Rules of an Effective Business Card

A business card isn’t just for simply listing your business name, number and address. There are a million and one ways in which you can format your business card and the information you include can help expand the ways in which your business card stands out.

Failing in the presentation and information on your business card could cost you prospects and hurt your ability of networking effectively – fret not, the team at Crystal Print have created our top business card rules to make sure that your business card reflects your brand and performs well for your business.

Include the Most Important Information

It can be very tempting to cram lots of information, having too much on your business card will mean that you will lose attention and recipients due to an overload of information. It is important that you include enough information to interest the recipient and make it memorable to the client your networking with or even just promoting your brand.

Keep it Simple

Fancy fonts and bold colouring can be fun and eye catching, they can also be greatly distracting to the recipient. Usually a business card isn’t the best place to add fancy fonts (they can be hard to read) Let your logo be the main eye-catching piece that adds interest and will keep the text simple and straight forward.

White Space

It is common to have full colour text and designs covering your card, but it is important to avoid the temptation and completely cover every piece of white space. With a tonne of colour and no space, it makes it impossible for your recipient to make any notes.

Use the Space Well

Maybe your wanting to go two sided or maybe your not? Careful planning of how you use your card’s limited space is necessary. It is important to note that your card is an important part of your brand, so it should be kept clean and well structured. Two sided cards may work well for your brand, or it may be better to stick to one-sided.

Use Special Finishing Options Carefully

There are many ways to make your business card stand out when it comes to the design, there’s lots of ways to generate attention from your business card by using the finish, for example you could design your card to have features such as rounded edges, hole punched through, embossing, foil accents or simply folds which turn your card into a mini brochure. It’s important that this finish is relevant to the image your portraying you brand to have.

A Call to Action

While your business card should be plain and simple, it doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate a call to action. A short message offering a discount can easily direct the recipient to your website or provide a useful tip which is highly relevant to the reader. If you hit the mark with a specific call to action or other helpful information, you can make your business card a lot more memorable.

Professional Printing

Although you could print your own business cards at home, it always looks more professional using a printing company instead, a DIY business card might not make the best first impression. Although you may save money and easily update your information if you print them yourself, but the impact of handing over a homemade business card isn't the same as cards that are printed professionally.

Make It Memorable

The design and feel of your business card is no different than a firm handshake when it comes to a good first impression. Durability is also a strong factor when you consider the length of time they will be sitting in your wallet. A professionally designed and printed card will evoke a stronger sense of credibility.
Be creative with your design and include features that can stand out, whilst still running with the theme of keeping it plain and simple. Remember the design should always complement the message.

Other Uses for your Card

It can always be fun to try and think of other purposes your business card can be more useful to the recipient, after all your card is a physical object – your card could have some potentially interesting extra features. Other strategic ideas can include adding promo codes or other vouchers to your cards.
It is important to remember that not all companies need a business card with functionality may not work for all companies and their added cost may not be as beneficial.

Importance of High Quality Printing for your Business

Why is it important to use high quality printed products?

When it comes to printed marketing materials, it’s important to achieve a high quality look, whether it’s through internal or external printed materials including posters, booklets or documentation, it’s important that the aesthetic is right.

High quality printing is extremely important as it’s something that gets noticed first by potential clients, when you use cheap printed materials, this may just make your company look cheap as there likely to be of a reduced quality. When it comes to printing, it’s about finding a balance between affordability and the quality of the materials.

The importance of quality printing…

Most businesses will use some type of printing whether it’s inhouse or outsourced, ensuring you use high quality printers is essential when it comes to achieving the best possible look for your business. Some reasons to invest in high quality printing are…

• High quality printed marketing materials will catch the attention of the customers and encourages them to read the materials that they see.
• High quality printed items speak in volumes about your brand and business, the printed items that you use could be the first thing that people see about your premises, so it’s important to make a good first impression.
• It also shows how much value you have to give to your clients and how much you care about them.
• More often than not, the quality of your printing materials will make the first impression of your business.
• People may judge your business and the services that you offer when it comes to the quality of your own printed marketing materials.
• High quality printing providers a more sophisticated and professional look.

Why do I need to use printing to promote my business? Printing is often overlooked for businesses, especially ones who are looking to grow and expand, in our eyes, that couldn’t be more untrue.

Printing works and is brilliant for attracting new clients, that one print could reach hundreds of people. Imagine putting up a banner or poster in a built up area, there’s the potential for hundreds of people to see it.

