Business cards might be old school, but they’re still a great tool. When you are networking, handing over a business card with your details on it is the easiest way to make sure you get a call or email later on. They’re also a great branding tool and you can leave them in places where potential customers can find them, making them a simple but effective way to market your business. 

The problem is, everybody has business cards and if you don’t get them right, they can be very forgettable. If somebody leaves a networking event with a stack of identical cards, most of them will probably end up in the bin. Coming up with an innovative design for your cards is a start, but have you thought about going for a different option entirely? These are some of the best alternatives to a boring paper business card. 

Plastic Business Cards 

A paper business card is fine, but it’s not very durable. After a networking event, people end up with a pile of creased, dog-eared business cards at the bottom of their bag. After a few months, they’ll be next to useless and that person is unlikely to contact you. That’s why you should consider using a plastic business card printing service instead. They’re a lot more durable, which means that they last and people will always have your contact details on hand. It also shows people that you are invested in your relationship with them because you have given them a high-quality business card that stands out from all of the other paper ones they have. If you are looking for a simple way to improve your business cards, plastic is the way to go. 

Functional Business Cards

If you want your business card to work for you, making it functional is a good idea. Instead of a simple card that holds contact information, try to create something that people will want to carry around with them at all times. For example, a lot of businesses use a flat bottle opener that easily fits into a wallet or bag. People can still carry it with them like they would a normal business card, but it’s also useful to have on their person. If you run a hair products business, why not make a business card with some hair clips attached? Think about what your customers will benefit from and try to create a functional card. By offering them something useful, you are already demonstrating your value to them from the outset. 

QR Code Business Cards 

When you hand somebody a business card, you are trying to start a relationship with them. You want them to contact you again and you also want to encourage them to learn more about your business. If you can make that easier for them, you will see a much better return from the business cards that you distribute. QR code business cards are ideal because people can easily scan the code and go straight to your website. You could direct them to a landing page and encourage direct sales or you could direct them to a contact page if you are trying to get people to engage with the business and ask for more information. People are far more likely to check out your website if they can do it easily by scanning a code rather than making the effort to type out the address themselves. 

Flash Drive Business Cards 

Flash drive business cards are another great way to give people more information about your business. A standard business card will just give them your name and contact details, which might not be enough to convince them that you are worth their time. If you want to build more relationships when networking, you can use flash drive business cards with some information about the company stored on them. When the client gets home, they can open it up and look at your full pitch. You have to make sure that your networking skills are up to scratch if you want to convince people to read your full pitch, but if you get that right, flash drive business cards are excellent. It’s also a great gift to give people because they can use the flash drive once they are finished reading your pitch. There are a few options you can go for here; you might use a standard flash drive printed with your company logo or you can get flat business cards with a built-in USB connection. 

If you want to stand out from the crowd at networking events, ditch the boring paper business cards and try some of these alternatives instead.

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