Artist Feedback

Here's what some of our Artists are saying about our new Image Management System:

"Just want to say that you guys are doing a phenomenal job turning my images into business card templates. Much better than anything I turned out.
Thanks for making me look good."

"[I] am loving the new system - it is much quicker and easier than struggling to make templates."

To become an artist contributor, submit a quick application at www.TheArtofBusinessCards.com

Custom Business Cards Online

PrintBusinessCards.com offers custom business cards online

If you are looking for something different, you might consider going to PBC to get customer business cards online. With an outstanding assortment of templates to choose from and a versatile and easy to use business card management system, you will find that PrintBusinessCards.com is the right place for your business card needs.

Many choices

You can find hundreds of templates in a huge variety of categories of job titles, professional services and types of business that are already designed for you. Plus, you can add graphics that will dramatically change the card and enhance it so that it gets noticed immediately. Other options include photographs or spectacular color schemes that provide instant recognition for your customers.

If you have your own design, you can use it too. Or, you can add your logo to one of our templates and change it immediately to become uniquely yours. With so many choices, it is all up to you. You can take as much time as you like to custom design business cards that are suitable to your needs and match your personality. Every card will be different that you design because you make the choices and make them your own.

Reordering is easy

The custom designed business cards are then available at any time for you and your employees to reorder as needed. You will be able to always know what the status of an order is with our order history log that keeps track of them all. It will always ensure that all orders of cards for your company are always consistent with all the information exactly the same for each order except for personal information.

Reasonable pricing

Prices are always reasonable with PBC for customer business cards online. We ensure that your budget will always be met and our cards are always of the best quality making PBC the place to go for all your business card needs.

Unique Business Card Designs

Unique Business Card Designs
Many online companies offer the same types of formats that are rather boring, but if you are looking for something different then you should go to PBC to find unique business card designs. That is because you want your business card to stand above all the other competition and make a great first impression that will be remembered by the potential customer when they need your product or service.

Many Choices
Unique business card designs are abundant at PBC because we offer hundreds of templates to choose from. You will be able to find a card that is suitable for a Researcher or Scientist or a Veterinary or a Fireman. Whatever your profession or business, you will be able to find something unusual that will make your card rise above all the others.

Management System
Unique business card designs are often enhanced by bright neon color schemes or by a graphic that grabs your attention. You will be able to have fun looking through the enormous array of choices to determine which one is best for you. Once you have selected your design you will be able to input all the data required and utilize one or both sides of your business card. Our versatile business card management system will assist you every step of the way until your card is completely finished and you send it to be printed.

Inexpensive Pricing Too
The best feature of the unique business card designs available at PBC is that they are all reasonably priced making your business card inexpensive even though it is a dynamic marketing tool that will help you with your business. We also provide good quality to match the affordable pricing so that you get a business card that you will always appreciate it and will reorder when necessary.

Photographer Business Cards

Photographer Business Cards
Being highly paid as a professional photographer is one of the most rewarding and satisfying businesses you could ever run! Whether you are wedding photographer, event photographer or advertising photographer, you have the power to make people and products look their very best when they need it the most.

To succeed as a professional photographer, YOU MUST market your photography business better than your competitors. The fact is that, with the Internet, there is more information on more photographers readily available today than there ever has been, but, no matter what kind of photographer you are, the most efficient way to promote your business is still at the functions you work (if you are an event or wedding photographer) and word of mouth. A highly recommended photographer will always get more photography jobs than the competition and do it more economically. A knock-out business card will reinforce your professional bona fide to all of your referrals, so just pass those beautiful business cards around at all the right venues and watch your business take off!

Designing Your Photographer Business Card
The business cards design your own software at PrintBusinessCards.com makes it fun to be able to create your own design with a little help from our business card management system. This versatile system will walk you through the process of design selection, data gathering and input and finalization of your business card order to be printed. It will provide you with a feeling of satisfaction that you have done it all yourself with such wonderful results.

High Quality Business Cards

Online High Quality Business Cards You Will Like
Many products that you get online are not exactly what you were looking for – meaning that they are often inferior in quality and do not match up to your expectations. At PrintBusinessCards.com you can be sure that you will get Online High Quality Business Cards that you will like and that will never let you down.