Our top 5 reasons why printing works include…

• You can read it in your own time
• Printing lasts
• Can be designed to puta certain message across and generates results
• Easy to market businesses, sales, offers, coupons etc
• Easy to send to clients and be found, in appose to online advertising

Why should I outsource my printing?

Printing doesn’t always need to be outsourced, especially when it comes to printing documentation to use in-house. However, most businesses aren’t capable of producing things like posters, banners or brochures, so it’s important to find the right balance when it comes to outsourcing your printing. Outsourcing your printing for large scale projects or marketing materials helps your business to achieve a much more professional look and feel.

Professional printers are capable of producing a range of items as well as working closely with you to ensure that the print finish is just how you need it to be. Should you regularly require print documents in-house then its best to invest in high quality printers from a company known for this. Combing both high quality and in-house, as well as external printing which will help your business to achieve the best overall look.

Choose Crystal Print for Business Printing

When it comes needing printing carried out for your business, be sure to get in touch with Crystal Print. We offer a range of printing services which are perfect for any type of business and we always go the extra mile to ensure our customers receive a quality product. At Crystal Print, we offer high quality printing services at affordable prices.

The Importance of Using Consistent Branding for your Business

When it comes to your company, good, clear and consistent branding is important and this goes for all types of businesses. Using clear and consistent branding will help your business to become more recognised, especially in the area you’re based in. At Crystal Print, we’ve come up with some of the top ways that we think you can brand your business.

Ideas for Branding your Business

Branding can be placed almost anywhere and the more places you use your branding, the more likely someone will notice you and your business. By using consistent branding across your physical and online business, this will only help you to build and grow your brand name.

Printed Material

The majority of businesses should be using letter headed paper, this is where branding and printing come together. Letterheads or other types of business stationery that you’re using should meet your current branding. Whilst it’s vital that you brand your business stationery, don’t forget to make sure that your print based marketing also has a coherent feel to it. Things like flyers, posters and leaflets should all be branded around your business. This includes using the same colours and ensuring that the use of your logo will help to make your brand instantly recognisable. With print based marketing, its all about getting the attention of the reader, so consider using a professional designer to create a design and brand theme that’s suitable for use on all types of printing. For more information on the printed media we provide, simply call Crystal Print today.

Signage

Signage is an important area for any type of business, whether you’re a retail premises or an office, it’s important to use some form of signage. When it comes to signage, there’s many different options available, this includes outdoor signage, indoor signage and point of sale notices. The type of sign you choose is entirely down to your and a professional sign maker can work with you to help design a sign which suits all of your requirements. Its also important that signage is designed around your current branding, this can also help to make sure that your branding is consistent across the board. Professional sign makers will only use quality sign making supplies to ensure a high quality sign has been produced.

Clothing

When it comes to work uniforms, many people don’t tend to enjoy wearing them, this is because they can be restrictive and uncomfortable, in some types of business, it’s necessary for it to be like this. However, where possible, try and make the uniform relaxing and comfortable, gone are the days of shirts and ties. Try using clothing items like t-shits, polos and hoodies for your uniform. The whole purpose of uniform is so that everyone has a similar look to them and this is where branding comes into play. Employees wearing branded uniform are likely to be seen outside of work in them, this will help to spread your brand name.

Website and Online Presence

If you own a business and don’t have a website or social media platform, where have you been! Online marketing is vital and its continuing to grow year on year, so it’s important to make sure that you’re taking full advantage of the these tools which can be at your disposal. Social media is a great free way to advertise your business, so ensure you have profiles on every platform that are applicable to your business. By using the same branding across all of your social media, this will help you to build brand awareness. In addition to social media, its important that you have a website. Your website should be based around your branding message and include your logo. Having a clearly branded online presence as well as a physical presence will help people to identify your brand and business.

Interior Design

As well as branding the outside of your business, why not brand the inside of your business too. Thinking about your interior design from the colours, you use on your walls to the furniture you choose is an important step for branding the inside of your business. Some of the ways to brand the interior of your business include coloured walls which incorporate your branding, using interior signage and meet tables that incorporate branding too. Branded office spaces and businesses are likely to make a better first impression on a potential client or customer.

Using Leaflets to Promote your Business…

Although marketing tends to be seen online, there’s some offline techniques which can improve your overall marketing strategy. This includes tools like flyers, offline tools are often overlooked as necessary parts of a marketing strategy, however when used correctly they can become an effective marketing tool. Leaflets work best for use on campaigns where the message is clear and easy to read, leaflets will allow you to grab your audience’s attention and keep them interested.

