Your first step in creating your business network begins with giving either a paper business card or a digital visiting card. With the business system’s digitization, this exchange of business cards has also assumed a digitized format. With a simple click, anybody can contact you for business purposes immediately.
The paper-made printed cards have become a thing of the past as they cannot keep pace with the fast digitization of business modes. E-Cards or digital cards have become the modern way for a smart business move to introduce yourself. It greatly helps widen your network as your digitized card is stored permanently in the computer or handset of the person you mail it to.
A recent market survey report on digitized business cards revealed that the total global market size of e-Cards is estimated to reach US$ 500 million by 2033. The market is expanding rapidly at 9.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.
According to the US-based market research company Fortune Business Insights, the global market share of the US currently stands at 30% when it comes to the use of digital business cards.
How to Boost Marketing through e-Cards?
You need to create a vast network to effectively market your products and services. Most business correspondences, order booking, order tracking, and delivery reports are now made online.
This has greatly boosted the popularity and utility of digital business cards that can be seen online and mailed online. The paper-made cards suffered from this limitation. Being a physical piece of paper, the person whom you have given it needs to shuffle from a bunch of cards to find out your card if the person needs to contact you.
The person concerned can simply click to find your card from among the digital cards stored in the handset or computer. This ended the complicated earlier way and eased the mode of doing business.
You can boost your marketing with the help of digitized cards in the following five ways:
Digitized Cards Offer Impressive Look: In marketing and sales, smart move matters. This is more so as the first impression often turns out to be the last or final impression acting to help you make the deal. You can find the look-wise differences if you compare a paper card and an e-Card. The Digitized card looks much more decent and dazzling than the paper-made card.
QR Code & URL Make the Differences: As modernity now marks the overall marketing system, e-Cards are also gaining popularity. Now the most popular ways to exchange e-Cards are by giving:
QR Code: by scanning the QR Code of your digital card with a mobile handset, one can access your details and save them permanently into their digitized system.
URL: You can easily distribute many digital business cards by sharing its URL. The person receiving the URL can view your card by clicking the link.
Greater Engagement with Prospective Clients: A digital card given to someone undoubtedly forges greater alliance as the person can contact you telephonically without trying to shuffle cards.
Since they have it handy on their mobile phone, they can contact you anytime if they feel you can supply the required item, commodity, or service they want.
From the digital card, they can also transfer your name and contact number into the contact list of their handset. This is a more effective way for greater engagement.
Digital Card Remains in Permanent User Database: Besides the lead generation, another major benefit of e-Card is the proper handling of the CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
CRM is extremely important for marketing and carrying out good and need-based public relations with clients. One of the prime reasons for this is that your e-Card remains permanently in the database of the company or person you mail it to.
Facilitator of Networking: As an entrepreneur or business promoter, you must attend business conferences, trade shows, and other events. Such occasions are ideal for networking. You can send many of your e-Cards to those gathering at such business events. Your colorful and well-designed digitized business card with all details can be a good instrument or facilitator for widening the network.
The role of digital business cards as a major marketing boosting tool cannot be ignored. We are living in a digitized business world. From product or service catalog to billing, everything is done digitally. In keeping with this trend of business digitization, e-Cards are further facilitating marketing promotion.
Who Mostly Uses E-Cards for Market Promotion?
Electronic cards are growingly used in the US and elsewhere in the world by almost all business operators, company owners, and sales staff of multinational companies.
However, the most frequent users of digitized cards can be categorized into the following five segments:
Sales Staff: This is the most important electronic business instrument for the sales staff. They can be salespersons, sales managers, company representatives, company executives, and directors of companies. Their success in business operations depends greatly on their existing network and creating fresh networks.
Company Owners or Operators: The Chairmen, Managing Directors, CEOs, COOs, and Partners use digitized cards regularly. They also mail e-Cards to others of similar ranks stationed in different parts of the country or even abroad. They mail their business proposals with digitized cards.
Professionals: If you are a medical doctor, a chartered accountant, a lawyer, or an independent business consultant, you use digitized cards at regular intervals. Almost all sorts of professionals take the help of digitized cards to widen their network and boost their income.
Creative People: All artists, actors, dancers, musicians, concert managers, and painters use electronic cards. They mail it to their prospective clients, art dealers (for painters), media persons, and fans. They make their cards extremely innovative and creative, matching their professions. Since they need to connect globally, they can easily mail the e-Cards through their mobile or computer.
Realtors, Real Estate Operators: Contact and networking are the two vital factors on which the real estate business depends. Most people in almost every country buy, sells, or rent properties with the help of real estate agents. In the US, nearly 90% of home buyers depend on real estate companies for acquiring or selling a property. As a result, real estate companies and their agents find e-cards the most important instrument to transact their businesses.
How to Make Best Use of E-Cards for Marketing Purposes?
Branding is very important for all sorts of marketing. Your digitized card can majorly create an aura around you, your products, services, and the company.
How to make the best use of electronic cards for branding purposes in the following five ways:
Lay Stress on Brand Identity: In designing your digitized card, you should show all your creativity in highlighting your brand. Whether making shoes or soft drinks or giving transportation services, your maximum attention should be highlighting your products or services.
Personalize Your Product & Services: This can go a long way in helping your marketing drive.Your business card in digital format must highlight what are the specialties of commodities or services that your company offers.
Creative Company Logo: Your company needs an eye catching logo to market effectively. Such a logo can add brand value to your company and its products and services. You should add the logo, use eye-catching colors and give a circular QR Code. It should stand out in the competitive marketing space.
Contact Details: Your digitized cards should have all details regarding your company, location, email id, and telephone number. These facts should be given in addition to your mobile number and email ID. The person receiving your e-card should not suffer from any lack of information.
Mass Mailing: Besides the e-cards you exchange electronically with others during a business meeting, you should also use mass mailing for greater impact.
In Conclusion
An effective marketing campaign can be carried out with the help of e-Cards. You can use the digitized card as your email signature to add value to your email communication with your clients or while sending a business proposal to a prospective client.
The digitized can be extremely helpful for both-way (or two-way) contact sharing. This is particularly helpful for business lead generation. Since most business establishments now use a digital address book, this both-way information or contact-sharing system can help them forge contacts with prospective clientele.
