While business marketing advice tends to focus on social media marketing, the reality is that classic methods like business cards remain effective for many products. For example, if you’re a beauty consultant or sell makeup, you must have business cards to be successful.
Let’s learn why business cards are key to success in the makeup business. Then we’ll discuss the unique elements of business cards for the makeup and beauty industry.
Why Business Cards Are Critical for the Makeup Business
1. Direct marketing tools
Business cards are critical tools when you’re working in a business that is literally face to face. If you meet someone at the beauty shop or mall and talk about the products they need, they may buy from you at that moment. However, they’re unlikely to remember your name or contact information after the exchange. If you give them your business card along with the products, they’re more likely to order those products from you in the future.
Hold beauty consulting sessions or makeup tutorials, and they may remember you. However, they won’t remember how to get a hold of you unless you give them business cards along with any goodie bags or tutorials. This is a discrete way to create a lasting connection with potential clients. Include your business card in advertising mailers to increase the odds they keep your contact information and actually reach out to you.
2. Complementary marketing tools
Business cards are a suitable way to reach potential clients through complementary marketing. For example, you can include your business cards in gift baskets that feature both your products or gift certificates and someone else’s products.
When someone is having their hair and makeup done in advance of a wedding or school dance, you can give them your business card in the thank you card you give them for giving you their business. Or place your business cards on the counter in a beauty salon or fashion boutique.
Pay it forward with the small business allowing you to strategically promote your beauty business by referring clients to them or sharing their business card when the business case exists.
The Unique Elements of Business Cards for the Beauty Industry
1. Bright colors and designs
Business cards for the beauty industry are business cards, but they look very different from the average business card. For example, standard business cards rely on bold but boring, formal text. Makeup business cards tend to have bright splashes of color and eye-catching designs, since this reminds people of the purpose of makeup. This means the makeup consultant’s business cards are far more likely to have vibrant pink, purple and red designs on the entire card while the financial consultant sticks to black text on a white background.
2. Heavier card stock
A hint of gold or silver on the financial planner’s card is seen as edgy, while dripping red, pink splashes and orange waves are suitable for a makeup business card. This means you will probably need heavier cardstock to handle bright, bold and multi-layered designs. This is especially true if the business cards are displayed on bulletin boards or included in gift baskets.
You can’t use standard card stock printed off your printer unless you’re willing to risk the card being unattractive when it is finally reviewed.
3. Basic info, well-presented
This doesn’t mean you can ignore the critical function of a makeup business card. Your business card must include your name, your business name, your contact information and anything else they need to reach you. Therefore, your bold, colorful design cannot interfere with the readability of your text. You can’t have your business name, phone number or web address in a small, light or otherwise difficult to read style.
Takeaway
Remember that business cards are there to capture the person’s attention, encourage them to connect with you, and tell them how to do this. This means beauty industry business cards should have a bold logo that is unique but not so niche that people can’t figure out what it represents.
Make it simple. What is your business name? How do they contact you? This includes your phone number and email address. Hours of operation matter if you have a brick and mortar location. Your tagline is nice to have, but it shouldn’t be crammed on the business card and it is a liability if they can’t read your phone number next to the bold tag line on the
bottom of the business card.
The business card may mention your website if you have one, but this isn’t the place to list all of your social media profiles. Don’t have too many logos or symbols on the business card, either. A cluttered business card is confusing, and that hurts your conversion rate.