Clear and Concise

One of the biggest advantages of using printed leaflets in your marketing is that they’re small in size and easy to read. Recipients are sometimes less likely to find them daunting and more likely to browse what you’ve got to offer. Should your mailing lists be designed and well printed, even a brief glance should be enough to make the recipient aware of your business, your products and services.

A Low-Cost Alternative

Leaflets are a great lower cost alternative to brochures, they’re one of the most affordable types of printed products, they’re well suited for use on projects that have a together budget. what’s more, depending on the style of leaflet you choose, your printed products can be produced in a quick turnaround, allowing you time to start your campaign quicker.

The right style of leaflet

The key to a successful marketing campaign is choosing the correct style of leaflet for your campaign, the most successful and simplest style of leaflet is a single fold and perfect to give potential or existing all information they need at a glance. Leaflets can also be designed to your exact specifications they can also be multipurpose, for example if you’re selling products your promotional flyers can also double up as a product guides.

A Direct Marketing Tool

One of the top features of using a leaflet as a direct marketing tool means that they can be physically distributed to individuals and if required these people can be specifically chosen so that your information is being directed to the most suitable audience. Some forms of advertising are overlooked meaning your advertising budget could be wasted, when it comes to leaflet design, you’re in 100% control at all times.

Whilst there are clearly certain benefits of using printed flyers as part of your marketing toolbox, it is important to note that design, content and distribution methods are going to determine the effective. As with everything, quality is key.

Benefit Your Business With Printed Media

Over the last decade or so there has been a dramatic rise of digital publishing and marketing, digital marketing has opened new marketing channels and techniques which have provided agencies with new avenues.
However, when you use both print and digital marketing tactics to compliment each other, both you and your target audience members benefit.
We’ve gathered together a few reasons why printed materials can improve your overall marketing strategy! Keep reading to find out how…

Brand Loyalty

Loyal customers help the sustainability of your brand and business, print materials can go a long way towards helping you build a loyal customer base.
For example, a loyalty card, say you where the owner of a coffee shop offering a loyalty card stating “Buy five coffees, receive a sixth one free” reinforces your customer to return when they feel as though the can receive a unique benefit they can’t get anywhere else, enforcing them to take care of their loyalty card. Although not every business needs loyalty card, but providing promotional materials is a good way to build customer loyalty, in return rewarding you with increased business.

Make it Memorable

A well put together printed media can stand out and make more of a lasting impression. Giving your audience and customers the ability to see and feel a piece of marketing material can reinforce your customers and clients to remember your business and return after a positive customer experience. Thought and time go into a print publications, making the final product more relevant for a longer period of time.

A Wider Audience

As well as reaching a key target audience, printed publications also captures the reader’s attention. People choose to read magazines or print advertisements, meaning the document is thoroughly in their hands – giving total focus. The reader isn’t multi-tasking or allowing the content to glide past them on a screen, which means the reader is engaged with the publication for longer.

An Unlimited Reach

The use of print media allows you, as a business to cover a versatile range of materials, in comparison to forms of digital media offering its essence in a one-off experience – a flat, texture less screen. Print media goes further than this and can virtually be performed on anything from business cards to leaflets to brochures - you can even print onto USB’s, mugs and even vehicles. Print media can turn anything into a billboard to promote your business, its products, services and brand.

Sales

One of the main reasons you should incorporate print media into your marketing strategy and business is to generate sales. Many businesses employ a wide range of marketing methods, including television adverts, digital adverts and print advertisements. While each advertising method has its unique benefits, studies have shown the highest return on investment of all marketing mediums.

Improve Your Business with Brochures

Are you looking to increase your business’s advertising strategy? Have you thought about incorporating brochures into your advertising strategy? Brochures can offer an array of benefits when it comes to advertising. We’ve came up with our top reasons why using brochures can benefit your marketing strategy…

Marketing can be an unpredictable field when starting up your business and incorporating brochures into your advertising strategy can be an effective solution to increase your business’s advertising. There are many business’s which can advertise but only some can do it successfully, in order to achieve the best marketing strategy, we believe you need a feature of your business covered for a good marketing strategy this includes uniforms, social media platforms, and print publications – this is where brochures can fall into your strategy.

How a Brochure Will Help your Business

Incorporating brochure’s in your advertising strategy offers great advantage in putting your brand and business out there. Not only do they increase your level of advertising an brand awareness but inform and draw attention from unsuspected customers.

