Business cards are crucial to every professional. A 2023 study shows that 57% of business owners agree that using business cards for their businesses is good. Yet, 88% of these cards are discarded or forgotten in a week. Why does this happen? And what is the solution?
Business cards are essential and have been in circulation for hundreds of years. Even today, they are crucial, but unless your traditional cards are of superior quality and memorable, people will not use them. Moreover, after the pandemic, digital business cards are gaining momentum. Even before the pandemic, there was a steady growth in the use of digital business cards. But the pandemic accelerated their use.
Digital business cards offer an efficient, quick, and secure way of sharing contact with a potential customer or client in minutes. Moreover, they are more affordable than traditional business cards. This blog discusses digital business cards and why professionals should explore their use.
What are digital business cards?
Digital business cards are identical to traditional business cards in a way. They have similar details as the card. The major difference is that you can add a virtual link or share the card virtually using a digital business card. An affordable digital business card has links to a website or social media. Including an online element makes the card unique and different from traditional or paper business cards.
A digital business card stores data safely in an online format called a VCF (virtual contact file). It allows everyone with digital cards to use social media, QR code, NFC tag, and email. All this makes digital business cards easy to use. You only have to let people scan the QR code, and your details will be on their smartphones forever. No more cards in the bin, ensuring better follow-up.
Reasons to use digital business cards
It allows you to share information easily and quickly
The main reason to have a business card is to share details and information. In the past, people used printed or paper business cards for this. At that time, carrying multiple business cards and fishing them out of your pockets to share them with someone was the norm. It was a wonderful and quick practice. The downside?
- The person receiving the card forgot where they placed it.
- Or if the card is not memorable enough, they might just place it in their drawer and never use it.
- Or you might not have enough cards to share with people.
In a world where everyone first searches for things on Google, these print cards are just not cutting it.
Therefore, now you should share affordable digital business cards. When you share these cards, your details are automatically added to the recipient’s smartphone. This guarantees quick sharing of the details and ensures the recipient has them instead of letting them gather dust in drawers.
They are a vital networking tool.
Do not give up on business cards because you are not getting any return calls. Business cards are still an important networking tool. Start using digital business cards instead. Virtual networking, conferences, or meetings with global clients are now due to digital business cards.
It helps you expand your connection.
A traditional card has limits regarding what you can add to it. For instance, after adding the basic information, you can only add a link or two to your socials. By adding more, you risk cluttering the card. That is not enough; not many people will manually search for your socials. With digital business cards, you can add as many links as possible. Also, these links are clickable, so people can save your contact information on social media platforms instantly. Thus, it expands your connection and gives you multiple ways to connect with people.
Updating the details is easy.
Often, a small business needs to change their address or contact details. Or even an enterprise business card may have the wrong details. This happens more often than you think. When printing business cards, you must go through everything—designing and printing the cards again. It is time-consuming and not cheap! However, with digital business cards, you can just use the app (the one you used for designing the card) and update the information using the app. It is easier and does not cost you a dime.
They are eco-friendly.
Paper business cards require paper. That means cutting trees, which is not environmentally friendly. Sure, people are opting for better options, like metal cards. Yet, they are not as safe for the environment as digital business cards. With this technology, you reduce printing and production charges while saving the environment. If you are using digital business cards, you set an example for all businesses to follow.
Scope for creativity
Using paper business cards means having limited space. So, you cannot use creativity to create multiple designs or add more details. You need white space in it. Otherwise, as mentioned above, the card will look cluttered. You can create a high-resolution and large business card with digital cards, creatively showing every detail. Also, you can play around with themes and much more on a digital card.
It is cost-effective.
Paying for a premium business card is expensive. You can pay for design, paper, and print. If you change or update the details, you pay for everything again. But with digital cards, there are no such charges. You pay once, or a small amount, for a beautiful card.
Conclusion
Many professionals still use traditional business cards. As of now, they are not going anywhere. However, more and more people are shifting towards affordable digital business cards. The reason is the global expansion of connections, which is impossible with traditional business cards. The ease of sharing digital business cards is another compelling reason to adopt them. In today’s fast-paced business environment, you often have limited time to make an impression and exchange contact information. Digital cards can be effortlessly shared via email, messaging apps, or scanning a QR code, making the process efficient and convenient. This ease of sharing leads to a quicker expansion of your professional network.
Moreover, there are other reasons, too, like the ease of sharing and updating the details instantly. So, if you are not using digital business cards now, start using them.
