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The business card is a great, and traditional way to keep in touch with potential clients, and partners. In this day and age of modern convenience and technology, they are rather old-fashioned, and not as effective as they used to be.
So what’s the alternative? How can you make sure that your clients know you, and will contact you when the need arises? We look at some great alternatives to business cards, and how you can put these to the best possible use.
Hand Sanitizer
When you give someone a business card it is a piece of paper that quickly ends up being lost, or, possibly, in the garbage. So how do you get your potential clients and business partners to remember you on a daily basis?
Hand sanitizer is a great way to get people to remember you every day, especially at the moment. The sanitizer comes in a handy pocket or desk size bottle, and every time a person uses it they see your name! One of the best ways to keep someone in a positive frame of mind is to wish them well. Keeping them healthy is certainly one way to do just that.
NFC Business Cards
A great alternative to the traditional business card is the NFC card. NFC is better known as near field technology which lets your phone communicate with items that are fitted with an NFC chip. For example a business card. You just tap the business card to any smartphone with NFC capabilities and the holder of the phone has all your details right there.
Eco Pens
The printing of pens and giving them away is as old as marketing itself. However, it is still as effective as it ever was. With cheap promotional pens easily found online, you can start handing out the thing that everyone always needs.
Even better is the arrival of cool eco pens made of bamboo or coffee. So you make a friend by giving someone a pen, while you also show you care about the environment.
Lego Figures
One of the coolest business card ideas we’ve seen comes from Lego. Apparently, the idea started with the management team of the Danish company who had little figurines made of themselves which they would hand out as business cards. You can now order these little Lego figures for yourself.
Action Figures
Ok, using an action figure of yourself as GI Joe might be a bit too much, but then again, if it works…. Swedish photographer Jens Lennartsson had 400 action figures made which he sent along with his portfolio to any potential clients. This is probably the most epic case of self-promotion we’ve ever seen.
USB Sticks
Are you one of those people that always needs a USB stick but can never find it? The solution to this might just be a massive undertaking to get everyone to hand out branded USB sticks. The great thing about these is that you can brand it on the outside, but also add loads of information about your company on the inside in the shape of a video, image gallery, or simply a PDF explaining what you do.
Facemask
What’s wrong with a little self-promotion? Nothing right? So you can always have your business card printed on a facemask. This idea comes from Japan, but it’s widely available in the UK as well. In Japan, where even before the Pandemic wearing a facemask was a common sight, the handing over of business cards is an important part of daily life and a vital cultural exhibition.
To help limit the spread of Covid-19, businesses have been looking for new ways to minimize contact between workers, and wearing facemasks is a way to keep everybody safe. You could have several thousand printed out, for example, and hand these out to employees, clients and partners. Everyone forgets their facemask once in a while, so it’s a great way to provide a service, and to do some self-promotion!
Now that you’ve seen it can be great to think outside the box, it’s time to get creative with your way of passing on your business information.
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
