Business Cards Do Not Work. You Should Stop. - Beau Chevassus

Heart check here: Have you considered whether business cards are actually hurting your business? Your nonprofit? Your side hustle?

No I'm serious.

Here are my top 5 thoughts why these cheap little pieces of cardboard should go the way of dial-up modems:

1. WHERE DO YOU PUT THEM? No one has a Rolodex anymore. Just use your smart phone, ask for their number, and immediately send them your contact card or text.

Bonus: You just got THEIR contact info too, instead of just a one-way information-giving scheme.

business cards suck

2. TODAY THERE’S THIS THING CALLED THE INTERNET. In the west (not Asia), business cards are discarded or forgotten about within seconds of handing them over. Think about it: When you need to contact someone, where do you go? Perhaps Facebook? Their website? There's even a new tool called "Google" that I've heard can be used to find people's contact info.

BONUS: When they search for you online, they can actually copy/paste or quickly click on your email and instantly send you a message. No need to physically read tiny text on a business card and manually input it.

3. THEY GIVE A FALSE SENSE OF CLOSURE. Ever notice that handing a business card to someone is the END of a conversation? Ever notice a smug bit of triumph as they hand you their business card, as if they just closed a deal? It's so sad. The point of a sales call is not to hand someone your contact info... it's to close the deal.

4. THEY TELL PEOPLE YOU’RE DESPERATE. If you must hand out a business card, please, please, please... only give ONE.

- A salesman's thinking when he gives more than one business card: "This person will distribute these for me."

- What people really think: "This salesman is so desperate, he has an oversaturation of business cards that he's trying to deplete."

5. EVERYONE DOES IT. A major key to being a good communicator (the #1 skill for being a good salesman) is being different and memorable. When everyone is using business cards, it essentially tells everyone that you’re exactly like everyone else. Seek to be different. Pursue innovation.

share_contact card knok studio

There are so many other physical objects you can give in place of a business card. We at Knok Studio love giving custom-designed stickers. Even if they don't use the contact info on the back of the sticker, at least they walk away with a sweet piece of memorabilia to put on their water bottle. Sure they’re more expensive, but at least they don’t get thrown away.

Sometimes I even physically write my information on a napkin or sticky note, along with a little cartoon drawing. Some people give magnets. Buttons. A flash drive... Really anything but a tiny piece of paper cardboard with information that they can freely get online.

It's okay to recognize that business cards are obsolete.

Knok Studio among other brilliant lil' marketers on top of Mailbox Peak