Business Card Holders
I still remember my first personalised business cards. I say personalised because prior to that I had been issued with generic cards for my job level, but once I reached the giddy heights of senior analyst I got my own. These days of course everyone I know has business cards; I usually carry 2 kinds one for my day job and one for ideas2earn.
Anyone who carries business cards knows that they soon wreck your wallet if you carry them in there, and they tend not to stay straight very long either. A much better solution is a card holder and there are literally thousands to choose from. Even if a card holder is not for you they make great presents for colleagues, or even loved ones and are more unusual than a pair of socks!
My gut instinct would be to market this product to females, but I may get crucified for saying so. My reasoning is simple; women tend to be more open to new ideas and also more innovative when looking for gifts. On top of this more women are rising to senior positions than ever before, which suggests a growing market.
Regardless of whether my logic makes sense, here are some ideas that should
help to market your business card holders: -
Networking
Party Planning
Brochure
Partner with business card printers
EBay
Website
Offer to gift ideas magazines, or websites
Sell to businesses by adding company logos
If you choose to go into this then you will naturally want to carry one of the more unusual designs yourself. If when you are handing someone your business card (with your web address on it) they comment on your unusual card holder then you should offer to get them one. Explain that you are starting to supply them and can offer them a discount because you know them. This is a great way to get people in your immediate circle talking about your product and you will make a few sales.
Simply being enthusiastic will not sell many units however and the more units you can sell the better prices you will be able to negotiate with your suppliers. There is a specific section on the website in our finding customers section that talks about party planning and how to go about it (www.ideas2earn.com/star_cust.htm). The principle is simple in as much as you throw a party with the explicit purpose of showing people your samples (or brochure). The party should include refreshments but it is up to you how big you can manage, and what type of refreshments to serve. If people look interested then don¡¦t be afraid to ask them if they want to buy. Ask the people who buy from you if they would be willing to host a party for you if you cover the cost.
If you are able to source a wide selection of products then a brochure may well be the best way to show off your stock. Many multi level marketing companies (MLM) swear by brochures as they tend to get passed around and often illicit sales from more than just the person whom the brochure is originally given to. Offer a discount for multiple purchases to try and generate this kind of behaviour. Give the brochure to colleagues, friends, your kids' friends' parents etc. It is surprisingly inexpensive to get a small brochure printed and if you provide the photos many printers will be happy to help you with the layout.
If you know where your employer gets your business cards from, or if you are already printing your own, then take the opportunity of speaking to the suppliers. They may be very happy to carry some of your stock or some copies of your brochures in return for a commission. You should offer to provide a display rack for either your stock or brochures but this will not set you back much money. Be aware that physical stock may go missing whilst brochures may illicit fewer sales than an impulse purchase. If you can work with more than one card supplier you can try both approaches and see which works bets for you.
EBay should be a great place to sell business card holders. There are currently about 1600 adverts on the site, but many of these are for storing other people's business cards or for displaying business cards on a desk or counter (both also valid business opportunities). If you are willing to spend the time displaying a range of card holders and branding them with your web address or company name you should be able to sell a number of units.
As an internet user you will naturally consider having your own website, and it really is not expensive if you shop around. Once you are up and running you can decide on whether you want to spend money on bells and whistles but initially the site can be an extension of the brochure concept. You can promote the site itself through your offline activities (your own business cards, brochures etc.) and there are plenty of payment gateways that will allow you to accept payments for orders online. If you are prepared to market your site then you may be able to generate large volumes of sales. Google has 111 million hits for these 3 key words, so someone is undoubtedly making money.
Many Sunday newspapers carry a gift ideas magazine throughout the year, try contacting them to see whether they would be interested in carrying your stock. If you have brochures already printed then send one with your enquiry and make it clear that the prices listed in the brochure are not what you would ask for from them. Similarly there are many websites dedicated to providing gift ideas, write to them directly with a link to your website and ask whether they would consider carrying your stock. Providing you can both make money and they are not currently stocking a competing item then you stand a fair chance of finding orders this way. You could also advertise yourself in local newspapers, or if you are feeling brave write an article on the rise of the lowly business card holder and ask the local paper if they would consider running it, you can also submit this kind of article to various online publications using sites like www.articlewheel.com
If you are a sales person, or are happy with the idea of pitching your idea to businesses then consider providing branded card holders to companies with their name and logo. Many companies give away calendars, Frisbees, mouse mats and all manner of other items purely in the interest of boosting customer loyalty. A business card holder is something personal that is carried everyday and seen by everyone you interact with the first time as well as those around you. It should be a great brand builder and can be relatively inexpensive. You may even suggest that everyone above a certain level in the company be provided with one to preserve the quality of their business cards and ultimately reducing re-order costs. In order to get in-front of companies try using your own friends and family initially and exploit any memberships you have to golf or country clubs by speaking to businessmen there about your product. If all else fails grab the Yellow Pages and start dialling.
As usual we recommend searching on www.alibaba.com and other similar sites. Take a look at our links page at www.ideas2earn.com/links.html for more places to look.
If you do not want to dive straight into import/export then you may be able to find more local suppliers by searching in Google, for example <Michigan + Business + card + Suppliers> gives 1.2M hits. Providing you can still make a profit on the prices they charge (for example by buying in bulk and selling individually) then you may be able to get up and running more quickly and simply have a go.
The margin on business card holders can be very small so you need to build strategies to sell as many as possible.
Initially suppliers may insist that you order a minimum quantity, if this is the case then pick one or two designs that you think will sell well. You can carry more lines in future once you have proven your business model.
Some of the ideas above will not work without multiple lines but some will, for example selling on EBay, partnering with card printing firms and even working with gift supply companies. Don't be put off just because you don't have much to invest.