Why Startup Founders Should Invest In Digital Business Cards

Business cards have been a vital tool for entrepreneurs for a long time. In the past years, enterprises have relied on physical or printed cards. These contain the name of their venture, an address, contact details, and a logo. Business owners distribute these during exhibitions and other networking events to promote their brands in hopes of getting new clients.

Technology has brought about numerous changes in the business world today, including the move from traditional to digital business cards. Some people still rely on conventional ones, but enterprises using digital cards are reaping more benefits.

Read on to learn more about the advantages of digital business cards over traditional ones for startup founders.

What Is A Digital Business Card?

A digital business card is an electronic or virtual representation of your printed card. Unlike the conventional type shared physically with potential clients, a digital card can be shared via email, text, social media platforms, and other means. Furthermore, it can be embedded with a quick response (QR) code that others can scan to access the pertinent information.

Making physical cards requires a printer, paper, and ink. In cases where an entrepreneur doesn’t have the necessary knowledge and skills to create one, they have to employ printing services. Making a digital business card is much easier. You only need an application from a reputable app developer and less than two minutes to create your virtual card.

Some applications are free to use and have information to guide you in adding images, contacts, and other details. These make things easier for an entrepreneur with little or no knowledge of creating a digital card.

Reasons To Choose Digital Business Cards

Many enterprises today are becoming aware of the substantial benefits of using virtual business cards over conventional ones. It helps them keep up with the changes in the business environment, stay competitive, and remain relevant. Following suit may be in your best interests as a startup founder.

Below are four reasons why you should invest in digital business cards:

1. They Are Easier To Share

Compared to the traditional type, digital business cards are much easier to share. You no longer need to carry a stack of cards and give them to potential customers and business partners. If they lose the card, they may have no way of reaching you or engaging with your business.

On the other hand, you carry your digital card on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. It’s almost effortless to distribute it to people via email, social media, or short message service (SMS).

With some cards, you can share your information with someone, and the data will automatically be added to the recipient’s address book. In this case, the person will always have your business card details as an entry in their contact list. So, there’s little risk of them losing your digital card and mixing it with others they may have.

Unlike conventional business cards, digital cards can’t be left somewhere to gather dust. Therefore, potential customers or partners can reach you or engage with your business whenever they wish. They can also share the card’s details with their friends and family.

Some technology companies use advanced technologies. They can help you create a near-field communication (NFC) enabled card. NFC is short-range wireless connectivity technology that transfers information via electromagnetic radio fields, allowing two gadgets to communicate.

If two devices are NFC enabled, transactions happen when they touch physically or a few inches apart. You can share your business details with an NFC-enabled card by tapping a person’s NFC-compatible phone. This way, they get details of your card on their devices instantly.

2. They Allow Engagement Tracking

It’s challenging to know if someone took the time to look at your physical business card and used it to reach you or engage with your business. Sometimes, people dispose of printed cards, stack them with the many others they have, or leave them somewhere and never use them.

This isn’t the case with electronic cards. They offer the distinct advantage of tracking engagement. This means you’ll know when potential customers view your card or forward it to others. You can establish how many people looked at your card, their location, and how many contacted you using it.

The insights you gain from engagement tracking can help you assess and optimize your networking efforts.

3. They Are Easier To Update

If you need to update the details on your physical business card, you must dispose of the old stack and print a new set. This requires more plastic or paper and ink. You’ll also have to redistribute your cards since the others have become outdated. The whole exercise can be tiring, resource-intensive, and time-consuming.

On the other hand, updating a digital card is much easier. Using an application, you can change or add information in a few minutes, and the new data will instantly reflect on the card.

The best thing is that you can make alterations as often as you like. The new information updates automatically. This way, you save money, time, and energy that you can utilize in various areas of your startup.

4. They Are Environmentally Friendly

Most physical cards aren’t entirely environmentally friendly. First, some are made of non-biodegradable plastic. Also, most are created using paper that comes from cutting down trees. In addition, some people pay no attention to these cards and throw them in the trash. As a result, they end up in dumpsites.

Furthermore, when updating your physical cards, you must throw away the old stack, which also goes to the landfills, causing more pollution.

Consider using digital business cards to help protect the environment. You’ll preserve more trees and prevent additional paper and plastic from ending up in dumpsites.

Final Thoughts

Technology continues to bring significant changes to the business world. Today, physical cards are fast becoming a thing of the past. Many entrepreneurs are now switching to electronic ones because they’re easier to share and update. They also allow engagement tracking and are environmentally friendly.

With the benefits mentioned above, investing in digital business cards can give your startup an edge in your industry and make an excellent impression on potential customers and business partners.