126/localnews/295928.html

# Every business should have a business card. Independent contractors and home-based businesses sometimes think they don’t need one, but it is important for credibility and for marketing yourself.

# Always put your Web site on business cards. E-mail address is important.

# Keep your card up to date–scribbled out phone numbers or addresses are not impressing anyone.

# When designing a card, start with the paper. Many unusual and beautiful papers are available, and can be affordable in small quantities for business cards. For instance, for a glass repair or a window treatment business, a stiff translucent paper may make a statement.

# Though initial costs are higher, a die cut shape can make a card stand out. Think of the shape of a loaf of bread for a baker, a T-shirt for a screen printing store or a shoe box for a shoe store.

# Some simple additions to a card don’t have to cost extra to make it unique. A golf pro could have the card drilled with a hole. A seamstress could run a line of stitching with thread across the card.

# Consider printing useful information on the back of a card or a discount coupon.

# Whatever the design, it must be consistent with the reputation you want to build for your business. A fancy gold foil ink on glossy black card may look gorgeous, but does it fit the image of a scrap metal company?