Here’s how brochures can help;

• Cost affective, which allows you to promote your brand further
• Relates well with your customers, which means they won’t feel pressured
• The brochure is tailored to focus on the content you want to push and the point you won’t to get across
• Simple text and images allows for an easy read
• Variations of sizing, providing an easy alternative

Engage with you Potential Customers

When presenting your business brochure to potential customers it is important to include the logo and your companies colour scheme, making your brochure more memorable to clients, showcasing what your products and services are all about. Just by capturing your audience’s attention you’ve already increased your business’s advertising. Creating interaction with existing and future clients, will give you the best opportunity to sell the best of your business. By knowing your target audience, they want to know how your product or service will benefit them, if your audience or reader feels like you understand their situation they will be more inclined to read.

Low Cost

Brochure advertising is a cost-effective way of putting your brand out there, you can buy in large bulk amounts allowing you to save money while putting your brand out there to as many existing and potential clients. You will be amazed by the benefits of including print brochures within your advertising strategies. You can engage with brand new customers and in turn gives you a wider customer base, which increases your profits whilst making advertising improvements.

Ample Space

An obvious benefit of a brochure is that it provides lots of space, allowing you to get your message across, giving your business the opportunity to provide in depth information on your services and their benefits, as well as any other useful information and a powerful call to action.

No Competition

A great benefit of brochures is that you don’t have to compete for your audience’s attention with competitors and have all the space in your brochure all to yourself. This allows you to provide the complete picture of all your services and really sell the idea of working with your company, which can help to greatly increase interest in your services and all you to present yourself as thoroughly as you desire.

Why Choose Crystal Print for your Brochure Needs?

Crystal Print come with many years of experience in brochure printing, specialising in top quality printing. We know just about all there is to know on brochure printing, making us quite the experts! Our aim is to provide top quality printing for all of our customers, so all of your dreams are brought to life with Crystal Print. Working hard is what we do best, and it is what has made our service so time efficient, reliable and cost friendly.

Brochures are one of the most successful forms of advertising and marketing. They offer a potential customer something that they can hold and read at a time and place that best suits them. With the right design and quality, they can catch your target audience's eye in just a glimpse. Brochures can be held, stuck, pinned, glued, stapled on various objects and materials, giving you endless opportunities on where you can leave your brochure. When choosing Crystal Print for your brochure printing in Basildon, we will provide the highest quality for your brochure to ensure it catches as many potential customers as possible.
It's good to know that, you can always count on Crystal Print for all of your printing needs, simply give one of our friendly team members a call today on 01277 650661

Make the Most of Using Flyers

Flyers can add a great benefit to your marketing strategy when advertising your business. The design of your flyer holds great importance in capturing your readers attention, from the colour scheme to the information you include – you need to keep your reader interested so that they proceed to find out more about your company and what your company does.

We’ve gathered our four top tips on why you should incorporate flyers in your business’s advertising strategy.

Top Tip #1: Imagery & Design

You need to capture your audience’s attention right from the start its important to use as high-quality images as possible. The images your flyer obtains should capture the attention of the reader, pushing them to know more about your business – poor quality images may not portray your services or products in the best way. This could even impact a potential customer from even picking up your leaflet, the images you choose should be relevant to your business and showcase the services and products you choose.

Top Tip #2: Get the Message Across

An easy, recognisable message is key for drawing your reader in. Don’t waste your time or valuable flyer space on unnecessary information – try to get straight to the point of what you want your reader to know. Think of key points that will drive your reader to your business, things such as what you do, what the flyer is about, etc. Saving time on pointless content, lets you get straight to the point and gives the client a clear decision on whether they require your services.

Top Tip #3: Make your Text Informative

Although you want your flyer to read straight to the point, it’s important you are giving a clear message. Take into consideration that people need to understand what you are currently offering – what is the purpose of this flyer? Are you promoting your business? Is your company currently running any discount offers? Not only does your content need to be informative for the reader but you need to remain mindful of the end result, the style of the text portrays you as a business, think how you want to showcase your business.

Top Tip #4: Contact

Probably the most important part of the flyer, your reader has been drawn to your flyer and is interested in the service or offer you are running – but there are no contact details. The whole purpose of your flyer is to grab potential new customers, you want them to visit, call or email, you need your customer to connect with you. Your contact details should be clear and easy to read and include all the necessary information.
At the end of the day the main purpose of your flyer is to initiate a sale.

Why Choose Crystal Print?

We’re blessed with a truly fantastic team of litho printers and digital printers here at Crystal Sign and Print, all of whom strive to achieve perfection with every single one of the services that we offer. We have a real passion for what we do, and we feel that this shows in every single one of the services that we offer. We also pride ourselves on the high level of service that we provide alongside all of the services that we offer, and on the fact that we constantly go the extra mile for our valued customers, time and time again.