Does your business card reflect a positive image for your 
business?  Does it clearly define what your business is all about 
at a glance?  If not, you may be making some big mistakes in your 
marketing and need to take another look at the message you are 
putting out there.

Why?  Because if a prospective customer views your business image 
as unprofessional or confusing, they will simply do business with 
someone else. You can't afford to let that happen to you.  Are 
you holding the right cards?

While presenting marketing seminars to thousands of business 
owners and entrepreneurs, Debbie Allen (sales and marketing 
expert) discovered a shocking reality.  Many of the business 
cards presented a poor and unprofessional image of the business 
at first glance. Very few business cards or marketing materials 
had an effective message that described the business clearly. 
Most lacked a strong visual logo that defined the business and 
had no branded image or catch praise that set them apart from 
their competition.

With this newfound discovery, Debbie began to ask members of 
the audience to stay after her presentation to receive a free 
business card evaluation. This intrigued attendees, and many 
waited for up to an hour to have a chance to talk with her in 
person and to get feedback on how to improve their marketing 
message.

Another discovery! Many owners and managers are so close to their 
businesses that they don't see the most obvious mistakes.  The 
reason for this is that they don't look at their business through 
their customers' eyes. They view it from a very narrow focus, 
their own eyesight. This can be disastrous for a company's 
professional image.

Just as people judge individuals at first glance, so they judge 
a business image the same way. If prospective customers view the 
business image as unprofessional or confusing, they will simply 
walk away. Prospective customers will be lost to competitors who 
do a better job at marketing their company's image, brand and 
uniqueness.

The goal of an organization should be to create a strong, 
immediate message that clearly defines its business.  The message 
must connect an emotional bond with the customers, both verbally 
and visually. This same image and message must be coherent on all 
marketing materials ranging from a company's business card, 
advertising, packaging and signage to its website.

Once organizations recognize the need to improve their business 
image on their marketing materials, it can be easy to make the 
changes needed to update and improve.  The solution is often a 
small investment in a graphic artist and a marketing consultant.

Where do you start?  A great place to start is to take a close 
look at your business card as if you were a prospective customer. 
First compare it with the list of top 10 mistakes below then 
take the business card ranking quiz online at: 
http://www.DebbieAllen.com


The 10 Most Common Business Card Mistakes

1. Scrambles messages with inconsistent design elements.
2. Does not clearly define your business services and/or 
   products.
3. Does not make you memorable (in a good way).
4. Indicates unflattering things about your business.
5. Does not generate additional business.
6. Creates a cluttered impression.
7. Omits essential information, or is filled with non-essential 
   information.
8. Looks out of date, or information no longer applies.
9. Is hard to read or confusing to the eye.
10. Lacks a point of interest, image or theme. 

Debbie Allen is an international business speaker and author of 
five books on sales and marketing.  She has presented before 
thousands of people in nine countries around the world.  Debbie 
is the founder of "International Business Image Improvement 
Month (May)" which was created to help people improve their 
marketing materials and present a more professional business 
image to attract more customers.  Take her free online 
business card quiz to see if you're holding the right cards 
at:  http://www.DebbieAllen.com