“I throw away the business cards.”
I just came from a meeting with a local executive and in the course of the conversation re next steps, meetings, etc. - he noted, “I just throw away business cards once I put you in Outlook.” My joking response was, “But, mine are so pretty!” That got me to thinking about marketing “fluff stuff.”
So, two sanity checkpoints:
1. The business card is just a little piece of paper - no matter how pretty. Simply passing it out isn’t going to get you very far - particularly these days when people are increasingly on-line and always connected via IMing, blogs, and such. Those cards will end up forgotten in a pocket while your prospect is reading your competitor’s e-letter or blog. And, if you didn’t make a personal connection, that card will never make out of the pocket, much less into Outlook. So, all that last century advice re networking as a form of biz card blitzkrieg* is now even more useless. Sure, you should have a card, but don’t depend on it to make and keep a good connection.
2. Good enough can be just fine. I talk to lots of start-ups and see two extremes. On one extreme, people try to do everything on the cheap and end up looking that way. On the other, they’ve gone all out and spent thousands on marketing materials which they may never actually get to give to anybody. Even if the materials do get distributed - a business card or brochure never closed a deal. Think about it. Ever go to a networking event or trade show thinking, “Oh JOY! People will force me to take lots of brochures and business cards!” Of course not. So, when getting started (and even after) sometimes good enough is just fine. Spend sufficiently to look professional but don’t get conned into spending your dollars on marketing hoo-ha that does little more than look good.
(*Blitzkrieg is German for “lightning war.” Biz Card Blitzkrieg is where people dash up, throw a card at you and dash off to their next victim. Their goal? To “connect” with as many people as possible. I thought this alienating practice was finally becoming extinct until I attended a local association event last week. People were literally throwing their card on the table in front of me and moving on, without even saying anything to me! Made it tough to order lunch and I certainly never want to call any of the people. I did wait, however, until I got home to throw away the cards.)
Tags: entrepreneur, entrepreneur sanity check, marketing, marketing troubleshooting
View the Blog Roll
March 16th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
Sounds like Chamber of Commerce functions - especially the morning ones. “Hi here’s my card. What do you do. Gotta keep moving. Bye.” You know I’ve never made one good contact at a Chamber networking event?
March 17th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Well, at least at the Chamber events, they said something to you!
Unfortunately, this tendency to confuse quality with quantity is prevalent in other marketing tactics as well (and I consider networking a marketing tactic). Web sites, brochures, presentations, etc. People cram so much on the page, into the pitch, on the slide that nobody is interested.
March 17th, 2006 at 9:54 am
St. Patrick’s Day Edition…
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! I’m becoming a big fan of Grant McCracken’s blog, and for good reason. Check out his review of Tom Messner’s Essay about Advertising’s traditional texts. Here’s a little taste: “If I may presume to……
March 17th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
Being a visual person I like business cards. The ones that are thrown at me are culled. The good ones go into a box sorted by date. Just last month there was a person I wanted to contact after 5 years. In about 3 minutes I found the card. But I agree with Mary, don’t spend a lot of time fretting. Make them clean, and move on to more important items. If the person receiving them jots a note, then you’re on the right track. But it had nothing to do with the card.
March 18th, 2006 at 5:37 am
I used to use buisness cards all the time but now, i don’t seem to so much, generally just jot peoples email address down in meetings.