Online High Quality Business Cards are important when you are trying to make a positive first impression with a potential client. There is nothing worse than presenting a card that tears or bends as you hand it to the customer or that has faded ink that is barely legible. At PBC you will never have any occurrence like this. We take pride in providing the best in business cards from start to finish and you will agree once you see our finished products.

Quality Is Important To Us
Quality is one of the most important things to PBC. We take pride in presenting to you a huge selection of quality design templates for business cards suitable for any type of business or personal need. We offer a wide range of other options that include dramatic graphics or dazzling photographic scenes that can enhance your image to the customer with Online High Quality Business Cards.

Quality does not stop there. We also offer a dynamic business card management system that will walk you through the process of selection and design, input of personal data and finalization of your order with a step by step procedure that you will find easy and fun to use. Our system also provides an order history of all the Online High Quality Business Cards that you order from us. This makes it really easy for you when it is time to reorder.

CCA Celebrates it's 10th Anniversary

This month marks the 10th anniversary of CCA.

Purchased Business Card Designs

Here are a few recently purchased, fantastic designs from PBC.com

Go to PrintBusinessCards.com for more great business card designs!

New Business Card Templates

Check out a few of our newest template options!

A great catering business card!

Prefect for an Italian Restaurant

Colorful test tubes for Scientist Business Cards

Debt Counselor Business Cards

Debt Counselor Business Cards
In today’s economy debt counselors are very busy as they work with people who are facing financial ruin. Debt counselors can be found at financial services companies, banks or mortgage lenders and other types of organizations that focus on rebuilding a person’s financial stability. There are now debt counselors who are in business to provide training to those who face bankruptcy and are required to seek the services of a debt counselor.

Types of Debt Counselor Businesses
A debt counselor could work with clients at a financial services organization to show a customer how to relieve the debt and consolidate their debt. Credit card companies and banks also have debt counselors to work with their clients whose financial circumstances change and they need help in paying back credit card debt or loans. This usually means a payment plan over time, plus counseling on how to stay out of debt in the future.
A debt counselor who works alone or with an accredited debt counseling company will not only work with the clients to formulate a repayment plan, but will also contact all the debtors to notify them about the plan and get agreement for modification of payments and/or payback amounts.

It’s Payback Time
Like any other business, a debt counselor requires a business card as a form of introduction to a potential client. It also serves as a resource for contact information and many utilize the reverse side of the card to set up appointments or to list services that are provided. A business card is an inexpensive way to advertise your services while it still adds value for the data printed on it.

At PrintBusinessCards.com you will find a vast array of templates that are available to you to choose from. Use of color and/or graphics is recommended as a means of getting attention and making your business card stand out. All of the business cards are on the highest quality card stock and will make a great impression on potential clients.

PBC Design Online Business Cards

PBC Offers Design Online Business Cards
With many options available when it comes to getting new cards, you should check out PrintBusinessCards.com for business cards design online. This innovative company provides you with the opportunity to create your own design online while utilizing one of their hundreds of templates or uploading your own design or logo. It gives you the chance to be creative and have fun too.

Plenty of Options
The choices at PBC are amazing with so many options available for business cards design online that you might have to try out several before you find the perfect one for you. No matter what type of business you have or what kind of job or professional service you provide, you will be able to find the right template for you. You can also add dramatic graphics to add more allure to your card or find a lovely photographic scene that will represent your business perfectly. Add color schemes that will alter the look and define the type of font and you will have the perfect card.

Pricing You Can Afford
When you do your own business cards design online, you can be sure that you will find an affordable business card that will fit neatly into your budget. We provide competitive prices that any business owner can afford, yet our products are some of the best to be found anywhere.

Only the Highest Quality
That is because we do not compromise on quality with our business cards. We offer a high quality card stock plus excellent printing that will always be sharp and crisp and never let you down. We also stand behind our products to ensure that you are 100% satisfied because we want you to return and place another order and one for all of your employees. We want to ensure that you return again and again.

