Showing posts with label Business Card. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Card. Show all posts

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Benefits of Business Cards as a Marketing Tool - Update

After publishing yesterdays blog 'Benefits of Business Cards as a Marketing Tool', I have received some great business cards and comments from you! There are some truly great suggestions and idea's.

I have learned so much about business cards in the past few days and how very important they are as a business marketing tool. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the contributors to this article.

David Taylor from New South Wales, Australia, says "Just wanted to add my two cents if that is OK.



1) also make sure that you have a decent quality, thick cardstock for your card. It is more expensive, but again, it adds to the professional image of your business.

2) like you I do not have any balloons on my business card. I have squares."



  
Aaron here from Singapore.

From you blog, I decides to share my name card with fellowmate ...

 


All namecard are design by myself as I want my name card to be out stand from other balloon decorator/twister/retailers...

I want a namecard that with just a simple glimpse it know what we are dealing...I them to see lots of things and know that we are in balloon business.

Colorful name card is one of the condition to capture my customers' attention...

Secondly, pictures shows a thousand words and it tell them what we are dealing.. well you get what I am saying after you see my name card...

In my name card I also states what services we are dealing so people get the idea and know who and what to look for when they going thru your name card..

name card stock is important too.. my name card is 300gsm and its think with offset printing compare to digital print and I make use all the space i have on the name card to
tell my client what I am selling...

Quality of namecard is important as it shows your status of your profession...


Aaron Chee
Creative Art Designer / Trainer
Qualatex - C.B.A
(Certified Balloon Artist)
Balloon Artist, Entertainer,



Matthew Lewis, Coventry, UK. has 2 company names offering specific services and has different business cards that clearly defines each business. This allows him to target specific markets and customers.













Hey Sue
I'm enjoying your blog -


Attached is my business card,  thought I would share -- my logo works great on my vehicles, T-shirts and banners too.

Readability is 'sooo' important...and when I go to conventions I'm 'sooo' surprised when people are still printing their own on the perforated cardstock....thanks for sharing the info you do on your blog!  That was one of the keys I hit on in Class at FLOAT last year, was letting people know when you go to Market and Network you want to have professional looking cards...

Joette Giardina, Certified Balloon Artist
Creating Memorable Celebrations http://www.partypeoplecelebrationco.com
Recent events http://www.partypeoplecc.blogspot.com 

Jolanda & Tibor - Party Bord, Netherlands,
Hi Sue,

Read you blog about presenting yourself to clients, a.o. with the
'right' business card.

Attached our business cards (of both Tibor and myself). This is a design of a few years back. As our business is not only
ballondecoration (also inflatables, bouncy castles, party goods etc.) We had to come up with a design that represents 'party', and when people think of 'party', they think about balloons and (in Holland)
flagbanners, right?

The orange flagbanners in our design are very recognizeable because of
their rigid shape. The diagonal flagbanners also 'protect' our website photo's against copying (of course clients compare prices. This way our logo is in the picture :) ).

At the bottom of the attached card is in text what we do: inflatables
- flagbanners - balloons - Helium - bouncy castles - light & sound.

We are planning to design new cards, just with balloons. Our business
is shifting towards balloon decoration (instead of inflatables, as
there are more and more rental companies rising). Also the balloon
business is where we can excel and specialize ourselves, plus: many
location managers and catering companies are not interested in
inflatables and other rental stuff.


Nina Dee's of 'Deesigns Balloon Creations' CA, USA says "Being also in graphics, I esp liked your comments on DIY business cards: a personal sore spot with me & the folks in this industry! So thanks.
Attached is a copy of my balloon business card that I am quite happy with. It relies on the marketing tenet that people like to do business with people they know, hence my photo. If they don't know me to start with, they will after looking at this a few times. And it shows a plethora of balloons which supplies plenty of color. I also use my signature font which brands all my marketing materials, and has plenty of white space so is comfortable to look at. It is printed on heavy weight gloss stock so feels substantial to the touch. 




Denisse Sanchez - Deco Inn, Puebla, shares her great business card... I love pink!











Thank you again everyone for your input, I am truly inspired by the diverse range of business cards shown here, I look forward to seeing some great business cards when I meet you at future events!

Happy Ballooning!
Sue 
www.sue Bowler.com

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Very Best Balloon Store - Retail Sales Tips 2.



This weeks tip is for both retail and home-based business's.
Benefits of Business Cards as a  Marketing Tool

In our highly competitive world, we need to find different ways to promote our products and services, this week we are looking at business cards.

A well designed business card can be a very effective way of marketing. They are easy to make, there are many online websites that offer an easy step-by step process to designing your own cards, giving you professional results.

The great thing about business cards is that people do actually look at them, probably longer than printed literature such as fliers and brochures. They are easy to carry and store, making it easy for someone to contact you when they need your services.

So what makes the perfect business card?
Professional looking, unlike like my first business card that I designed and printed myself on coloured card! Sadly, an industry friend reminded me of that only a few months ago and proudly gave back to me 'my original business card', they had found recently after 15 years... cringe!
Note: Do-it-yourself marketing materials can make your business look unprofessional, suggesting to potential clients that you cannot perform to or meet the standards they expect. Customers may think that if you don't care how your business presents itself, you don't care about the quality of your product or service.

What information do we need to include?

  1. Your company name, business and website address are a must.
  2. Company Logo is also very important and should be present on the card. Add accreditation's such as QBN network or CBA. Did you know, as a QBN member or CBA you can easily download the logo's, by simply visiting www.Qualatex.com and clicking on QBN Resources, you will need to log in using your QBN number and password, then clicking on Marketing Resources -  and select LOGO's


  3. The font, text, and colours of a card are very important, they should be chosen with a great deal of caution. They should be readable, and colours should contrast well. Make sure the card is of a standard size to make it easier to carry. Where possible the back of the card should be left blank.
Note: This is another error that I made, recently I decided to make my new business cards a 'Hot Pink'  colour with White and Lime Green writing, yes, it did match my website colour, but it is very hard to read the Lime Green writing, all in all a disaster! 
I have since re-designed my card, making it very simple, easy to read and I lost the Lime Green text too!
Now that I have written this blog and have done a little research on the subject, I believe that I made a number of errors when designing my newest business card, I will make sure that when I re-order I will make a few changes!

My card with the Lime Green Text... impossible to read!
My latest business card, much easier to read... but does it need balloons?





A business card portrays the professionalism of a business. A good card will remain with the customer for a long time and will project a business in a positive way.

Always carry business cards with you. Give them freely and ask permission to leave them in places your target market may visit.

Have you got the very best business card that 'sells' your companies products and services really well? Please send me a photo of it, as I would love to add them to this blog! 
email me : Sue@suebowler.com

Happy Ballooning!
Sue
www.suebowler.com