Business Card Function

A business card functions as your professional identifier. In one easy to carry vehicle, it communicates both your status within the organization and the company’s pertinent business information. The business card is an important sales tool as it serves as a helpful reminder to potential customers of their face to face meeting with the owner of the business card.

Personal Identifier

The business card is both an introduction and a keepsake.  It details pertinent information about the bearer of the card and the business of the company.  Without saying a word, the holder of the business card knows much about the card owner including their name, position within the company, job status as well as a number of ways in which the individual might be contacted including physical mailing address, business and fax phone numbers and email.  It card might also rely on the card owner’s professional status with the inclusion of suffixes such as M.D., Ph.D., or Esquire behind their surname or trade licenses numbers.

Corporate Identifier

The company’s name and logo are prominent features of a business card.  The logo identifies the company by name, reputation, and the nature of the business in which it operates. The particular design of the logo telegraphs much about the professionalism and sophistication of the company. The design of the card itself communicates much about the character of the business.

The weight and texture of the card stock and the number of ink colors used on the card conveys a message about the company’s commitment to quality as well as the status and regard the business has for itself. Traditionally, business cards are on white paper, however, a business that operates in a creative sector such as an entertainment company might opt for a more colorful and expressive business card design.

A Corporate Keepsake

The business card is both a promise and a commitment.  Its distribution is a promise that the company represents itself as the card indicates.  Its acceptance is a commitment to seriously consider the company at some future date as a candidate for a business relationship. It functions as the individual and the company’s ambassador when the owner of the card is not present.  To be effective, the business card must be retained by the recipient of the card.  This role as a corporate keepsake is the supreme function of the business card – to be singled out from among the many business cards passed along for saving and potentially being used by a new customer prospect.