Welcome New Artists

Here are just a few of the talented new artists to join The Community. All of their templates can be found at PrintBusinessCards.com were you can design business cards using the simple yet sophisticated design online editor.
 

Jan Kranendonk

 

Athos Boncompagni

Jan Miks

Andrew Kazmierski

Is Your Company's Brand Well Represented on the Internet?

Consumers today are much more sophisticated and savvy about researching information on the Internet about what they want to buy and where to buy it. With the rise in popularity and power of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the consumer now has even more ways to assess information about what they want to purchase. People across the globe use social media very vocally to convey their likes and dislikes - meaning that it is really important to ensure that your brand is well represented on throughout social media.

This means that linking up with Facebook and Twitter is not really enough. To ensure that you are well represented in this important arena, you need to expand your horizons to include other social media outlets like Flickr, LinkedIn, and even YouTube to name a few.

It requires the attention of someone within your company on a routine basis too. You can't just "be there" and not interact...that can cause problems for you. It is not just good enough to provide links with these social media platforms - you must also ensure that you interact with people properly so that it has the positive effect you are seeking. You need to take advantage of the opportunity to provide quality communications that will prove to be effective rather than just get your brand linked randomly with no thought to the process.

Social media platforms should be selected carefully to ensure that you are using the ones that are most advantageous to your brand and the type of interaction that you want from them. Therefore, it means you need to research which ones will produce the positive effect you are looking for and use the highest quality of content that will attract the customers you want.

In addition to social media, you should monitor what folks are saying on other websites as well. Blogging is not dead - in fact the rise of social media has bolstered many bloggers and created additional traffic to their sites. Engage in the conversations on these blogs. Do you have a blog for your company? If so, invite guest bloggers to write for you about their experience with a particular product or service. Get engaged - this will provide you with loads of crucial marketing data that you can't get through traditional means.

These are just a few ways to ensure that your company is well represented on the Internet. We will feature more ways and tips in future articles. Do you have an idea that we should explore? If so, feel free to let us know via a comment or email.

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative business card websites, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding cheap business cards design or online business cards management.

Groupon - Can It Be Good for Your Company or Products?

Groupon has become one of the success stories that everyone loves to hear. With an amazing growth rate in less than two years, it has been able to link people's needs with businesses that want to sell its products. Groupon is able to help retailers who need the sales to remain in business or to bolster their business. Customers love the service because they think they are getting a bargain - and in many cases they certainly are.

For a business owner, it is a different way of advertising and one that can be very effective. Groupon uses the social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, along with traditional email marketing, to spread the word and get the customers who are always looking for a good deal to purchase on of their deals of the day in specific geographic areas. Local business owners see it as an alternative to traditional advertising and are signing up in droves to get in on this popular selling tactic. Check out "What's the Secret Success of Groupon" for more information on their success and their incredible growth.

Groupon knows the value of social media and uses it to the advantage of local businesses that sign up with them. New businesses today are much more in tune with the social media concept than older, more established businesses so they have the advantage of understanding the power of this platform for marketing. It is really a simplistic approach to marketing that can transform your business if used correctly. Simply Zesty has a great article discussing the use of social media and the Groupon.

For businesses today, the world of the future includes the Groupon advertising concept that is really simple: involve local business, provide people with what they want, and give them a bargain at the same time. Everyone loves to think they got the best deal for something they buy. Why not try it?

Groupon offers businesses virtually everywhere across the United States the ability to "Get Featured" and "Run a Deal". The beauty using their service is exposure for business owners to their targeted geographic area. This is especially attractive to new start up businesses with products and services to offer. Through the use of the Groupon, a new business can get a one time, major "shot in the arm" publicity campaign that is really unrivalled. There are many case studies out and available on

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative business card websites, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding business cards design or online business cards management.

The Importance of User Generated Content

Nowadays when people get ready to make a major purchase (television, appliance, furniture, automobile, etc.) most people go online to do a little research to see what other consumers have to say the products that they're interested in purchasing. Sometimes people already have a particular model in mind and want to see how it performs or other times they are just looking for suggestions as to what to buy. Either way, potential customers are searching the Internet looking for reviews and referrals.

