Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Effective Business Cards

Posted by Anonymous on 11/12/2008 at 2:37 PM ET 250 Points
Hi all,

With the upcoming launch of my *new* totally redesigned online gift shop, down to the logo and tag line, it's time to get some new business cards designed and printed. (I do not have a brick and mortar store.)

I want the Wow factor, but I want my business cards to convey my "message" as well as obviously provide the basic name/address/phone/URL/e-mail information. Of course, I'd like people to actually RETAIN my card!

I'm a fan of die cuts, but my new logo does not lend itself to a die cut. The logo contains my business name, Kindred Spirits Gift Shop, and its new tag line "Soulful Gifts to Lift the Spirit." Somewhere I'm thinking I'd like the card to also carry the phrase "The Gift Shop With a Higher Purpose," or some such phraseology, as 5 percent of all sales, prior to shipping and handling, are donated to three nonprofit animal-based charities. (Customers will have the opportunity to choose in the shopping cart where they'd like their donation to go.)

All I know for now is side one will be in four-color print, side two is black and white. So I need some ideas on how to pull this all together effectively. (I do have a designer helping me with the layout, but I'm providing the content.)

I want to highlight the shop's strong points. As background, I specialize in keepsake gifts and gift baskets for pet-lovers (bereavement gifts and baskets, too) and also cater to new moms and babies. Yet at some point I want to market to medical professionals and property management companies where I'll have the opportunity to use gourmet foods.

Here's what I know I want to include as selling points and am open to suggestions for adding to/deleting, knowing of course, there's only so much room on the card I can include all these things. And other selling points will appear in a new brochure. Here's what I'm thinking so far. They appear in no particular order. I'm thinking I'll bullet the items, too.

* No order too large or too small

* Customized orders available

* Corporate accounts welcome

* A percentage of all sales donated to nonprofit animal-based charities

While, unfortunately, this business has been a sideline for me up to this point, I now have the time to devote the time and effort into turning this into a full-time venture. It is my passion, and I want to do it right!

With my pet-health Web site, I have a fabulous business card with a custom die cut and awesome logo on the front, pertinent info. on the back, but I never fail to hear "So what is The Pet Guardian?" That's why I don't want to make the same mistake(s) again.

Thank you for your assistance!

- Jean
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 11/12/2008 at 3:01 PM Accepted
    Have you tried a two pages card. Same size of a normal card but with four faces. Another option is a mini disc with all the information you like to include an even more such as a video presentation if you will. This can be the same size of a regular business card. The former one is more practical because you do not need any special equipment to take a look to the content but the latter does need an equipment though it can keep a lot of information. At any rate, no card will inform everything about your business. If you have a web page include it in a regular card. Think about some advertising using traditional or new media. Hope this helps.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 11/12/2008 at 5:13 PM Accepted
    You have too much information to display on a single card. Part of the problem is that you have 2 different markets (for pets and for moms) and want to go into 2 more. So either you need to become more general or create separate cards for each of your targets (this problem is probably also apparent on your website's home page).

    The % donation isn't a primary motivation to use you. Focus on the basics - who do you serve and what (uniquely) can you do for them. The rest of the information they'll find out when they go to your online store.
  • Posted on 11/12/2008 at 5:59 PM Author
    Yeah, for now I'm going to go more general with the business cards and then possibly have one or two more versions printed up for the different markets. Same with brochures, so I can cover what I need to cover in a larger format. A lot of gift basket designers go this route. I just want to get the first card solidified so I'm moving in the right direction with my current target audience.

    While I say I specialize in the pet-lover and mom/baby baskets and individual gifts, I also am asked to create different themed baskets for Boss's Day, Mother's Day, Administrative Professionals Day, you name it. This is why I had to change my tag line for the shop. I need/needed a professional-looking Web site, as what's online for the next week or two, even though it was supposedly done by a "pro" is not professional.

    Anyway, the possibility of having a corporate gifts Web site that is not spiritually oriented in the next few years is very real.

    Thanks for your input!
  • Posted on 11/12/2008 at 6:15 PM Accepted
    Jay was pointing you in the right direction. The bullet points you list are all FEATURES, and it's pretty hard to find a BENEFIT in all your copy.

    You are trying to do too much in a business card. Start with a clear (and highly targeted) definition of your primary target audience and a crisp expression of the most important benefit they will realize if/when they do what you want them to do (i.e., buy something, refer a friend, click on a link, whatever).

    If you can communicate that one important benefit, and the appropriate call to action, you will have accomplished more than you will delivering a list of product features.

    When you "go more general" you're pretty much guaranteeing that you'll be less relevant to everyone. Better to be specific to the needs of each target audience.
  • Posted on 11/12/2008 at 6:38 PM Author
    Yes, I NOW understand what you're saying, and I don't quite know how to convey the sentiment/benefit/and call to action in just a few words for my particular niche. I know what I'm offering is unique and that I'm not "just another" Web site. Help!

    And I thought the brochure would be hard!

    P.S. When I said more general, I was meaning less content on the card.

    Thank you!
  • Posted on 11/13/2008 at 8:29 AM Accepted
    Jean,
    Like you, I'm someone who comes here for advice. The features/benefits thing really baffled me for awhile until I found an explanation I could understand, which made it easier to identify benefits in my own business.
    An example for the non-pro folks on this site .
    On a car, air bags would be a feature, the benefit would be that they prevent injury in the case of a collision.
    Try to look at your business in that way. Most people find it easy to identify the features, but then you need to verbalize what that feature does and that is what you need to tell people about.
    Yours sounds like a great service. Good luck.
    Annette


  • Posted on 11/13/2008 at 5:58 PM Moderator
    Every time you think of a feature -- even the fact that your offering is unique -- ask yourself, "So what?" Then when you answer the "so what" question, ask again, "So what?"

    Keep going until you get to an important emotional payoff for your primary target audience. Will they feel more loved? Will people appreciate them for their thoughtfulness? What's the ultimate (or end-end) benefit for your primary target audience?
  • Posted on 11/13/2008 at 6:19 PM Author
    Oh, darn, did my response to Annette get lost before I closed the question?

    Mgoodman, I love the "so what?" question. I totally agree with you. This will definitely narrow down what I need to convey to my target audience. While the shop's redesign has been taking place and had to put everything on hold, I have temporarily forgotten that I DO know how to do this as I've been doing it while rewriting product descriptions.

    Your responses are very much appreciated!

    - Jean
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