It may seem that business cards need to take the back seat when it comes to marketing when considering all the attention being paid to digital marketing these days. There are a number of good reasons why you should not underestimate the value of business cards in your marketing strategy. In this post I will remind you of the reasons why business cards are still a key component to business development, and then I’ll share a simple strategy that is, if followed consistently, guaranteed to help you build your business.
Why do you need business cards?
People will forget your name, and what you’ve told them minutes after you’ve introduced yourself. This makes it highly unlikely that they will contact you or even remember your business in the future. Handing a person a business card when introducing yourself enables them to remember your name and what you do. It gives them something to look back at when they forget your name.
Why do business cards work?
How many times have you emptied out your pocket, late at night or early one morning to discover a forgotten business card from the day before? Business cards work while you sleep (or do something else). They remind people of your interaction and depending on whether they keep it around, can serve as a resource.
Business cards work because there are social and psychological processes at work when you receive a gift (card) from somebody during an interaction. The card serves as token, a memento of your interaction. Although the card itself has no value, it takes on a certain value based on the social interaction. Even if a social interaction was not significant, high quality cards, cards that feel like they should have value in themselves, are generally kept by the recipient.
Marketing is expensive. Business cards are cheap. You can print 1000 high quality color cards for less than a black and white advertisement in a trade publication. Cards work because they can be distributed freely without impacting your bottom line negatively.
The Millionaire’s Strategy
There is a simple strategy to help you build your business. It is so simple that the majority of people reading this will not do it, simply because they think it is too simple. The millionaire’s strategy is this: “Hand out business cards – daily and consistently.”
How many strangers do you interact with every day? Three? Five? Ten?
What if you handed out 1 business card each and every day to a stranger, for a year? Will that grow your business? What if you handed out 5 every day? What about 10? Now I’ve heard the objections, “I don’t know that many people”, “It’s weird to hand business cards to strangers”, “Won’t they think I’m trying to date them?”
It really depends on how serious you are about growing your business and how creative you can be. It really doesn’t matter if the majority of people you hand cards to never give you a call. As you will see in a bit, the strategy is not based on making 10 friends every day, it is based on a daily and consistent strategy to hand out cards. That is it. I agree, there are many more focused marketing strategies out there, but this is not it.
The numbers:
Start out simple if you are skeptical. Hand out 1 card per day. In a month you would have handed out 30 cards. Let’s assume you live where I do and 90% of your cards are trashed before you walk out the door. Ok, you ‘wasted’ 27 cards but you are well on your way to develop 3 potential leads in 1 month. Now imagine you do this for a year – yes I know, it will take commitment. In a year you would have handed out more than 360 cards. At a 10% success rate you potentially gained 36 clients.
Lets say
10% is optimistic. How about 95% of your cards die a slow death in somebody’s pocket? This still gives you 18 new leads in a year. How often do you develop 18 leads by doing no special marketing work? Even at a 99% ‘failure’ rate you would have developed 3 – 4 new leads in a year. Noting to write home about but still something.
So far what I’ve been describing is the “Average Joe’s” strategy, since anybody can do this without much effort. Even with this in mind I know very few people will.
The millionaire’s strategy requires a bit more…
Do the impossible
Set a goal for yourself. “I will hand out 10 cards a day, every day.” If a natural disaster prevents you from handing out the last card today, hand out 11 cards tomorrow. At a 1% success rate you may find 3 new clients per month. At 5% that is 15 clients a month. At 10% you’ve just reached 360 new clients a year!
Why is this called the “millionaires strategy”?
If so far you’ve been thinking that the success of this strategy lies in the cards, you’ve missed the point. The success of this strategy lies in the opportunity the first set of monthly (or yearly) leads generate for you. In the home inspection industry (as in most industries) a large segment of your customers will either be repeat customers or referrals. While the cards are aimed at generating new customers, the bulk of your business, after the first year or two (depending on where you start with this strategy), should be repeats or referrals. In this industry your “millions” will not be coming from new customers. Your long-term success will depend on the repeat clients and referrals (referrals both from clients and others in the real estate / construction industry).
Practical advice
If you are concerned about being misunderstood when handing, or leaving, the barista a business card with your name and cell, make business cards with only your logo, a short intro for your business and your web address (or main office line). If you are going to hand out hundreds of cards, judge for yourself whether you need to share your email or cell with 300 people a month. Remember, your cards will find their way into the hands of other entrepreneurs who will be reaching out to you for their own reasons. Be ready for that, and plan accordingly.
Infinitely happier is the business card who breathed his last in somebody else’s pocket compared to the one who did so in his master’s…
Cards are not expensive, but invest a little more to have a well designed and good quality card. Color cards are kept longer than black and white cards. Also stick with standard thicknesses and sizes. Cards that are bulky (too thick or large) and difficult to keep will be thrown out. Ideally you would want a client to call you the day they receive your card. If they forget the card in their wallet, and call you after discovering a well-worn card a month or two later, consider it a success.
Please let me know your thoughts on this strategy, or if you have a “milllionaire’s” strategy of your own.
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