What people look for primarily when reading consumer reviews is for the reviewer to tell them whether they really like the product or not - and the reasons why it was liked or disliked. Google has come to value this user generated content or UGC and has been incorporating it into its Search Engine Results Page or SERP. UGC is therefore impacting search engine results meaning that the social content generated by customers does benefit (or potentially adversely affect) those businesses.

What this means is that your company needs to ensure that it incorporates the fundamentals of social media into its business model in order to tap into this important resource. The bottom line is that everyone is looking for the best product at a reasonable price. They also want rapid delivery and a checkout process that is easy to navigate. As a retailer you can win simply by being a site that has a good product at the right price that is deemed reliable by your customers and is easy to use.

Customer reviews or UGC is extremely important for consumers so any retailer should ensure that they have ample reviews on their site and that they are easy to find. The reviews should summarize the highlights of what people like and dislike and show an average rating for the product. Have your reviews be easy to generate so that the customer can get it done quickly. One of the masters of this approach is Amazon. Every single product on their site has the ability to be reviewed and rated by people who purchase it. Over the course of time, this rating/review system can give potential buyers a great snapshot overview of other customer's experience with a particular product.

Using these easy steps at your site will generate more UGC or customer reviews that will in turn yield a better customer experience on your company's website and over time it should increase traffic to better overall site ranking as UGC gets indexed and ranked.

Do you currently allow customers to review products on your site? If so, please let us know how that is working for your company. We would be interested to hear from you.

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative business card websites, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding cheap business cards design or business cards management.

7 Important Tips for Proofreading Your Copy

In today's fast paced world, people do not put as much emphasis on punctuation and grammar because they are always in a hurry to get the message out, the proposal to a client, or an important letter to a customer. But in a world where texting is commonplace with all of its misspelled and condensed words, it has become almost routine to put the niceties aside and just get the job done regardless of whether or not it is readable or whether it makes sense. It is still extremely important to slow down a bit and ensure that what you send out - particularly to a client or potential customer - is factually correct, and readable. More importantly, the communications and content you generate should accurately reflect you and your company. Do you want unprofessional content that is poorly written, full of mistakes to be what people use for the basis of their impression of you and your business? Of course the answer is no. Unfortunately, in many cases, the copy created and disseminated is routinely full of mistakes that somewhat tarnish the professional image that business owners and managers are working so hard to build and protect. Here are some tips to help ensure that your copy is always correct when it goes out:

1. Homophones (Homonyms) - Pay attention to homonyms such as complement and compliment or accept or except as these words have such different meanings that they can really send the wrong message. An excellent list of homophones can be found here: http://www.mcwriters.com/2008/05/29/homophones-and-spell-checkers-don’t-mix/. 
2. Punctuation - Ensure the usage of periods and commas are correct and in the right places. Do not capitalize a word that shouldn't have a capital letter.
3. Apostrophes or Contractions - Don't use an apostrophe for plurals such as winner's instead of winners. Pay particular attention to words like its and it's or your and you're to ensure they are used correctly.
4. Concentrate on What You are Doing - Oftentimes in a busy office there are many distractions like phones ringing, people interrupting you, or televisions and radios blaring that can disrupt your concentration so that you do not pay attention to what you are doing.
5. Watch the Numbers - When using numbers in a message or a proposal one less or one more zero can make a huge difference in what you are trying to say - such as $20,000 instead of $200,000 or vice versa.
6. Read It Out Loud - Sometimes just reading it out loud will tell you right away that you have made a mistake even if your eye didn't catch it.
7. Print It and Proofread It - Print it out so that you can see what you have written. Many times you can see a mistake immediately just by looking at it. Better yet, let another co-worker or trusted resource read your work prior to sending it. These are just a few ways to help you in your quest to properly maintain your company's professional image as you write and produce copy that will be read by customers, potential clients, and the general public.

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative Real Estate Business Cards website, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com for Print Business Cards. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding online business cards design or business card management.

Facebook Ads - Do You Use Them? If Not - Should You?

Business owners are always looking to optimize advertising and use the best locations on the Internet. Ultimately, they need to measure whether the time and effort - and the money spent are worth it. Facebook is one of those prime Internet sites that is emerging as an attractive location for advertisers. With over 500 million active users - that makes Facebook a force to reckon with - and probably one worth considering for advertising your company's goods and/or services.

