Business Cards – Have They Had Their Day?

When I was a child, anybody who had their own business cards was a hero to me! If I ever watched a business person all dressed smartly, reaching into his business case to produce a gold-embossed business card that he would then hand over to prospective clients, I would think I want to be like that when I’m older – just to have my own business card!

I laugh at the recollection now, merely because I naively thought you had to be the best in the world at what you did to have your own business card. I also assumed that business cards were only reserved for the rich and the famous, or those who owned the biggest corporations in the world. How wrong I was!

Anybody Can Own a Business Card

It was a little bit of a blow when beginning my work in the world of business to soon learn that anyone could create and print their own business card, and they didn’t even need to be in business to do so! With companies online, such as Vistaprint, allowing anybody to create their own business card with their unique designs and whatever else they want to include on these cards, the gloss well and truly wore off for me some time ago in terms of people carrying them. In addition, companies might choose to buy a machine like something from the Duplo DC range to help them do this and make them themselves, this way they can also create other printed marketing for their business in the shape of booklets and brochures to name a few examples.

Are Business Cards Relevant Today?

Alongside almost anybody being able to own a business card, with the lack of paper based items being bought and used, and more and more people working online and from their mobile, I can count the amount of times I have been given a business card in the last year – once! Even then, it was thrust upon me by a rep at an exhibition for something I had no interest in anyway.

Why Business Cards Are a Luxury, Not a Necessity

Whilst I don’t want to sound negative about people owning business cards, because I am sure there are many who still use and find them effective promotional items, I can’t help but foresee the demise of the card in the years to come. Considering that a huge majority of networking and collaboration is done online, alongside purchasing, the face to face meeting and handshakes are no longer necessary to promote one’s business.

The Digital Revolution Requires No Card Trail

Whilst a few people will still argue the case for business cards as a means of quickly and efficiently passing a potential client their contact details, without having to experience the rigmarole of breaking down contact information letter for letter, I think these small cardboard rectangles may just have seen their last days!