Digital business card apps have taken the world by storm. There’s a good reason why.
These apps are more than trendy gadgets. They help you communicate in real-life situations when it is costly to go off message.
Consider, in business, each conference and meeting can cost a lot. Some experts suggest planning a budget of $1,000+ simply to attend a small business conference.
That’s a lot! Adding a digital business card app to your routine is a good way to make sure you get the most out of that money.
What digital business card apps do
You can display and share your contact details with a single tap of a phone or an NFC card. You can also scan a QR code. As a delighter, you can also show a video or an interactive offer.
It looks great, feels easy, saves time, and is eco-friendly.
Why the best digital business card app is.. not an app
Digital business card apps are basically like any other web page. The mobile app, either on iOS or Android, is mostly a frame around that core.
Here’s what you can do with every app of its kind, pure and simple:
- Trigger a web page to show with a tap of your phone, NFC card or scanning a QR card.
- Show your individual web page and form an impression of you and your brand.
- Take a desired action. Share contacts, view video, open a calendar to book a meeting.
So, if you can do all that without downloading another app to your iPhone or Android, why wouldn’t you skip that step? Well, you can with Profyle.
Setting you up for success
Using a Profyle card requires no app downloads for you or your contacts. Plus, each digital business card gets its own unique design.
Profyle cards are built to support you in the 5 to 10 minutes you have for a networking interaction.
- The first impression. At Profyle, we create a tailored digital business card for every customer. A professional design gives your team to the initial “wow” that leads to more quality time and touchpoints.
- Finding common ground. A well-designed digital business card helps to give direction to the interaction. Your digital business card has a purpose. The text, images, and links matter. They should show your intent, beyond just a warm feeling. They should prove your competence.
- Active listening. With Profyle, you can add notes to later share with your new contact to show you care and stand out. Turning your sales into a way to provide tiny nuggets of value and mirroring what matters to them.
- Follow-up. Automating the follow-up with your personal note makes sense. Only 30% to 50% of networking event interactions lead to a successful follow-up. Profyle makes scaling your efforts easy.
Why these apps are worthwhile
Digital business card apps use psychology and our shared traits. They signal trust and save you half the time spent on socializing.
As research from the renowned scientist and social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows: “A strong handshake and assertive greeting may not be the best way to make a good first impression. New research suggests that people respond more positively to someone who comes across as trustworthy rather than confident.”
You and your team need more than confidence. They need trust signals that fit modern business. First impressions engage specific brain areas, like the PCC and amygdala. They assess the value and trustworthiness of others.
You positively affect the brain areas that evaluate new social interactions. Forming quick judgments that influence subsequent behaviours and decisions towards you.
Rituals of trust
From the initial handshake to a follow-up, the art of connecting with people has its own rituals. Small habits we all need to know and adjust based on whether we are at a posh conference, an annual trade show, or just meeting new people casually.
Making it all feel smooth is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. As individuals, we all have our quirks – aspects of ourselves we feel compelled to express that others may need more context to understand.
Plus, some of us mouth words we do not speak, some of us like to comb our hair when we get nervous. It is all human and understandable.
There is a huge problem, though: people form a picture of us so fast. How fast?
It only takes 0.033 to 0.11 seconds.
The problem gets deeper. Imagine you lead a sales team. Now you have five to a dozen people, including yourself. For everyone, you need to find the balance between personal expression and what’s best for your business.
How do you do that without stepping on toes?
Well, there’s Profyle for that. We invite you to try it.
How digital business card apps save you time and money
Here’s how the money works out.
The UK hosts over 1 million business conferences and meetings every year. Businesses allocate significant funds to each event.
- Delegates from outside Europe spent £1,748 on average.
- This is compared to £990 for delegates from within Europe.
- £329 for UK delegates.
The annual cost
But the annual cost is much higher. Your sales, product, and HR teams tend to visit many conferences. For salespeople, the statistics are eye-opening:
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Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Salespeople in SMEs attend 4 to 8 conferences a year. These could include trade shows, industry conferences, local networking events, and company-specific events.
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Large Enterprises: Salespeople in high-stakes sectors, like tech, pharma, and finance, might attend 8 to 15 or more events a year. These events might include international conferences, trade shows, corporate events, and client meetings.
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Independent Sales Contractors: They might attend only 3 to 5 events per year. They will focus on the most beneficial ones for networking and business development.
How you win
In contrast, a solution like Profyle costs just £7.95 a year, per delegate. That’s a tiny fraction of what businesses spend on events and trade shows per person.
- For an SME, a Profyle digital business card will cost you £0.99 to £1.9875 per event.
- For a large enterprise, you end up paying £0.53 to £0.99 per event.
- For individual contractors, the cost is only £2.65 to £1.59 per event per person.