Let's take a look at the dynamics of advertising on Facebook:

• First of all, it is a social media network that is made up mostly of family and friends so the information profile that is tied to each user should be fairly accurate. That makes it an ideal source to tap into targeted groups: by location, by age, and by gender.
• Targeted advertising can also be done based on users "Likes" or "Interests" because that is part of the user profiles. This makes it easy to target specific groups such as those that like basketball or ballet. This can be useful but don't get caught up in the restrictions of just focusing on those who picked a particular "Like" or "Interest". Targeting age groups and locations can be just as effective. Regional advertising options are available to companies who don't offer national services.
• You can enhance the social recommendations from a Facebook ad by having your brand link with a Facebook page. This highlights that you value the Facebook ad and increases the exposure when friends purchase something from your brand. Facebook will display when your friends "liked" the page. This will only help to make your brand more desirable. Maintaining an up to date Facebook page for your company also displays a willingness to engage with customers, fans, and potential customers. Keeping on top of a company Facebook page adds credibility to your advertising campaign.
• Keeping your Facebook ads simple is important because the best ads have been those that extend special offers or calls to action with simple text that grabs people's attention. Too much information will lose people quickly.
• Be creative and different. Test a variety of pictures and product ads to come up with the one that works best. Imaging is important and essential for you in order to gain people's attention quickly.
• Facebook has an ad format called Sponsored Stories that will turn people's "Likes" and status updates into ads to their friends. It is, therefore, important to ensure that you keep up with Facebook formats and ways of advertising to ensure that you are the one that is always one step ahead.

All of this being said - should you advertise on Facebook? Absolutely! Why would you turn down an opportunity to advertise to such a large audience that is just waiting to hear from you! If you are not a Facebook advertiser - you should be.

Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding professional business cards design or business cards management.

7 Tips for Better Email Marketing

In this fast paced world of ours, everyone is trying to gain a foothold on your business via e-mail. It is becoming more and more difficult to ensure that the e-mail from you is read and not tossed directly into the SPAM file or simply deleted. With the advent of social media sites, e-mails have become more prevalent and the practices have become trickier to get business owners to open them and read them. Here are a few tips that may help you improve your open rates in your email marketing program:

1. Subject Line - Imagination is the key here in getting someone to open your email based on the subject line. Often people make the subject so long that you get bored just reading it or it is too dull and lacks appeal. The trick is to use something unique that will stand out in a crowded inbox. The best approach is to be creative while maintaining relevancy to the content of your email.

2. Who It is From -For those with a name brand like Apple, you should use Apple in the From line rather than a person's name that may be unknown to the email recipient. This is one of the most important aspects of getting your email opened. If someone doesn't know the person that is sending the email, the chances of it being opened are much lower. Try something unusual or use your company name (unless your name is Steve Jobs - I imagine his emails get opened very frequently).

3. Less is Better -Don't overflow with words that lose the recipient. Say it and get it over with. Less is always better. You can send another message later with more information. Remember the KISS approach (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

4. Images Turned Off -Often someone will not turn on images unless you have tweaked their interest. Therefore, make sure that the message will still be delivered without the images being turned on. This is usually a step in the review process if you use an email management system such as MailChimp. Don't skip this step - make sure it works.

5. Provide the Ability to Control Frequency of Messages -If you grab the interest of a recipient, don't spoil things by inundating them with messages every hour or every day. Give them a break and control the frequency and the types of messages so that they do not get upset and run to your competitor instead. This also lowers the risk of email recipients labeling your email as spam and reporting it as such. Send emails out just frequently enough that potential customers keep your name and products in mind; but don't flood them with too many emails. Balance.

6. Personalization -Many times the personalization of the subject or even the body of the message generate more interest from the recipient.

7. Develop a Mobile Version - With the frequent use of Smartphones, you need to ensure that your message is viewable on a mobile device. Make sure folks can view your email properly from their smartphone or other portable Internet accessible devices.

