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?

  • Godnroc@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    37
    ·
    12 hours ago

    Depends on the demographic you are interacting with. When networking with other professionals it is probably easier to just scan a QR code to a file of contact information. A quick import and you’re already in my contracts.

    In terms of being able to leave the information somewhere, cards work well. Attaching to a project portfolio, handing to someone so they can pass it on, leaving as a support contract after a project is complete, etc.

    • villainy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      9 hours ago

      When networking it’s easier for me to quickly pocket a card and deal with it later than take my phone out and scan a QR code.

      • voracitude@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        9 hours ago

        Did the QR go to their website or did it have their vcard on it? I do the latter, and the former annoys the hell out of me, because it’s way harder to type a bunch of contact info than to type a fckin URL.

        Also yes, this means I have business cards. I don’t use them much but they’re handy for leaving with other business owners in case they want to contact me (hopefully, to order!).

        • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          8 hours ago

          Por que no los dos?

          Business cards should have QR codes for both the website and the contact info. And they should be labelled.

          • voracitude@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            8 hours ago

            My logic is:

            a.) Two QR codes could confuse some scanners… or some people

            b.) In the vast majority of cases, it’s faster to type the URL than it is to scan a QR code to go there.

            But sure, there’s no reason you can’t do both! And if you do, they should definitely be labelled. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 😅

        • Axolotl@feddit.it
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          9 hours ago

          You make one and each time your client ask for contact infos you use the card to give 'em your phone number/email/website instead of giving a card to each client

          • Rob T Firefly@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            edit-2
            8 hours ago

            I feel like a business card is something physical to hand people so they have it to look back at later. If you’re just looking to NFC tap your contact info onto people’s phones, why wouldn’t you just use your own phone to do it?

            This reminds me of something tangentially related. Sometime around the turn of the century I worked at a small business where some vendor came in to solicit interest in his business’ services, and left a working CD-ROM business card. That mildly impressed the manager because CD-ROMs were still pretty fancy and nobody there had seen a business card like that before, and when run the card had some simple Flash-like slideshow thing with a little video clip or two about their business (which was still impressive when you couldn’t really have embedded video clips on your average dialup-friendly website.) Around a week later that same vendor returned asking for the card back because “they’re pretty expensive to make and I want to give it to my next prospect,” and the manager’s impression of him went from mildly impressed to thinking this guy was too hilariously amateurish to bother engaging with.

            • Axolotl@feddit.it
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              8 hours ago

              A NFC is just faster than with the phone or with voice, i am looking at the pratical side of it tho, i hate those business cards because i have to type the phone number anyway

              • Rob T Firefly@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                8 hours ago

                What if there’s a QR code on the card? Then it’s basically the same amount of work as getting that NFC tap.