Love Your Business Card—Now What Do You Want Me to Do with It?
by Mitone Bennet
--Six Ways to Increase Your Responses Using Just Your Business Cards Is a business card
like other advertising? Surely it’s just a small thick piece of paper that tells your
contact information to the people you give it to.
Well, perhaps it could suffice like that, but if
you’re spending your advertising dollars on great looking business cards, don’t
you want the cards to accomplish the same purpose as your other advertising?
This article focuses on the last principle of the
advertising concept AIDA. A=Attention. I=Interest. D=Desire. And the last A=Action!
Basically, every ad you put out there should get your customer’s Attention, cause her
to have an Interest in your offering, and create a Desire to act upon your message.
Ironically, many advertisers leave off the most important step in this acronym: ACTION.
They forget to do the simple thing and just ASK their potential customer to do something.
So what do you want your potential customers to do? Your
Business Cards should ask for some type of response just like any other ad you place.
Think carefully. It’s best not to confuse people.
Just ask for one thing at a time. You can follow up with other offers later!
Here are six sample action requests you might add to your
business cards:
1. Visit our website at www.wearegreat.com! (See the
demand for an action? It’s more than just a listing of your website.)
2. Call us toll free at 1-800-BUY-STUF! (Say “call
us” instead of just listing your phone number.)
3. Get a free catalog when you visit our shop! (This
tells them to visit the store. It also gives them a reason to do so.)
4. Email me for free information! (Asks the recipient to
email. Gives her an incentive for doing so.)
5. Buy Weight Loss Widgets at www.weightlosswidgets.com
today! (Again, asks the reader to buy the product by visiting the website.)
6. Keep this magnet card on your fridge for easy
ordering! (They most likely will put the card on the fridge, which is exactly where you
want it!)
Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how often
there is no clear action requested of the person who gets your business card. Ironically,
these little requests seem to act as subliminal messages. People are more likely to
respond if there is an action request in your business card!
Remember, just one. Not two or three. Let’s just get
the customer in the front door so to speak, and then follow up with other requests later.
-----
About the Author Mitone Bennett, Galax, VA 24333
moi@mitone.com http://funkyfranks.com Mitone
Bennett designs websites, graphics--and business cards!, writes promotional materials, and
creates many other advertising tools for small business owners. She has a BA in English
from Radford University. She and partner, Chris Ervin, own a funky furniture and
commercial art shop in Galax, VA, http://www.funkyfranks.com
. Their specialty site http://www.drbusinesscards.com
offers a free e-course in business card design and marketing!
GET 250 PROFESSIONAL
COLOR BUSINESS CARDS, FREE! *
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