The little card tells a big story

I've been seeing a lot of small and rural businesses' business cards lately. You can really tell the ones that have been designed and printed on home computers. You can also tell the ones that have been designed and printed professionally.

I have to guess that the businesses putting their face forward with business cards designed on their home computers and printers just don't realize the message this sends to their potential customers.

So here's the scoop:

Your business card is your first contact with a good portion of your customer base. You hand them over at networking groups and at every meeting you attend. They hang around in people's day-books, pockets and in weird places in their cars. You should never underestimate the value of great looking business card.

Unfortunately, too many rural and small business owners think the business card is a throw-away and not worth an investment. Think again. Your business card tells your story, represents your brand and has more staying power than almost any other kind of printed marketing.

So what message do you think an unprofessional, flimsy business card relays?

What it says is, "I don't really care about my business. I probably won't be around in six months so don't worry about losing my business card. I don't have enough pride in my business to bother about looking professional or reliable."

I've still got business cards from people I met 10 years ago. And you can bet the quality of the card reminds me why I have done business with them, or why not.

Your business card sets the tone for all the rest of your marketing - your stationery, your print ads, your website.

So say, for instance, your customer base is highly educated people with a disposable income. If your business card is messy, cluttered and on cheap paper, do you think this customer base is going to trust you?

It isn't rocket science. Get your business card designed and printed so you can be proud to show it off. You'll find your customers believe in you faster and you'll also find yourself being more excited to hand your cards out to others.