Open new doors with a business card as your key

When you own a small business, the worst thing you can do is sit staring at the phone waiting for it to ring.

Instead spend that time between calls and during work downtime to find new ways to market your company or to network with prospective clients.

That’s the view of Kathryn Huxtable, Marketing Manager at Vistaprint, who says: “How do you expect people to call you if they don’t know you are there? Many small business owners fall into that trap, thinking business will just flow towards them.

“They forget about the power marketing and networking holds in growing a successful company - especially one from scratch.

“Many people claim they are too busy doing what work they have or carrying out other business tasks such as admin, but without highlighting what you do and what you can do for prospective clients, you’ll just be treading water.”

Her view echoes a recent Vistaprint survey, which said 56% of Brits would be more inclined to use a service from someone they have met face-to-face while 38% admit a business lead has come off more than six months later from initial networking.

And while a quarter (26%) of small business owners feel networking is not relevant to them, business experts see it as vital, alongside having the right tools to hand to do so.

Kathryn added: “One of our Vistaprint ambassadors, Nick Hewer from The Apprentice, believes a simple, well-produced business card is one of the best assets a business owner can ever have.

“We offer a wide variety of ways to create a card that is personal to you, with a huge number of existing templates to adapt or the option to start from scratch and customise your own design. And once you have those cards to hand, you can then get out there and hand them out.

“But, before you do, remember to spend some time identifying who your customers are and will be. Once you know this, you’re far more likely to quickly convert prospects to business rather than chasing those who fall outside your remit or, often, your abilities.”

She adds: “Knowing who you are and what you do makes it much easier to understand who will hire you and the only step left is to get out there and knock on their metaphorical door with your business card in hand ready to catch their attention and long-term custom.

“That’s proven by our research which found 56% of the public save business cards in a drawer or stick them on the fridge for use at a later date.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vistaprint.co.uk .