Even today, the humble business card remains a networking staple, if you’ll pardon the stationery pun. There’s no more immediate way to communicate information, recruit clients, and relay your contact details, and in some cultures, they’re the best way to signal your professionalism and attention to detail. Should you attend a conference, convention, or any other kind of trade show, business cards are a necessity – expect to both dispense and receive a bulging stack of paper throughout the day or weekend’s proceedings.
However, with that said, business cards are so ubiquitous that they’re at risk of becoming old hat. Because almost every business person carries business cards, it’s not always easy to stand out from the competition (despite the best efforts of our Independent Creators and their eye-catching designs). When that happens, it’s time to differentiate yourself from your rivals with an unconventional approach: the unique business card alternatives that we’re about to introduce in this article.
Watch, as the definition of the term ‘business card’ expands to comprise bottle openers, coasters, digital variations, and even pieces of meat! Read on to learn more about how this 15th-century tool has evolved in recent decades, and how you can put a contemporary, experimental twist on your own material!
Combo Cards
The simple, convenient shape and size of a business card makes it useful for conveying other information you might want your clients to know, such as the date of their next appointment or any discounts they’re entitled to claim. Get ready to see how some business people – along with parents, baby shower planners, and wedding planners – are repurposing the traditional business card format!
Loyalty Cards
Loyalty cards, also known as punch cards, are a fantastic way to reward customers and entice new ones into coming back to your place of business. These cards have a number of holes or punch areas that can be stamped or punctured as a customer makes a purchase, and when they succeed in achieving a certain number of pins, they can be given a prize. Some companies may offer a free gift once all the punches are complete, while others may offer a certain percentage off the next purchase made. This incentivizes clients or customers to continue shopping with the same store – your store, thank you very much – rather than going elsewhere for the same product. To learn more about how loyalty cards can be used, read our article on “How to Market Your Company with Business Cards!”
Appointment Cards
Not everyone will want to take a business card from you (especially if they’re already dealing with your company or enterprise). One covert way you can slip them a business card, then, is by presenting it as a foldable appointment card: the details of their appointment or reservation can be included, discreetly, on the inside, and the typical contact information and social media handles can be kept on the front or back of the card. Logically, most people booking your services will also need your phone number or email address if they want to cancel or reschedule an appointment, so by pairing them together, you can create a literal calling card.
Mommy Contact Cards
Just like business cards are used to network with other professionals, mommy contact cards can help you to make new acquaintances in the schoolyard. Whenever you find an interesting new adult with kids of their own, and you’d care to schedule a playdate – or, indeed, an activity for the moms! – you can hand these out as a way to keep your name and contact information fresh in the minds of your newly minted friends. These cards can also be used to introduce yourself to potential babysitters or school faculty and give them a point of contact; you could even make space on the back to include any of your child’s after-school activities, allergies, or medications that teachers or daycare should know about.
Wedding Reception Cards
Anyone who has ever planned a wedding will know that there are a considerable number of cards sent out in the lead-up to the big day – there are wedding invitations, Save the Dates, RSVPs, and rehearsal dinner invites! You can excuse your guests for becoming muddled when that amount of stationery is filling up their mailbox, in other words. For any attendee that might have misplaced the most important details, then, issue them with a wedding reception business card: a simple memo with the date, time, and venue for the ceremony, and directions to that address, if necessary. Think of it as another type of loyalty card – but for your most devoted friends and family members, this time. And if you’re still struggling with the task of coordinating your wedding stationery after this, check out our Zazzle Ideas article: “Design Your Own Wedding Stationery & DIY Wedding Invitation Ideas!”
Baby Shower Business Cards
While it’s unlikely that a baby shower is going to yield many job opportunities, you can still utilize business cards to communicate a few important requests to your customers – well, to your siblings and gal pals, we mean. Some parents like to encourage their child’s interest in reading before they’re even born, and so they ask guests, via a baby shower business card, to bring a book that will contribute to their burgeoning baby library. Others hand out business cards that double as tickets or proof of entry to some of the baby shower activities and games they have planned, such as diaper raffles. Our Independent Creators have come up with some very creative, popular ideas in this department, so don’t look askance the next time you’re invited to a baby shower with a business card!
Business Card Alternatives
If you’re still hesitant to update and reprint your business cards, or think that they’re obsolete, then how about these alternatives that serve other functions? These products do exactly what business cards do – sell your services and spread the word about your credentials and experience – but they’re also everyday, multipurpose items that won’t be discarded as easily.
Bottle Opener
Bottle openers come in many different shapes and sizes on Zazzle: some are button-shaped and circular, others are sleek and made of stainless steel, and we even have openers molded to look like a credit card! The convenient shape of such a bottle opener means that it can easily fit into a person’s wallet, and the durable coating ensures that your logo or company name won’t deteriorate with time. Whenever the recipient pours themselves a glass of wine or beer, they’ll be reminded of you as they crack off the cap. This is a particularly good association to make if you work in the hospitality or brewing industry.
Coasters
As we suggested earlier, not everyone wants to have business cards pressed into their palms as soon as they arrive on your premises. Instead, show a little restraint, and allow customers to digest the information unconsciously. To do this in a restaurant or café setting, design business coasters with your name, logo, and, in particular, any special events or promotions you have running, and leave some on every table. As your diners sip their drinks and eat their meal, they’ll be continuously exposed to your branding. You could even distribute the coasters as freebies or favors when you’re hosting something truly special, spreading your message even further! And best of all: no ugly stains or rings.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks are another everyday item that you can appropriate as business cards. At first, the customer might not care to look too closely at your details – in truth, they may just want a way to mark the page they’re on – but as they handle the bookmark, insert it, move it, inevitably lose it, and find it once again, we bet that the logo, color scheme, and list of services will be imprinted on their minds. As with the coaster business cards, you’re introducing the prospect or client to your brand without making them overly aware of what you’re doing. For best results, slip a bookmark into the bag or inside the front cover of a book when the customer makes a purchase.
