Please pick between these 2 new bizcards

[Derek]

of course Shawna likes one and i like the other. thanks in advance for your votes

#1

View attachment 4609

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or


#2

View attachment 4610

 

[Mark Saiger]

of course Shawna likes one and i like the other. thanks in advance for your votes

#1

View attachment 4609

______________________________

or


#2

View attachment 4610

Initial reaction to me, top one doesn't seem as crowded....

My first choice.....1....easier for me to read.

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL I picked the bottom because I thought it wasn't as crowded. Then I saw Mark's post. No I'm confused. Maybe he is right. I just didn't care for the text on top. I prefered in below.

 

[jcooper]

They look the same... Not much of a difference.

 

[Erik]

I like #1 I would not want my girls names on my card.IMO I would swap out the free demo with the spot free carpet. unless it is a large commercial job, i would not do a free demo.

 

[Becker]

Would look a lot better if the family pic was feathered, or ended naturally not cropped square.

 

[Mikey P]

I'd put the family shot on the back



If your specialty is commercial, why tug at the hearts of the head janitor with the cute kids?


You got a great log, center it.

 

[Becker]

You got a great log, center it.

Is that code for?

 

[Mikey P]

yeah, center it up Becker's Howdy Doodey hole.

 

[Becker]

Can I still get that ride along? Might be passing though the area this fall.


We've got no room for boring.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Have you considered both sides.. here is the first draft our new cards. Got a new website coming too..



View attachment 4613

 

[Goomer]

I say number one...without a doubt.
Having the text above does a better job of "framing" your big head, which looks more symmetrical in relation to the entire card, as opposed to that top right side being empty, and weakening the layout.

Along the top is valuable "real estate" on a business card.Holds more potential impact and retention.On card 1, this area contains exactly what should be there, a "call to action, and a teaser".

 

[Derek]

thanks fellas. my initial choice was #2 , but Shawna preferred #1 , then i was confused to.

the back of card is a big CGD before & after pic. maybe i'll remove our photo and see how logo centered looks. i made it with MS Publisher, pretty easy to do.

we appreciate the feedback

 

[billyeadon]

Have you considered both sides.. here is the first draft our new cards. Got a new website coming too..



View attachment 4613

very classy looking

 

[renegade_cowboy]

thanks fellas. my initial choice was #2 , but Shawna preferred #1 , then i was confused to.

the back of card is a big CGD before & after pic. maybe i'll remove our photo and see how logo centered looks. i made it with MS Publisher, pretty easy to do.

we appreciate the feedback

I think with the CDG before and after.. its taking up valuable real estate on your card and its not really promoting YOU, but more promoting our industry. We see the before and after on everything carpet cleaning and most of the time its not even their pic.. The back of the card might be best used telling the commercial customer what benefits do they get if they choose you.. Like mikey said, I would ditch the pic because the commercial customer don't care.. maybe if you did mainly residential..

Tell the commercial customer how..

It won't bring any disruption to the work place, after hours, proven method of cleaning and so on.. there are a ton of value points you can make to help sell your company vs selling the industry.. the consumer is so conditioned to the "standard" type of marketing that its not setting you apart from your competitor or why they should use your company.

You make them yourself? .. okay, just read you made them yourself.. you may want to consider hiring someone to do them, because we aren't designers and that is one of the biggest downfalls a company can make..

 

[renegade_cowboy]

very classy looking

Thanks, that is only the first draft without the services listed.. the reason the cards are so good is because I didn't make them. I hired someone who really knows what my target market wants to see.. mainly women and women with kids. I am getting my van re lettered too.

here is the first draft of that.. I like simplicity.. Creating a brand vs a business is better for long term success imho.

View attachment 4616

 

[Desk Jockey]

I know this breaks Tom's rules but what about a picture of the truck? It commercial not residential, if you taking out the family, what not the truck?

 

[Derek]

good info Brent, and nice card.

yea i've always made my marketing material & cards with Publisher...nothing fancy.

there is some text on the back as well...a call to action with my name & # and the free demo offer again.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

good info Brent, and nice card.

yea i've always made my marketing material & cards with Publisher...nothing fancy.

there is some text on the back as well...a call to action with my name & # and the free demo offer again.

Thanks.. like you I made all my own stuff and still do for something.. but there is a time when a business owner needs to outsource certain things and design work is one of them for the vast majority of us.

