I have seen this a lot of time. You make a new acquaintance, talk for a couple of minutes and then want to exchange contacts. But then you will realize that the other person is not carrying his/her visiting cards. Its not the other person does not wish to exchange the number, because he/she does take down my number and give me a missed call…. but they (esp the girls) simply never ever felt the need to carry heir business cards…. Is it because i am outdated and in today’s world they r no longer relevant?
I prefer business card because:
1) A typical phone book can carry only 100-200 contacts, and just based on a 5 minute conversation i would not like to throw somebody out just to make space for you.
2) Exchanging emails r always tricky. You need to search around for a piece of paper and then a pen… it takes a lot of time and trouble. Won’t it be simple if you just pass on the rectangular piece of paper called visiting card where it is already printed.
3) If you do not wish to pass on your mobile/personal number, then its much more convenient to just pass on your visiting card where only your office desk number is listed (no more annoying sms) then to bluntly refuse divulging that info.
4) It looks much more professional and best part is that your employer will print it for free and makes sure you always have an ample supply of them.
5) If you are an entrepreneur, then it is a nice way to pass on a little advertisement and let your acquaintance at least know the name of your venture.
6 replies on “Visiting Cards”
well i can surely say that you are outdated in this telecom revolution age. an ordinary phone stores upto 250 numbers and then you have 250 additional numbers on your sim card. That makes it 500. And for any of the new phones with additional memory the capacity goes to thousands.
Now think of carrying your business card … its as thick as a credit card and I don’t like carrying cards except the essential ones. so carrying 5-10 business cards for no specific use doesn’t sound great to me. However if I am going for a business meeting, or a formal gathering, I would surely put 50 of them in my coat pocket.
For entrepreneurs I think its better idea to keep the business card as they need exposure for their venture.
I like to take cards from executives (from banks insurance etc) so that I can keep them with me at home and call them when i want to. I dont like the idea of giving my number to them anyway.
@Amit….
telephone number is all that a SIM card can store… but a visiting card has much more info.. its like a personal billboard.
@Xylene…
exactly a visiting card/namecard/business card makes it easier for the target audience to contact you.
@Ankur: If you didn’t know, phones just above the basic level has facility of storing name, #, address, bday, email, and all other info you want to keep. and now they come in the same size of your basic phone.
@Ankur & Xylene: If i didn’t make it clear in my last comment, let me say it again. The business cards as the name say are essential for business connections. If you are insurance agent, credit agent, or any sort of person contacting people for business then its a must to have your business card ready. However if I meet you in a pub and you give me your business card, I would not be able to hide my surprise.
though v cards are very useful for important contacts as they can help open doors, they are passe in this day and age dont u think?
though i agree they tell a lot about the people and u can add stuff on them
well Amit if we do meet in a pub and need to exchange contacts (which is very likely)
then what do u expect me to do?
pitch at the top of my voice so that i can be louder than the music… and then again check if u get my number and name right?
or write it down for u… i think handed a neatly printed card would be faster and more efficient.
@prax…
in oriental cultures like Japan, Korea and China.. NameCard is still held with esteem… people meeting in offices do expect u to be carrying one. and then its always handed and received by both hands and needs to be read fully and carefully before being stashed away.