Keychains
Everyone knows the three-tap-trick: it’s the quick check we do for our keys, wallet, and phone as we leave the house, whether we’re rooting in a handbag or padding our pockets. Well, now we can add a fourth item to that list: a business card keychain. People love to have a unique, colorful keyring – not just because it looks better attached to your keys, but because it’s harder to lose and easier to find. By distributing customized keychains to your patrons, you’ll present them with another dual-purpose business card. You could also upload a promotional barcode, QR code, or some form of membership ID to the keychain, which gives the owner an extra incentive to carry your branding wherever they go.
USB Drives
Despite the advances in cloud technology and computing, USB flash drives still provide many benefits when compared to Google Drive and Dropbox; for example, USB sticks don’t require an internet connection, have a high-speed transfer rate, and are compatible with both Mac and PC computers. This also makes USB drives an effective, accessible type of business card, as almost anyone will be able to make use of them, regardless of their computer type or internet speed. Design a business-themed drive with your logo or company name on it, and your customer will be reminded of those details whenever they plug it into a desktop or laptop. You could even put some marketing brochures onto the drive, but a free, empty storage space is more likely to encourage someone to use it.
Interactive Business Cards
These next suggestions are largely business cards once more, but they’re high tech and ultra modern (and in one instance, completely unorthodox). If you want to present your business as a firm that operates on the bleeding edge of technology, then these innovative cards are guaranteed to help you make that impression.
QR Code Business Cards
A QR code – or ‘Quick Response’ code – is a black-and-white square that, when scanned, leads the user to a webpage of the creator’s choice. QR codes have been around since 1994 (as our article on the subject points out), but recently, QR codes have been applied to business cards as a way of urging users to download an app, leave a review, view a menu, or schedule an appointment. With our design tool, you can type in any URL and generate a QR code that allows the recipient to instantly engage with your company. That’s the kind of interaction that you simply couldn’t achieve with business cards in the past.
NFC-Enabled Business Cards
Almost all smartphones these days come equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. This means that, when you hold a NFC-enabled card to your phone, an immediate transfer will be initiated: the card could send through contact details, relevant files, webpages, or your online portfolio. It’s easy to find out whether a business card will be able to establish a NFC connection with your device: there’ll be a telltale signal marker in the corner (similar to that on your internet router or smartphone). While Zazzle doesn’t sell any NFC templates, we’re keen advocates of the tech as a way of saving space on your business card design. To read the rest of our business card design tips, click into our article on “How to Design Your Own Unique Business Card on Zazzle”!
Digital Business Cards
While the last two business cards types incorporated digital elements, they remain physical, tangible cards that must be printed and distributed in person. Fully digital business cards, on the other hand, can be shared, emailed, linked, and forwarded to colleagues, clients, and employees via a host of different apps and messaging programs. Because these business cards exist online, they’re extremely straightforward and affordable to correct and update, and in a world where so much work is conducted both globally and remotely, they’re a practical solution to networking with contacts you’ve only met on Zoom or LinkedIn.
Industry-Specific Business Cards
Not every business will be able to devise an industry-specific card (although we’d love to be proved wrong in the comments below), but if you can do so, they’re another clever option. Essentially, an industry-specific business card will also serve to provide the recipient with a sample of your work or something related to your work. For example, a hairdresser could couple some hair pins to their business card, or a jeweler could tack a business card to the back of a pair of earrings, as our Independent Creators have discovered. A real estate agent could showcase photos of their most attractive property on one side of the card, so that it becomes an advertisement for that particular plot as well, or a photographer could have a card demonstrating their finest snapshots. Think about the sector you’re in, and what you’re trying to broadcast or offer – is there a way to incorporate that into the very format of your card?
Edible Business Cards
Finally, we arrive at the most interactive and experimental business cards of all: edible business cards. If you work in the service or catering industry and want to supply potential customers with a sample of your wares, then it’s at least possible that you may be able to create a business card that appeals to their taste buds. You could ice a cupcake with your logo, mold a cookie to bear your name or initials, and perhaps even carve your contact details into a piece of jerky! Bear in mind, however, that these ‘cards’ are probably going to perish, and might even be eaten whole, which is unlikely to happen with a standard business card! Consider ordering some of our candy favors, instead, then, if you’d prefer your message to decorate the packaging rather than the lining of someone’s stomach.
If it seems like custom business cards have changed lately, well, that’s because they have: people no longer feel beholden to the conventional business card format, and are attempting to disrupt their competitors with interactive business cards, combination business cards, and some brand-new business card alternatives! We’re always embracing the future here at Zazzle, but if you still have a soft spot for how business cards were used in the past, you’re not alone, either. Continue your search for the perfect design and business strategy with Zazzle, and check out our articles on “Why Business Cards Are Still Important” and “The Best Places to Hand Out Business Cards”!
Eoin is a Content Specialist at Zazzle in Cork. He’s recently bought a house with his fiancée, and thus most of his time these days is spent trying to keep the walls from caving in and the wolves from the door. Still, he’s always open to book, game, and movie recommendations, so if you have some, let him know: he’ll add them to a very, very long list.