Email marketing has had ups and downs over the past few years. However, it's an accepted method of marketing and will remain in use for many years to come. Hopefully these tips will help your email campaigns work their way through obstacles and help you get your emails opened and read.


Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative Real Estate Business Cards website, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com for Print Business Cards. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding online business cards design or business card management.

7 Ways to Measure Social Media Effectiveness for Your Company

The advent of social media and its integration into our lives has turned traditional marketing techniques upside down, but it has also given us many, new and unique ways to market that are creative and innovative. In the good old days you ran a marketing campaign and knew how much you spent and where you spent it and how much revenue was produced from it. But today the world moves a little differently. Social media marketing is here to stay and is, at times, difficult to measure as far as effectiveness is concerned.

Just as you have an Internet marketing strategy, you also need a social media strategy as more and more companies are getting on the bandwagon of advertising via social media. What you do with the data gleaned from your social media interactions is extremely important. Social media includes Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Foursquare to name a few. So, how do you measure success or effectiveness within the social media realm? Here are a few methods to gauge how you're doing.

1. Awareness of Your Brand - Building awareness of your brand is one of the most important aspects of why you're engaged in social media. Ultimately, you can measure your awareness by how many followers you have, the number of searches for your brand name, the number of site visits tracked through links, and the number of keywords or phrases searched for. You need to be able to trend this and track it.
2. Honest Discussion - The online discussion that you will get can have mixed blessings as it will be unfiltered and completely honest. This means you will get good feedback, neutral feedback, and at times, bad feedback. It's often referred to as share of voice and it reflects the number of times your brand was mentioned in a conversation. You should use a monitoring program to track both your feedback as well as those of your competitors.
3. Sphere of Influence - Signals of influence can be found with the number of inbound links to your site. Microblogging sites like Twitter and social networks like Facebook. LinkedIn, YouTube, or Foursquare might have people that have made comments and Liked your brand or product. This is then shared with friends and others and the conversations continue. Measuring these social media tweets or likes can provide you with information about why they like the brand or why they don't.
4. Signs of Interaction - The interaction between people and your site and your brand are important to see how interested people are in what you have to say or offer. This means the ratings given to your brand, the number of mentions good or bad, retweets, photos, video views, and the number of new pages of Facebook likes.
5. Popularity - This is really the number of people that subscribe to your email or RSS subscribers, followers on Twitter, members of LinkedIn groups, and number of people who like your Facebook page or other social media sites. Other places to track include industry hang outs or content communities like Flickr or YouTube.
6. Use Monitoring Tools - Seeing lots of activity on Facebook likes or Twitter tweets does not mean much if you don't measure, monitor, and track the information that you are getting from these social media sites. Google Analytics and Measure Map are two tools that can be used to track and analyze the data so that you know exactly how people react and what you need to change in terms of advertising.
7. Listen and Learn - Pay attention to the feedback that you receive from the social media sites not just the positive feedback but the negative or neutral to see what you can learn and possibly change if necessary. Be proactive about tracking the data and USING it to make necessary adjustments to your ads or your way of advertising. Listen carefully to what is being said, make some suggested modifications, and you will be successful.

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative Real Estate Business Cards website, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com for Print Business Cards. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding online business cards design or business card management.

Marketing Your Company Should Involve Every Department

Marketing in every organization is an important department that has a huge responsibility in ensuring that your company's products and services continue to sell and be used. If you ask the people in marketing what makes a good creative piece, they will come up with their normal practice of good ad placement, timing, and getting the professionals in on the creative process early on. This was all well and good in the past, but in today's fast paced world of social media, quick response codes, immediate customer reviews online, etc., traditional marketing needs to be replaced by sound judgment that takes a different approach - one that uses information gleaned from every area of the company and beyond.

With so many poorly designed ads seen every day on TV, on our computer, and in print, marketing needs to still be creative - but in a more innovative and - well - smarter way. This means that everyone in the company should have some involvement even if it is in a small way. The truth of the matter is that most people are a member of social media group and everyone has an opinion that should count. This is because ads are meant to appeal to all ages so the marketing people should solicit input from every area that they can. Brands cannot keep churning out the same old type of marketing just because it did well in years past. No company today can rely on old habits to continue to thrive and grow. Otherwise your brand becomes stale and boring as evidenced by many of the terrible ads seen today.

