Business cards have been the staple of networking for more than a century. They are still a vital part of many big and small businesses. Besides giving essential contact information, they have helped in building a brand. Today sustainability is getting increasingly important. So, many entrepreneurs, corporate companies, and consumers have transformed the traditional business card into a modern electronic business card.
Business cards mainly provide contact details, but the details are not the sole purpose now. Marketers and networkers professionally design modern cards to impress clients. They use specific colors, typefaces, and backgrounds to reflect their brand and inspire customers.
Although digital cards do not provide a sense of touch and do not establish a personalized connection, but they are a sustainable future. According to a study, 77% of small and medium businesses believe that digital presence helps them acquire more customers. So, these cards are here to stay.
But which is better. Let’s look at the pros and cons of Paper and Electronic Business Cards.
Paper Business Card
Pros
· Makes a Quick Impression
The average attention span is about 8 seconds, so you have to be relatively quick to make a lasting impression.
A paper business card can swiftly grab the client’s attention if you have a good quality thick 400gsm paper with perfect business card size and outstanding graphic. The card will definitely appeal to the customer’s senses and build a great impression of your brand’s quality.
· Establish Personalized Connection
Paper business cards build a solid personalized relationship with people. The cards are shared in warm and happy interactions, so the clients have more value for the business card. This consequently creates a lasting relationship and helps build a loyal customer base.
· More Options to Creatively Design Cards
There are many options to creatively design your electronic business card, but the possibilities with the paper business card are endless. They can be printed in any shape, size, and color with specialized finishing. You can use foiling or spot UV to make it more appealing, which helps you stand out from your competitors.
Cons
· Expensive
The price of a business card depends on the complexity of the design and quality of the paper. They are not simple to design, so you will need a graphic designer and good quality paper which is expensive, while printing is not that expensive; you can get 250 prints for like 10$.
Then if you are promoted to a new position, the previous card will be useless, and you will spend extra money on printing new cards with updated information.
· Limited Information
Paper business cards are limited in size and can display minimal information. A standard business card has the name, contact details, company name, and office address, which is not enough in today’s digital world. And a lot of information will make the card cluttered and unprofessional.
While the electronic business card can store a lot more information, including pictures, videos, and links to social media profiles.
· Not Environmentally Friendly
Many cards are made from recycled paper, but still, many trees are cut to make paper. The rapid deforestation is immensely affecting the environment in which we breathe.
Electronic Business Card
Pros
· Easy to Customize and Interactive
Digital cards are fairly easy to edit and customize. Many business card creators like Zapped have presets and convenient color bars to precisely choose the right one for your card. There is no need to go through the designing and printing phases. Moreover, you can edit your contact details, personal information, and fonts with just a few clicks.
You can add interactive pictures and videos to gain a competitive edge, and it allows customers to deeply understand you and your brand.
· Cost-Effective
Electronic Business cards are pretty affordable as you don’t have to pay for printing, designing, and paper. Moreover, digital business cards also eliminate the need for graphic designers. They are pretty easy to edit, and a person with no knowledge can create and edit a business card.
· Easy to Share
They are easy to share and diminish the geographical boundaries as you can share them via text, email, social media, and other similar means with anyone anywhere in the world.
· Contact Management
Contact management is a painful process with paper business cards. But some digital card creators have a scanner that allows you to scan the paper business card. It turns the text into digital format, and the app syncs the details with your contact list.
· Cons
· Lack of Personal Touch
Before exchanging paper business cards, you are conversing with the clients; you shake hands and share cards in a warm and happy situation. This personal touch is mostly absent while exchanging electronic business cards, so the client might give less value to your card.
· Needs Internet Access
Both you and the client need the internet to access and share your digital business card. If either of you doesn’t have internet access, the virtual business card will be useless.
· Some vCard Need an App to View Card
Some electronic business card creator asks you to download their app to view the card, and many people find the tedious task boring and time-wasting. So, choose the right business card creator. Zapped does not ask you to download an app to view the business card.
