Are Business Cards Still Relevant In The Business World?

Are business cards relevant anymore considering the fact that people are already scanning codes whenever they need to get someone’s contact on their phones? Do people still hand out business cards now that everything, quite literally, is on Google? Of course, there ARE some conventional businesses that cannot do without a business card, for example small grocery stores, but I am thinking that the relevance of handing out a business card is quickly fading with the rise of smartphones and mobile technology. Someone just said that handing out a business card is more like breaking up with someone you love…once you hand out the business card, everything is sort of forgotten thereafter because you either never think of the person again or the business card will be buried somewhere obscure, never to be thought about again.

In the modern business world, since everyone is more or less connected through the internet on the go, they are more inclined to say ‘send me an email, here is my email address’ instead of pulling out a business card. Once you get the email, the contact information is then quickly saved into the contact list and…there you have it…instant contact on the go! In fact, you can even message each other on Google Talk after that.

If you HAVE TO hand out business cards to people that you meet or someone you would love to keep in contact with, what you can do is to print a QR Code onto the business card that automates the ‘information saving’ process. For example, the QR Code could lead to a VCard or an instant message that can be sent at the tap of the finger.

And sometimes we forget. Let’s just say that you have just attended a really amazing conference and have found someone that you might want to collaborate with in the near future and you guys have probably held some short discussions during the conference. When you come back home, reality sets in and you are back to the grind. Work beckons, countless emails to answer and the phone doesn’t stop ringing. And the possible collaboration is instantly forgotten.

What people can do with technology is make it work for us. How about setting up a reminder at the very moment that you promised to keep in touch? There are countless apps out there that are downloadable to your phone which can import and export and tie in with Google on your phone.

A business card continues to be relevant in today’s business word but let’s just say that I opine that very soon, business cards may be obsolete in the next ten or twenty years.

Have a different opinion? I would love to hear it in the comment box.