Increase Sales By Tweaking Your Business Card

Want to learn how to make your business card more professional AND increase your sales?

HINT: Make your business card INTERACTIVE.

It is funny how few people miss this opportunity.

Doctor's offices are great at putting your next appointment on their card.
That creates interactivity. Just print "next appointment" and a line to write it in, and as easy as that people are more likely to carry your appointment card around or put it some place where they see it. This will increase your eyeball factor of your card dramatically.

When I designed cards for Seaside Cafe, I added little coffee cups across the bottom, so that when customers buy 7 espressos they get their 8th espresso free. Tim and Liz punch your card cups out when you come in, so that they can tell when you have the 7 holes in your card. It's a bit on the honor system, so if you're in a place where people might punch their own holes, you might use initials, or some other stamp to signify an order.

Another set of cards I designed for a beauty shop uses a stamp each time you purchase $10 or more of product. So, if you purchase $50, you get 5 stamps. Once you have the whole edge of boxes around the card completed, you get free product.

Another way to create interactivity is to offer a discount if they mention a code printed on the card. This method is clever but hardly ever used. Just these words: "mention code 555 for a discount on your next purchase" might encourage people to keep your card and refer to it when they call you to order.

You could also make part of the card tear off, so that if you bring the torn-off part of the card, you qualify for a prize, gift, or discount. This could also work for a play or production. Restaurants could make this a buy 2 get one at half off type of promotion - just from their card.

Bands and DJ's are really good about printing their schedule of gigs on there cards. I'm surprised that more professional speakers don't use a schedule on their card. (This can also be printed on the back of your card). Other organizations who hold regular events can print a small schedule on the card or on the back of the card and improve attendance.

I'm surprised how few businesses use interactivity with their business cards, as you can increase attendance, sales, and more by at least a few percent. With just this little change in how you are marketing yourself and your business, you can really improve customer loyalty. In addition, the odds that people will keep your card in their wallet, along with their other most important things like cash, baby pictures, and credit cards, goes up dramatically when you make the card interactive. You gain a side benefit of other people seeing your card every time they reach for money or show off their latest kid pics.

Try making your card interactive, and see what it does for your business.
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Post by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

ARRiiVE Business Solutions helps executives improve sales and marketing, and build dynamic, cross-functional collaborative teams. For more information, contact info (at)ARRiiVE (dot) com or call us at 1 (805) 459-6939.

Copyright © 2007 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. You may republish this article only if you publish in WHOLE with the COPYRIGHT and ALL ACTIVE LINKS intact.

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