With small real estate you don't want to repeat a point you made on the other side about the free demo.. plus is that really a selling point anymore to the people who will get those cards(almost daily sometimes), in some cases its almost expected, especially with larger accounts. Put yourself in their place.. what would YOU want to see and read when choosing one company over another? NOT the same standard stuff that you've been exposed to for years.. but something that might be a little fancier than what you have done in the past.. maybe some different selling points that promote YOU and not the industry. I got the list started with things they are more likely concerned about.. the folks here can help add to the list so you can use the ones that best fit you.

Focus groups really do help a lot.. my company is mainly residential and I try to present them a company they would want in their house..

For something as important as branding your company, I think its best to seek help in this matter to help with design work. Hey its okay too.. nothing wrong with subbing out things we don't want to do or not good at.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[Derek]

most local biz cards from CC'ers in my area that i have seen are very generic and i can't think of 1 that has a pic of himself or family on it. that stands out to any decision maker in my area, as i have been told many times before. same goes for the before & after pic and the Free Demo offer. might be different in other parts of the country?

the thing i might consider changing is putting the pic of our van on it like Richard advised, and also Brent's advice of having a company design something for me to look at. i contacted the company who made my logo and van wrap, they can design it but then i will have to find some1 to print it...pretty easy. i might pay to see what he can come up with.

thanks for the insight fellas!

 

[renegade_cowboy]

most local biz cards from CC'ers in my area that i have seen are very generic and i can't think of 1 that has a pic of himself or family on it. that stands out to any decision maker in my area, as i have been told many times before. same goes for the before & after pic and the Free Demo offer. might be different in other parts of the country?

the thing i might consider changing is putting the pic of our van on it like Richard advised, and also Brent's advice of having a company design something for me to look at. i contacted the company who made my logo and van wrap, they can design it but then i will have to find some1 to print it...pretty easy. i might pay to see what he can come up with.

thanks for the insight fellas!

At gotprints.net you can get 5,000 biz cards color both sides for around $50. Very good quality.

When you have them design it.. let them know who you target market is to help guide them..

Good luck.. if they don't have any good designs.. lots of other design companies out there that do.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I agree with Brent cards are so cheap and yet still high quality at Gotprint, we have several different cards made up.

You could make them both up and decide which to give depending on the setting. Corporate commercial, more conservative, mom & pop business use the one with the family. ???

We have individual cards for services . A carpet cleaning, a commercial carpet cleaning, an airduct, a biorecovery, fire & water damage and microcleaning cards.

It was too many services for one card even using the back and it just look like it was line extension of the original business. Sounds crazy but I wanted the card to look like you're the specialist in the service you're estimating for. Since cards are so cheap (even full color both sides) we made one for each service. Not everyone has more than one card but those that in a position to use multiple do.

Print a few and see which you like best. Easy to up load your file and select your choice of cards. Fast too.

 

[Lars]

#1
Looks good, nice job

 

[ruff]

Derek, I know it was not the question and feel free to ignore.
I think you need to redesign.

Too many elements fighting each other for attention, pulling the eye in too many directions causing distraction. A well designed card, leads the eye to where you want it to go.

You can also simplify: People know that derek@ beyers.... is an e-mail, you don't need to specify.

Whenever designing a piece, there's always a struggle between looking great (Brent's being a good example) which usually means much less text and open space, as opposed to giving more info (more text, less open space, usually not as pretty and clean looking.)

You'll need to decide where you want your card to be. They are both legitimate ways to achieving the same goal. No clear winner.

 

[Dan]

Less is more. Use both sides of the card and gotprint.com is awesome.

 

[Dan]

Web, email and servicing are crowding the card. I also wouldn't offer up 1 hour dry time and free demos on a card. Less is more on business cards and that what I would shoot for. I would also use front and backsides of the card to get more bang rather than cramming. Gotprint.com is awesome. I've got letterhead being printed right now.

 

[ruff]

Dan. Why not make a template with your letterhead. That way each of your letters will be automatically printed with the letterhead and will save you money.

 

[Dan]

That's what I do for email files. I don't have a color print or much interest in one. My wife is a school teacher and prints about a ream every weekend. Letterhead is very expensive and it's not for everyday use but rather special circumstances.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Here is the current and about to be replaced business card.

View attachment 4635
View attachment 4636

 

[Tedburton]

I don't get the shape of that card.