I run a small business and do a lot of networking and I’ve noticed that people aren’t really handing out business cards anymore. Do you still use them?
I use paper business cards all the time. They’re fun and cheap.
Also, plain boring unimaginatively-designed business cards are so ubiquitous that if you’re using a design that’s at all interesting yours will easily be way ahead of most of the other business cards people will get.
I once got one made from very thin steel. You could have used it as a weapon in an Asian martial arts movie. But I was really scared of even touching the thing because it was so sharp.
Hacker Kevin Mitnick had a famous metal business card for his computer security firm which was a set of lockpicks. The lockpicks really worked if you knew how to pick locks.
Patrick?
No, this is the Krusty Krab.
Business cards are useless unless they’re bone with silian rail lettering
I don’t even work in “business” and I have gotten at least 15 business cards in the last year.
Yeah ppl still use them in my expierence
They still make sense for local business, I think. I get and hang on to the service industry cards I get(HVAC, driveway grading, roofing, etc.)
For me, yes, cards are still used. I work in transportation. Half the certified companies are small hands-on repair shops, so there’s probably a beige office with a real rollodex. Most traveling auditors are semi-retirees so cards are the default, but certainly not required. Most presenters at conferences are from the biggest ~5 companies, fighting each other for market space, so they like handing out cards with a big company logo and their latest job title. I hand them out because this is the first job that provided them to me, so it’s been exciting. Plus, people seem to actually like my company. And, with a box of 500, I’m likely to change job titles before I deplete them at this rate.
My industry is not trying to be on the bleeding edge or marketing and buzzwords. Product goes through years of tiered in-service testing before market release. It’s all about results, not techy contact scans
Which industry
Rail. Buzzword marketing is for the leasing agencies. Everyone else wants test results. The playing field for sales is greatly leveled when everyone has to be certified to industry standards, are selling only approved designs, and are largely playing within a mutually-assured-destruction set of requirements defined by competitors working together. Defects are reported to the regulating body. It’s almost beautiful.
On the other hand, demonstrably good improvements are slow to be implemented.
I work in healthcare-- cardiology. So I am frequently handing out business cards for cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists, and electrophysiology doctors. Most of the patients appreciate them. Of course, most of those patients are older… Boomer or Xers.
I’m using personal calling cards, so not in a business context. Mine only have the few pieces of information I can trust to never change (name, phone, email) and are made to look very vintage - but have a QR code with the same info on the back, because I know that people want digital.
My overall experience is that it’s very convenient in the moment, and leaves an impression of a rare and slightly quirky exchange. I’ve never had a negative reaction.
nope, businesses still have them on a local scale. We get them at careers fairs too.
If you are going to a convention use a colleagues business cards so they get all the calls and follow-ups from the vendors. I’ve never done that but one guy kept doing it to others at a place I did part time work for until one year everyone else there did the same thing to him. He finally learned it wasn’t as funny as he thought.
If I get one I take a picture of it and then throw it away.
Thats okay though ? I thought the idea was to copy the number anyway
I don’t use them often, but I think they’re still useful. Mostly at work meetings and when I’m at conferences, exchanging business cards is probably the easiest way to quickly share contact info
I’ve had cool stickers for years and years, each one has a QR on it. People love stickers. I’ve probably handed out close to a thousand. In that time, I’ve handed out maybe a dozen business cards. I’m a performer, for context.
It’s very context dependent and they don’t hurt to have for when you need them, but it’s not something most people want unless they have a need for it
I used them a lot in my previous job. From 2015 through 2019 I was a tech for maritime systems such as radios, radars, autopilot, etc. Most of our customers were commercial clients, and when something doesn’t work, knowing who to call saves a lot of time and money.
So whenever I left a ship after a completed technical visit, or commissioning a new bridge system, I left my card.
Yes. Also there’s a belief among some in sales that by giving something (even something small) to a person, that person will feel like they owe you. BTW not saying I believe this but I’ve heard it a few times from folks in sales.
This is demonstrably true by experiment, but I think it has to have at least SOME value. Like you can give a drink or buy them a candy bar before you ask for something and they are more likely to donate more money to your cause. It’s called “influence debt” I believe and is discussed pretty palatably in “Influence” by Robert Cialdini. Unfortunately I couldn’t find my notes on it with a quick search.
Do you still use them?
Yes. business cards are still useful.
I’ve noticed that people aren’t really handing out business cards anymore
Just because people aren’t handing you a business card, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be handing them out.
A small piece of paper you lose almost straight away. Sounds useful…
