If you’re in a competitive industry, it’s essential to invest in marketing that helps your company stand out. Since your business cards are one of the pieces that your customers are most likely to take home with them, they’re a perfect place to invest your marketing efforts.

At Plastic Printers, I work with hundreds of business owners and marketers every year. Whether they run a single mom-and-pop store or have thousands of customers worldwide, they all say to me, “I need a business card that will get noticed.”

If you have a similar need, here are four ways that you can create a unique business card that gets a second look from your customers.

4 Ways to Make Your Business Card Stand Out Against the Rest

1. Add a Unique Twist to the Traditional Shape

Around 90% of the business cards we print are a standard rectangular shape with rounded corners. When you hand someone one of those cards, they’ll likely take a quick look and put it in their pocket.

When someone receives a card with a unique shape, they’re naturally more inclined to take a second look at the card (instead of immediately sticking it into their pocket). Potential customers are also more likely to bring it back to the office to show their co-workers.

For people in a competitive industry, a custom shape can be the difference between their card getting attention—or it getting thrown into the circular filing bin.

To create a card that’s effective as a marketing tool, you have to consider your audience. For example, a baker can easily get away with a card shaped like a croissant, but a banker will likely get strange looks if they had a card shaped like a safe.

If you’re in a more conservative industry, think about making subtle changes to the shape of your card. For example, take a look at the following cards with angled corners and rounded edges. Those business cards are relatively standard in shape but indicate that you pay attention to detail.

You can also take a standard card shape and do a little something to make it stand out. Our most recent Plastic Printers business card, for example, is round on one side with an internal die cut.

2. Leverage a Custom Shape for Your Business Cards

There are also times when it makes sense to get a totally custom shape for your business card. If you’re in a crowded industry where your customers want to see more of your personality (such as a brewery, photographer, artist or a realtor), you have license to be more creative.

Think about the fun shapes that you could make. Own a deli? We could create a business card shaped like a sandwich! Run a coffee shop? What about getting a business card shaped like a coffee cup—or a round business card that your customers could use as a coaster for their morning joe?

Insider Tip: We can create a business card design in a special shape nobody has ever seen before—without increasing the cost of the card.

When you’re thinking about creating a unique shape for your business card, consider what will set your cards apart and give your customers insight on the service you can provide for them.

Here are a couple examples of businesses that I feel have done an excellent job with using a custom shape for their business.

3. Take a Second Look at Your Business Card Size

It seems simple enough, right? Around 99% of all business cards in the world measure 3.5” x 2” in size. But is that the best size? NO!

Think about how you typically use business cards. Most people keep several of their business cards in their wallets, so they always have a couple on hand to give to potential customers. The problem is that business cards aren’t designed to fit in your wallet.

Take out your wallet and examine the business cards you’re storing in there. If they’re paper cards, all your business cards have likely smashed corners and look kind of ragged around the edges.

Why does this happen?

Wallets are built to hold credit cards, not business cards. Credit cards are 3.370” × 2.125” in size, which makes them more narrow and slightly taller than business cards. As a result, they’re easier for people to put in and pull out of their wallets.

If you’re looking for something people will hold on to for a long time, you’ll want to go with a card that has the footprint of a credit card.

4. Add Unique Business Card Design Features

Once you've decided on a shape and size, it's time to think about what features your business card should have. I always tell people to ask themselves a couple of questions to decide which business card design features are best for them. Ask yourself:

• How do you want to be received by your customers?
• Will your customers be impressed with a glossy plastic card that looks like a membership card?
• What will it take to "WOW" your customers?

Once you have answered these questions, look at the options that we have available and see which features best meets your answers.

Clear Business Cards

Think about how you want your card to look. Clear business cards are one of our most popular requests—we have customers create everything from a fully-transparent card to frosted business cards and cards with dramatic clear elements.

Here are a couple of examples of companies that I think have done a great job taking advantage of how our business cards can have clear elements.

Glossy or Matte Finish

Also, ask yourself if you want a shiny or a matte finish for your cards. While more expensive, our litho cards are popular because they have a more premium-feeling matte finish.

Metallic, Embossing, or Foil Stamping

Finally, think about how you want your card to feel to your customers. Perhaps your customers do millions of dollars in business with your company annually, and you want to communicate the premium experience of working with your company. Metallic business cards and embossed business cards have an affluent feel and are a favorite by many of our financial services clients.

Foil is another way to add a premium feel. Take a look at some of the unique looks our customers have created by adding metallic foil to their business cards.

How Much Should You Spend to Make Your Business Cards Stand Out?

As you think about creating business cards for your company, think about how much value they can bring to your business and use that to determine your marketing budget.

Paper cards are initially cheaper but are destroyed much more easily. Water, sun/heat, and even putting cards unprotected in your pocket can make a card look unprofessional. Additionally, paper cards quickly approach the price of plastic business cards when you add extra card features or custom die cut shapes.

If you’re a startup business selling pizzas, a foil card might be more than you need. If you’re selling million dollar houses, then business cards shaped like a house might not be luxurious enough for your clientele. In that case, a frosted business card with a premium feel might be a better option.

If you're on a tight budget, there are creative ways to make premium cards match your budget. For example, if you want metallic elements on your card, we can get you a foil look by printing on a gold-colored material and reversing out the accent. Or we can help reach your price point by making the cards slightly smaller to get more cards for your money.

Ready to Get Started?

At Plastic Printers, we have project consultants who can help guide you through the design process and help you find the best card for your budget. If you'd like to get started, let's schedule a specific time to talk. If you have any questions you would like to ask me directly, please feel free to use the comment section below.