Reading an article on promotion of your business and products, I came across a point that I got me thinking about the use of business cards and standing out. It said:

3. Hand out promotional products instead of business cards. Those companies that produce business cards are charging more and more these days to create customized cards that will stand out from the millions of others. And that is exactly the point – most people are given stacks upon stacks of business cards that they will never look at. Save time and trouble by giving out promotional products with contact information and service offerings. You can also encourage shared marketing by offering a small discount to those that show they are using your promotional product.

Although business cards are useful and making a first impression in person is important, I think it’s also important to stand out from the rest even when it comes down to the simple things like business cards or being creative.

Imagine coming back from a networking event and you have a pocket full of cards. There’ll be those people you found interesting and stick out. How about everyone else? Perhaps some had given you something in replacement? A small unique, and portable, portable storage key chain that had the business logo or style written all over it?

This unique object could stand out to you and maybe you’ll find time to call that person back to compliment on their design or you really liked the company’s gift and you found it useful to you. The key is to be outside of the box and useful that the person receiving the personalized “business card” will recognize it anywhere.

Do you want to be one in a big stack of cards?

So I’m wondering, what kind of ideas do you guys out there have as a replacement of the business cards if you were at a networking event?

Taken from: http://frugalentrepreneur.com/2012/03/4-tips-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-promotional-product-marketing/