Develop Your Website

A website is for life not just for Christmas! Your website is one of the main focal points of your companies marketing activities. If you do nothing else you must spend half an hour a week looking at your own website using the eyes of your customers. Modify it and adjust it until it is right for them NOT FOR YOU. The articles on this page are here to help and stimulate you to think like your customers and develop the site they need, not the site you want.

Business Cards - Your Best Marketing Tool

There are some elements of our business marketing that we don't realise the impact of. One of these is the smallest tool we have, yet the one that has more impact than any other - your Business Card.

These small tokens of identification are the best tool we have in our marketing toolbox. It is a simple fact that people keep business cards. Take a look around your own desk area, I am fairly certain that there will be a card pile somewhere. We all have them, cards we don't want to throw away because one day they will come in handy.

When considering the content of your card, you need to do that before you design it, you need to consider the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

The aim of your business card is to identify yourself, tell people what you do and how to contact you and get more information. It needs to do this in a simple, clear and uncomplicated way.

Take your own card out now. When was it designed? Has much changed? Does it have your web and email addresses on it?

Once you have worked out the correct information to put onto the card you can then design it (or get a graphic designer involved) and get the card laid out. If you have other marketing material your card needs to be in the same style, but don't be afraid of having a card that is different or unusual. I have been using plastic cards for years, they are unusual in that people don't come across them every day and so they take the time to look at them and then they keep them.

I am on the fence about strange sized cards. There are many designs available and many shapes. All I can advise in this article is to think carefully as those cards will be around for a long time in peoples card holders and on their desks. On the subject of card holders, please ensure you don't get cheap cards that will stick to the inside of the little pockets and make it impossible for people to pass your card to another person. Lamination of your card is cheap and effective at stopping this sticking.

Top Mistakes On Business Cards

1. Putting too much information on the card – we have all seen these cards. They are packed with information in a font that is so small it is impossible to read.
   
2. Putting too little information on the card – Cards that have the name and telephone number, a company logo and that's it. There are two reasons people have these kinds of card, the first is they didn't know what to put onto the card, the second is that they were advised by a marketing consultant who believes that it is elegant to have minimalist cards (don't get me started about some Marketing Consultants I have locked horns with).
   
3. Hand written phone number or email address on the card. Business cards, even high quality ones are so cheap to produce, why oh why would you lesson the impact of your card by writing an email address on it. Recycle the old ones and get some new cards done!

Once you have worked out your design, print or get your designer to print a few off for you. Pass them around your close contacts and ask them their opinion and ideas. Bear in mind some of their opinions will be different from yours, so use their feedback as guidance only, but you should get a feel for how the card works and is received generally. If most people like it and make a few suggestions, you are almost there. If everyone makes strong suggestions, then maybe you need to go back to the drawing board.

Business cards are very powerful tools. They represent you and your business and you do not know into who's hands they will eventually be placed. You need to make sure your cards are strong and effective.

As always, if you need help and advice on Business Cards or any other marketing material please fell free to call us. We can help you create the design for your cards and we have contacts with many printers to get them made for you too..

The 'M' Word

Sometimes you mention marketing services and people think it will cost them a fortune. Far from it. Most marketing techniques are simple, straightforward and cost effective. One of the best kept secrets of W3 is our marketing services. Tony has 25 years experience working in the marketing industry and won third place in the UK Student Marketing Awards and has worked in the industry since 1987. If you need any help or advice in how you market your business please call or email. These articles have been written to give you some ideas on which you can start constructing your marketing plan and how you might implement it.

Business Cards - Your Best Marketing Tool

There are some elements of our business marketing that we don't realise the impact of. One of these is the smallest tool we have, yet the one that has more impact than any other - your Business Card.

These small tokens of identification are the best tool we have in our marketing toolbox. It is a simple fact that people keep business cards. Take a look around your own desk area, I am fairly certain that there will be a card pile somewhere. We all have them, cards we don't want to throw away because one day they will come in handy.

When considering the content of your card, you need to do that before you design it, you need to consider the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

The aim of your business card is to identify yourself, tell people what you do and how to contact you and get more information. It needs to do this in a simple, clear and uncomplicated way.

Take your own card out now. When was it designed? Has much changed? Does it have your web and email addresses on it?

Once you have worked out the correct information to put onto the card you can then design it (or get a graphic designer involved) and get the card laid out. If you have other marketing material your card needs to be in the same style, but don't be afraid of having a card that is different or unusual. I have been using plastic cards for years, they are unusual in that people don't come across them every day and so they take the time to look at them and then they keep them.

I am on the fence about strange sized cards. There are many designs available and many shapes. All I can advise in this article is to think carefully as those cards will be around for a long time in peoples card holders and on their desks. On the subject of card holders, please ensure you don't get cheap cards that will stick to the inside of the little pockets and make it impossible for people to pass your card to another person. Lamination of your card is cheap and effective at stopping this sticking.

Top Mistakes On Business Cards

1. Putting too much information on the card – we have all seen these cards. They are packed with information in a font that is so small it is impossible to read.
   
2. Putting too little information on the card – Cards that have the name and telephone number, a company logo and that's it. There are two reasons people have these kinds of card, the first is they didn't know what to put onto the card, the second is that they were advised by a marketing consultant who believes that it is elegant to have minimalist cards (don't get me started about some Marketing Consultants I have locked horns with).
   
3. Hand written phone number or email address on the card. Business cards, even high quality ones are so cheap to produce, why oh why would you lesson the impact of your card by writing an email address on it. Recycle the old ones and get some new cards done!

Once you have worked out your design, print or get your designer to print a few off for you. Pass them around your close contacts and ask them their opinion and ideas. Bear in mind some of their opinions will be different from yours, so use their feedback as guidance only, but you should get a feel for how the card works and is received generally. If most people like it and make a few suggestions, you are almost there. If everyone makes strong suggestions, then maybe you need to go back to the drawing board.

Business cards are very powerful tools. They represent you and your business and you do not know into who's hands they will eventually be placed. You need to make sure your cards are strong and effective.

As always, if you need help and advice on Business Cards or any other marketing material please fell free to call us. We can help you create the design for your cards and we have contacts with many printers to get them made for you too..