Do you really need business cards?

Mr Daniel Joloba, an expert on SMEs working with Enterprise Uganda, says using business cards is one of the most powerful, yet ignored weapons in marketing.
He says, they give you a platform to leave your impression on potential clients.

The contact address (telephone, street name, building name (if applicable), suite number (if applicable), the floor number (if applicable) and the services offered (preferably at the back of the card).
However, you need not put each of these items of information on your card.

It is highly recommended that you put a picture on your business card. Studies have shown that people are more likely to hold on to a business card with a photo on it. It could be your picture, a picture of your product or a combination of both.

Picture cards get attention! A tagline is a one sentence benefit statement. So using this is also valuable for your business.

Your business card should represent the perfect image of your company; in fact, it is the one item that will be remembered on that first encounter!

It is also not advisable to be mean with the key information needed as itemised above.

The wording should be easy enough to read without straining one’s eyes and care should be taken not to misspell names and addresses. Avoid fancy images and difficult to read fonts. The card should not be easily destroyed even when water accidentally pours on it.
It should not be too big to fit in a pocket size wallet, and not too small to be easily fitted in a card holder.
In Uganda, business cards can be accessed anywhere along Nkurumah Road and Nasser Road.

The charges depend on the quantity and type of paper used for instance, when you print on bond paper, you are charged Shs25,000, while on any normal paper one pays Shs20,000 and those laminated are highly charged between Shs40,000-50,000 for every 100 cards.