To make a big impression in a little space, include these must-have elements on your cleaning service business cards.
Business cards have been a go-to marketing tool for over a century. Their ability to contain so much pertinent business information in such a small, convenient place makes them ideal for spreading the word about your business in face-to-face situations. But what will make your cleaning service business cards stand out?
With the variety of business cards available today, this isn’t an easy question to answer. While it’s practical to include certain elements, others are rooted in personal preference and the brand message you hope to communicate. There’s too much competition out there to simply have black and white business cards with no logo or images (unless, say, your company was called, “Black and White Cleaners”). For competitive cleaning service business cards, consider the five C’s: content, color, cut, character, and creativity.
The five C’s of your cleaning service business cards
1. Content
The most important element of your business card is going to be your content. However eye-catching your design may otherwise be, if you don’t include the pertinent information necessary to generate a business lead, your business card has fallen short of its purpose.
That said, the surface area of your cards is finite, so you want to make sure you include the necessary data before anything else. Company name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, website, and any social media handles should all appear somewhere on the card.
A great design structure is to include all of that information in relevant colors and fonts on one side of the card while putting your company logo and branding on the other side. This prevents one side from getting too cluttered. Double-sided printing will cost extra, but you’ll likely find it worth the expense since it boosts your marketing space by 100%.
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2. Color
Today’s world is full of vibrant colors that capture people’s attention. In a way, color has become the first impression of any brand, especially on a business card. It’s important, then, to choose colors that reflect your company and your industry. If you’re logo, for example, is green and blue, you’ll want those to be central colors on your cleaning service business cards.
If you want to go beyond your brand colors, that’s okay, too! Use the non-content side of the card to create a design that captures the imagination using most any colors you want. Just remember that a less-is-more attitude can be helpful here; make it too busy, and you’ll lose people. (Not to mention that splashes of so many colors might evoke images of stains instead of cleanliness!)
In short, keep it relevant and keep it tasteful, but don’t be afraid to branch out if that fits with your brand message.
3. Cut
It used to be that business cards ran at a standard size—3.5 by 2 inches, to be exact. While that remains the standard, nontraditional cuts are cropping up more and more.
Sarah Zimmerman of PlasticPrinters.com writes that, “Custom-shaped cards…are consistently one of our top requests from clients. The ability to create a unique card shape that fits their product or business is immediately eye-catching, and will stick in a client’s mind longer than a traditional business card size.”
So you might decide to cut your cleaning service business cards in the shape of a vacuum head, a mop bucket, or a disinfectant bottle. Doing so might cost you a little extra, but you can rest assured anyone who comes into contact with your cards will remembered them.
4. Character
Your business cards should have a character of their own, and much of that starts with your font choice. Gimmicky and goofy fonts tend to be taken less seriously than sleek, elegant choices, like Garamond or Times. The good news is that there are dozens of font options to choose from. Just be aware that Comic Sans is going to say something much different to a would-be customer than Arial or Helvetica. If you’re not sure, look at other cleaning service business cards to better understand the current trends.
5. Creativity
There’s nothing less inspiring than a single-sided, text-only business card. Even if you include a company slogan, it’s usually not enough to make the business card pop. Play with the elements we’ve already listed, especially color, cut, and character. Request samples (which are usually free) of some different styles so you can compare and contrast what works for your business. Don’t default to traditional styles for the sake of cost or time. Cleaning service business cards, like all of your marketing tools, are an investment. Take the time to make that investment represent who you are, and more importantly, how you’re different from the competition.
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What to avoid on your cleaning service business cards
Stay away from clip art and stock photos where possible.
If you want artwork on your card, it should be your company logo. If you still have enough space for more artwork, you’re probably missing some important content.
Avoid text or other lines that are too thin.
What shows up on a high-definition computer monitor may not show up as well on printed stock. This is another place where requesting proofs will save you a lot of headache down the road.
Finally, avoid cookie-cutter cards that are available from many online print shops.
These may be useful when you’re just getting started, but once you have some revenue, it behooves you to invest in unique, attention-grabbing cards that won’t have would-be clients wondering where they’ve seen that mop-and-bucket cartoon before.