Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 19, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Business cards remain a vital tool Looking up someone's contact information is easier than ever online, making business cards less relevant, but new technology and websites provide more opportunities to get really creative with your business cards. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said they still give and receive business cards for the traditional exchange of information. F L A S H P O L L How do you use business cards? COMMENTS: 9% My business has created elaborate business cards to stand out in the crowd. They're the best way to pass on my information, and I use a Rolodex for the ones people give me. 44% I hand them out all the time but rarely use the cards people give me. 20% "I would never remember the names or business names of the people I meet, so having the business card is a huge help. Eventually I'll put them in Outlook or something, but I appreciate having the card to remind me of who they were and what they do." "I don't know who uses a Rolodex anymore but I keep people's business cards (in a large pile) and regularly go through them looking for a specific person/company." "Cards are still a very key part of networking, but print them so we can write notes on them!" M E E T I N G S G U I D E & G O L F D I R E C T O R Y F O C U S BOB A W A R D S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S B E S T O F B U SI N E S S Awards B E S T O F B U S I N E S S 2014 W o r c e s t e r B u sin ess J o u r n a l Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l 2016 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE Golf and Dining. Corporate Functions and Social Gatherings. Custom. Creative. Classic. CYPRIAN. 284 E. Temple Street | Boylston, MA 01505 508.869.9900 | cypriankeyes.com MRI machines, has a business card with a USB drive to be plugged into a computer. But Pagano's clients tend to be traditional, choosing cards with bright colors or catchy designs, said CEO Kathleen Pagano. "Usually, they will go with something a little less traditional than they first thought because they see the value of the design of it," she said. Joshua Croke, the founder and chief strategist of Worcester consulting and strategy company Origin Consulting, has found style can't be done at the expense of being useful. "Design is art that meets function," Croke said. "Good designers have to consider the function and make the form applicable to that, and also aes- thetically beautiful." Croke, whose own business cards have a standout design, knows cards well. He said he's kept 500 from those he's met and keeps in touch better with those whose cards stand out. "If the card stands out when you make that transaction, it's a way to inject a little more memory into that experience," said Croke, also a co- founder of the Worcester Idea Lab. "I give my business cards out like candy," he added. "I think the use of them is still extremely relevant." There's also a next wave of business cards that could either kill the business card as people know it or save it. MOO offers cards embedded with small chips that, when the card is tapped against cellphones carrying the technology, trigger a website or portfo- lio to pop up. By June, Pagano Media plans to start offering a new card using what's known as augmented reality. A person could use a phone app to scan, say, a real estate agent's card, and the agent's list- ings could pop up on the phone. "We do see this exploding soon," Joe Pagano said. Rarely. I can more easily give and receive information digitally. 27% W

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