What Makes a Business Card Good or Bad?

Say you pose this question to a group of small business people,  entrepreneurs?  Possibly, initially, you’ll receive a response of silence, (new business people hesitant to express their opinions) and then there’ll be the expressions, verbal and non-verbal, of frustration and disgust at the thought of those bad business card encounters and delight at the great ones that jump out of the pile and are worth remembering.  The ones that make you think, ‘I wish I had thought of that idea’.

About the good ones.  Great business cards contain information and designs which are clean, easy to read, with excellent colour combinations regardless of whether or not the colours are bold or soft.  The card paper is of good quality.  The business card promptly and succinctly provides the type and business, product or service and contact information.  There are no questions.  There is no guessing.  It’s all there and it’s very clear.  And if the card represents the business or business owner, it creates an additional memory impact.  A carefully placed coupon promotion, charitable donation or small marketing tool will add to the positive impact experience.

About the bad ones.  Yeah we know those cards. We’ve all come across a couple that make us shake our heads in dismay.  Too much information, too many colours, bad colour combinations, a lack of clarity of the business, the message and the product will each produce a less than appealing business card.

How do you not get caught in the bad business card trap?  Ask your friends, family, your peers and your business associates for feedback on your business card design before you send it to the printers.  You definitely put yourself and your ideas out on a limb when you ask for this type of feedback.  And you risk receiving some unkind responses, however, it’s much better to deal with negative comments, make those necessary adjustments, and then create a business card that represents you and a business card which you will be proud of when you hand it out to all of your future contacts.