Get a head start on your competitors and be on the leading edge of turning your brand into the winner it should be. Creating the brand is not just about writing a few lines of creative text and putting your logo next to it. You can have digital or other types of marketing that sometimes might be a little uncomfortable because it is not what you are used to. But that doesn't mean it won't work. You have to be willing to take a chance and to listen to what people are saying. After all, people buy a brand because they either need it, want it, appreciate it, or buy it simply because they always have. But you need to continue to cultivate new customers that will be willing to experience your products and services.

Social media information should also be analyzed and listened to - opinions count and if lots of people are saying they don't like a brand or product, the bad news can spread quickly. Follow up on bad reports and listen to what is being said. Do thorough research if the feedback you are getting is negative and learn from this and turn it around so that the feedback starts to turn positive. Provide regular reports of data to the marketing department. Focus groups are a great way to refresh your ideas and get some inspirational creative juices going from a cross section of your own company. Just because someone works in accounting doesn't mean they don't have an opinion about the product or have heard something that might be important to the marketing department.

Investing in your employees by giving them a chance to voice their opinion or make suggestions can be a plus for them (shows you value their opinions), but may help shed light on how to strategically reach your audience in a better fashion. It will help them feel more like a part of a "team" and be a win-win for everyone in the company - especially for your company's products and services.

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative business card websites, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding cheap business cards design or business cards management.

5 Ways Companies Benefit When Employees Work from Home

With the lagging economy today, companies are looking for ways to cut costs while continuing to provide the same level of services that they have in the past to their customers and their employees. For years, many companies have allowed employees to work from home. In return, these companies seem to enjoy a higher employee satisfaction rate and employee retention rate. The work from home scenario provides a win-win for both the company and the employee and it is becoming more and more popular. If your business model will allow you the ability to have employees work from home, here are a few reasons to consider implementing this feature into your company:

• Reduction in Costs – Employees working from home saves on office space and parking as office space alone costs an estimated $10,000 per employee. Employees spend less in gas and maintenance on their vehicles due to reduced mileage driven. Lower costs for employees translates into happier employees since they are spending less money to get to work and will have the ability to use those funds as needed in other areas of their personal finances.

• Reduction in Absenteeism – Many employees are off work when a child is ill or due to inclement, unsafe weather conditions that preclude them from driving to work. If they worked in the office they would have to take a personal or sick day to attend to a child who was ill. Offering the ability for employees to have what is commonly referred to as "flex time" will allow them to stay at home, tend to their sick loved one or stay safe at home due to weather conditions and still get things accomplished for your company.

• Enhances Employee Productivity – Studies have shown that employees are more productive when working from home because there are fewer distractions or interruptions from meetings and less socializing with co-workers.

• Balances Work/Family Life – It provides better balance between work and family life since much of an employee's time is spent at work or traveling to and from work giving them less time with the family. By allowing them to work from home, you are giving them more time to provide attention to family by eliminating commute time.

• Increases Employee Retention and Loyalty – Employees are happier when they are able to work from home without the added stress of commuting, dealing with rising fuel costs, expensive automotive repairs, etc. Employees who work from home tend to be more content with their jobs and thus more willing to work hard for your company.

Allowing employees to work from home, even for one day of their week, is something important to consider for your company. There are a lot of details that need to be worked out and discussed with your management team. However, if you're able to do it, most experts say that you will see a rise in productivity and job performance will increase as well.

Do you currently allow employees to work from home? If so, let us know what your experience is with offering this to your employees. What kind of impact has it made on your business? Overall do you see it as being beneficial to your company? We look forward to hearing from you.

Color Card Administrator is the parent company of PrintBusinessCards.com and several other innovative Real Estate Business Cards website, we're eager to share with you what it is we do. Give us a call today at 858-522-9335 or email at Author@CardAdmin.com for Online Business Cards. We look forward to discussing your comments, suggestions, or hearing any ideas for future article topics you may be interested in regarding business cards design or business card management. Be part of the professional business cards company.