Business Card Feedback?

[island-it]

Greetings all,

I am in the midst of launching my business, which provides IT sales and services to both consumers & SMB's alike.

The way I have everything organized is so that my SMB sales & services are done under "X" business name and brand identity. Meanwhile, my consumer-focused sales & services are done under a different name that I'll refer to as "Y" with it's own suitable brand identity.

As you'd expect, each business name / identity are designed with their target demographic in mind.

The consumer focused part of my business, "X" has an identity that consists of brighter color palette, with a fun and creative logo, typestyle and tagline.

The SMB focused part of my business has, "Y" uses a much more professional color palette, with a minimal corporate style look and name.

What I'm looking for feedback on is the following...

My idea is to have a full-colour business card with consumer-centric business "X" on one side of the card and SMB-centic business "Y" on the other.

What do my industry peers think of this idea? Could this possibly give a potential business client a misguided impression?

I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks to everyone for your time!

 

[NviGate Systems]

Given the relative cheap nature of business cards, I would be inclined to separate them.

But if you wanted to get creative, you might have QR codes on the back reference the opposing brands with something like: "Need business help? Shoot my barcode" (probably don't put that)

But it really depends how the market and community are, if they are more laid back, your original idea might work. If say you were in a very wealthy city like, New York, you'd likely separate them to attract high profile business.

 

[Markverhyden]

I agree with differentiating between B2B and consumer markets. But I think you are being a bit over optimistic in your anticipated outcomes. The IT supports ecosystem is very mature which means competition is fierce. Especially in the B2B sector.

While there's nothing wrong with hanging out both plaques I think you'd be better served by concentrating on B2B in the beginning. Margins are generally higher in that segment.

Have you made a business plan? People don't plan to fail. They fail to plan.

Business cards? I've been around a wile and their use isn't even close to what it was 20-30 years ago.

 

[timeshifter]

Could this possibly give a potential business client a misguided impression?

Yes, and it could also give your residential prospects a bad vibe. They may think you don't care about them and are after the big fish and / or not an expert in their needs.

Business cards are 2D. Someone might look at their card but the wrong side is facing up, they're not going to flip each card over.

Have you considered your approach to marketing in a blended manner? One name, logo, branding, that's focused on small business and residential? I do both. A lot of my business clients were an outgrowth of my residential work, and vice versa to a lesser extent.