Do People Still Use Business Cards? | Tailor Brands (2024)

The digital age has changed how we communicate—we know, you know this. For some professions, it’s even replaced face-to-face contact — doctors can meet patients online, lawyers can zoom with their clients, and digital sales teams create websites to market their products. Things have changed.

These advancements can bring into question traditional marketing items like business cards. Do we need business cards to connect with customers in the digital age?

While you may think business cards are of the past, they’re still used for networking and marketing. Business cards help make a lasting impression with a business prospect and help build your future.

There are plenty of uses for business cards. They can be used as an introductory tool for new clients or help you stay in touch with old ones. They can help your employers, investors, or business partners keep tabs on you. You can even use them as a marketing tool!

But does that mean you need one? You may need digital business cards if you are:

• An entrepreneur or freelancer — business cards will help market your services and stay in touch with clients
• A recruiter — distribute your business cards to potential candidates you meet during the recruitment process
• A student — business cards can build your network for your career, so give them to people you meet. Who knows? It may even help land you your dream job after school!
• An artist — take your work beyond the art gallery walls and establish yourself as an artist by utilizing business cards
• A business owner — show your commitment to your customers with high-quality business cards
• A traveling employee — use business cards to network when you’re on the road

With something as small as a business card, you may wonder, do they even work? And the answer is yes. Even though we’re technologically evolving and enhancing the way we communicate, business cards remain an important tool in multiple areas of business life.

Here are some of the reasons why you may need a business card:

• Being able to network and establish professional connections with potential clients, investors, or business partners
• Use them as a marketing tool to reach out to more people in comparison to other digital channels
• Establishing and solidifying branding consistency
• Making a good first impression on potential clients, employers, and new contacts
• Providing an accessible medium that informs people about your website address, contact information, and everything about your company

• Networking events
• Meetings with clients and/or contacts
• Conferences
• Exhibitions, trade shows, seminars

Today, many companies offer digital business cards. And why wouldn’t they? Digital business cards are an online version of a business card that can be used across multiple platforms. Think of it like a business card that goes wherever the customer’s phone goes (and they go everywhere). With a digital business card, you stay connected to your customers while standing out from your competitors.

A digital business card can be easily shared via:

• QR code
• Email
• Media files
• Social media bios

Plus, creating a digital business card is quick to do. You don’t need days and days to design and print your cards out. An easy-to-use interface lets you simply enter your personal information and create a custom design. In less than five minutes, your digital business card is ready to go.

Aside from electronic business cards being easy to create, they’re usable anywhere and everywhere — there just needs to be internet access.

Digital business cards can also give you the power to:

• Update details anytime — digital cards allow you to easily add new information whenever you need or want to
• Have an online backup — paper copies tend to get lost, and digital copies prevent this problem from occurring
• Share it with anyone at any time — since they’re accessible on any mobile device, you can easily pull it up wherever you go
• Personalize — choose your layout, font, color, and text to meet your preferences
• Be germ-free — no more worrying about those nasty germs on paper cards!
• Go green — Digital business cards reduce the volume of printed materials and protect the environment

• Security — can be hacked and copied
• Appearance — aren't as polished as paper business cards
• Accessibility — not everyone has a smartphone or wants to exchange contacts this way
• Personalization — digital business cards can lack a personal touch

When creating your business card, you want to make sure you get your point across within seconds (first impressions matter). It’s important that the person receiving your card won’t discard it without reading it.

Secondly, you want to make sure you include all your essential business info and details such as:

Logo — be sure to have your logo on your business card. If you need one, use a logo maker to help streamline the process.

Tagline — the way to stand out is to create a tagline your recipient will remember you by.

Website — choose a domain name that is easy for people to remember.

Contact information — this should be your main focal point. Your information needs to be accurate, current, and include correct spellings. Providing QR codes is always a plus as well!

Social media profiles — if you have them, attach your social media account names to your business card.

Print size — if you choose a paper business card, choose a reasonable print size and font. Make it easy to read — do not overcrowd.

A picture — if you can, include a picture of yourself on your business. Your recipient may remember your face if you do so!

Any other essential links — add any other links to your business card that you think someone might need or appreciate, such as a coupon code.