Though business cards are relatively common, it is not uncommon for people to have difficulty determining what information they should put on a business card. In fact, it’s not terribly uncommon to see people omitting vital information from their business cards. A business card is not a good investment if people you have given a card are unable to contact you!

Here is a review of the information that should be on your business card.

Company Name

If you have a company name, be sure to put that on your business card. If you don’t have a company name and are just using your own name, you can omit a company name. Otherwise, you should be sure to include it.

Your Name

Some people will put their company name on a card, but forget to put their own name on it! People typically want a contact person to ask for if they call your business, so it’s important that you have a name on your card. Don’t forget that people may receive many business cards and most will be prone to forget your name, so having your name on your card also serves as a reminder to them as for to whom they spoke. And, if you don’t have a company name, it’s especially important not to forget to put your name on the card!

Your Title

Having a title is optional, but should be included if it would be of any significance to the recipient of your business card.

What You Do

If your business name or title doesn’t convey what products or services you offer, you should include a line somewhere on your card that does! If people forget what you offer, why would they keep your business card? You may know what you do, but unless your company name is well known and recognized in a certain industry, people will be apt to forget what you do. And, if they don’t remember what you do or what you offer, they won’t be calling you when they need the product or service you provide!

Your Phone Number

Be sure to include your phone number so that people will have a way to contact you! You may think that having an eMail address is sufficient, but many people will prefer to make a call rather than send an eMail. And, what happens if your eMail is down? How will they contact you then? What happens if their mail doesn’t make it to your mailbox because of miscellaneous delivery errors? It’s always a good idea to include your phone number if you want to be sure people have a way to contact you.

Your Fax Number

If you expect people to be sending you faxes for any reason, you should include it on your business card as a matter of convenience for your customers and prospects. It’ll save them time calling you for a fax number if they want to send you something, such as a request for a price.

Your Address

Some people may be reluctant to place their address on their business cards, especially if running a business out of their home where they don’t expect, or want, visitors. And, for some businesses, there may never be a reason for a customer to come to your office. Still, having an address lends some credibility to your operation. If you don’t want to use your home address, get a post office box or get a box at a business that will give you a real street address rather than just a box number. Even if people won’t be visiting you in person, you’ll still want an address where they can send checks! While such information may be on your invoice, including it on your business card provides added convenience.

Your eMail Address

In this day and age, using eMail is quite popular. You should have one for your business (and you may want to use a separate eMail address for your business correspondence instead of using your personal eMail address) so that customers and prospects can contact you through it.

Your Logo

If you don’t have a logo, you don’t necessarily need one. But, if you do have a logo, be sure to include it on your business card. A business card is one of your identity materials, and you’ll want to maintain consistency across your identity and promotional materials for branding and recognition purposes. So, be sure to include your logo if you have one.

These are the basics that should be included, as noted, as part of your business card. You want to make sure that the recipient of your card has all the information necessary to know who you are, what you do and how to get in touch with you. A business card that fails to do that is a bad investment!

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