Two sales people present their pitch to a prospective client. Both are talented and give similar offers. Both hand over their business cards. The prospective client returns home and in the evening pulls out their business cards. One is bland, generic and in black and white. The other has a color logo and nice colored golden font. Which one does the client choose? Colored cards trump the standard black and white business cards most of the time. The only reason why many businesses go for conservative colors in clothing and branding is because they are so well established and large, that they can’t allow themselves to be edgy. An upstart business on the other hand has to be edgy though. A colored business card may just be the little edge you need to win a client or customer.
We have all tried coming home with a pocket full of cards after a convention. Most of them end up in a drawer, idling away. Standard business cards are not personal. They do not create any emotional connection with us. After all, most are quite bland and boring. That is probably not the kind of connection we want though. Colored, personalized cards just create a better memory. It’s amazing how much a difference a golden font with a nice colored logo can do. It just seems ten times more professional and personal.
It also shows that you are a person who is dedicated and creative. Substance, your product, is of course most important, but many people assume that if you show effort in a small thing like this, then you are going to put that to work in your business. That’s a good thing. It can also be bad. If you have a sloppy business card, then the symbolic value is similar to wearing a un-ironed or dirty shirt. If you can’t even handle such a small decision, can you be trusted with a big decision?
Lastly, there’s the real issue of brand identity. If you have a color company logo, then it makes sense to keep it in color on your card. That’s branding 101 for you. If you stretch, discolor or otherwise manipulate your logo, then customers will feel uneasy about it. The biggest brands in the world never do that and you shouldn’t either.
Tags: business cards, color business cards