Make Sure You're Holding the Right Cards?

Posted 01-23-2008 : by Debbie Allen
Category : Business and Professional Services
Subcategory : Marketing

Does your business card reflect a positive image for your
business? Does it clearly define what your business is all about
at a glance? If not, you may be making some big mistakes in your
marketing and need to take another look at the message you are
putting out there.

Why? Because if a prospective customer views your business image
as unprofessional or confusing, they will simply do business with
someone else. You can’t afford to let that happen to you. Are
you holding the right cards?

While presenting marketing seminars to thousands of business
owners and entrepreneurs, Debbie Allen (sales and marketing
expert) discovered a shocking reality. Many of the business
cards presented a poor and unprofessional image of the business
at first glance. Very few business cards or marketing materials
had an effective message that described the business clearly.
Most lacked a strong visual logo that defined the business and
had no branded image or catch praise that set them apart from
their competition.

With this newfound discovery, Debbie began to ask members of the
audience to stay after her presentation to receive a free
business card evaluation. This intrigued attendees, and many
waited for up to an hour to have a chance to talk with her in
person and to get feedback on how to improve their marketing
message.

Another discovery! Many owners and managers are so close to their
businesses that they don't see the most obvious mistakes. The
reason for this is that they don't look at their business through
their customers' eyes. They view it from a very narrow focus,
their own eyesight. This can be disastrous for a company's
professional image.

Just as people judge individuals at first glance, so they judge a
business image the same way. If prospective customers view the
business image as unprofessional or confusing, they will simply
walk away. Prospective customers will be lost to competitors
who do a better job at marketing their company's image, brand
and uniqueness.

The goal of an organization should be to create a strong,
immediate message that clearly defines its business. The
message must connect an emotional bond with the customers, both
verbally and visually. This same image and message must be
coherent on all marketing materials ranging from a company's
business card, advertising, packaging and signage to its
website.

Once organizations recognize the need to improve their
business image on their marketing materials, it can be easy to
make the changes needed to update and improve. The solution is
often a small investment in a graphic artist and a marketing
consultant.

Where do you start? A great place to start is to take a close
look at your business card as if you were a prospective customer.
First compare it with the list of top 10 mistakes below then take
the business card ranking quiz online at http://www.debbieallen.com/

The 10 Most Common Business Card Mistakes

1. Scrambles messages with inconsistent design elements.
2. Does not clearly define your business services and/or
products.
3. Does not make you memorable (in a good way).
4. Indicates unflattering things about your business.
5. Does not generate additional business.
6. Creates a cluttered impression.
7. Omits essential information, or is filled with non-essential
information.
8. Looks out of date, or information no longer applies.
9. Is hard to read or confusing to the eye.
10. Lacks a point of interest, image or theme.

Bio: Debbie Allen is one of the world’s leading authorities on sales and marketing. She is the author of five books including Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters and Skyrocketing Sales. Debbie has helped thousands of people around the world attract customers like crazy with her innovative, no-cost marketing strategies and secrets to sales success. Her expertise has been featured in Entrepreneur, Selling Power and Sales & Marketing Excellence. Sign up for her FREE 6-week e-Course Business Success Secrets Revealed ($97 value) and take the online business card quiz to rate you marketing online now at www.DebbieAllen.com.

Author's Name : Debbie Allen

Author's Business Name : Allen & Associates Consulting, Inc.

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