You cannot even buy a small, confidence-boosting coffee before the start of the day for that.
For comparison, at most, that is less than 0.3% of the cost of attending an event (without accommodation or travel)
Would you rather have a forgettable Starbucks caffeine fix to start the day? Or, bring a tool to the venue that can help you stand out and give you a big ROI?
Sustainability and the environment
The environmental impact of attending events should not be underestimated. In small but surprising ways, organizers and attendees are taking steps to reduce their impact. For example, Salesforce banned beef from its conferences catering to cut carbon emissions.
A Salesforce Conference. Source: Infomentum and Rebeca Reza Montoya.
A digital business card is a simple way to meet society’s and the environment’s demands. It is a step up from paper business cards. It’s easier to do than more drastic actions. Helping to meet your internal ESG guidelines on going paperless.
Paper waste from traditional cards poses an environmental issue nowadays. Reducing it is a strong selling point for individuals and companies. You show you are contributing to a greener future in a subtle yet meaningful way.
Compared to more drastic actions, going from paper business cards to a digital app is a relatively effortless and seamless way to make sure you meet the expectations of the society and environment you do business in. Not to mention your own internal ESG guidelines on going paperless.
In today’s environmentally conscious world, the fact that you are reducing the amount of paper waste generated by traditional cards can be a significant selling point for both individuals and companies. You show you are contributing to a greener future in a subtle, yet meaningful way.
Want to make your networking better? Use Profyle’s Digital and NFC Business Cards to stand out. Get a free demo card and try the service free for 45 days with no commitment. Say goodbye to paper cards. Get a Free Demo Card today and start connecting confidently!
Examples of digital business card app best practices
What to look for in a digital business card app
Think of a digital business card app as a bespoke landing page your team can take and use anywhere. How you put together its parts can ensure your networking success for years to come.
The basics you should look for in any digital business card app include:
- A professional headshot for all your team members.
- Bio. You earn instant bonus points with something that is simple yet stands out.
- Links to both personal and company social media profiles.
- Links to relevant content, such as product pages, free guides, and checklists.
- Customizing fonts, colours, and layouts to match your brand.
- Wide range of support for both iOS (iPhone) and Android devices.
If you get the basics right, you make the initial conversation effortless. The more advanced elements you in a digital business card app are:
- Automatic follow-ups and setting shared calendar reminders for your team and their new contacts.
- Support for vCards, the technology that makes adding contacts to a phone Contact List a breeze.
- Integrations with your CRM. Be it HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce or something else.
- Easy back-end admin for managing users and NFC cards.
Videos and lead magnets
Also, good digital business card apps are more interactive than traditional cards. You can even include a video introduction. It lets your contacts get a more direct impression of your business.
A button to download a lead magnet or fill out a form with a video adds a magical touch to your networking. It turns casual conversations into leads.
Why branding, visuals, and videos matter
Recent research shows that business professionals now spend about 7 hours a day staring at screens. For example, in the United States, that is 7 hours and 4 minutes daily.
How we handle real-life interactions is changing rapidly from just a decade ago. As hesitant as we are to admit, we crave digital content on a screen more than ever. It offers immediacy and comfort.
So, you face a paradox. For the fewer real-life meetings you will have, you must be more prepared than ever.
People’s attention spans are shorter, 47 seconds on average. Living in the digital world 24/7 raises our standards. It’s not just that paper business cards are subpar and merely replacing them does the trick. Your digital business card must have a great look and feel.
Beyond looking professional, you must meet people’s hidden craving for digital content. Think how often they scan LinkedIn for hours. Your goal is to redirect that attention to your brand.
Tips for Sharing Digital Business Cards
When sharing your digital business card, consider the context. Think about the impression you want to leave. Make sure the recipient knows how to download your card and save your contact info. Also, send a personal message or a LinkedIn request to confirm the connection.
A well-branded digital business card can impress its recipients. It can also guide them to act as desired.
How to send follow-up
Don’t let your initial connection fade away. Follow up with your new contacts in a timely manner. Send a brief email or message. Thank them for the connection. Then, suggest a meeting or collaboration. Maintain regular communication to strengthen your professional relationship.
Remember, networking is not about sharing information. The aim is to build real relationships and close deals. Use digital business cards in a way that makes it easy to follow up. This can turn casual connections into valuable partnerships. Plant seeds in the first conversation, like showing a video clip, and later harvest them. These will benefit both parties in the long run.
Final tip: event-specific layouts and groups
If your company attends an event regularly, like banks and fintechs with Money2020 – here’s something really cool. You can use Profyle to create a couple of unique layouts for each of the groups attending that event for that specific year’s event.
Think of unique designs or videos or images or offers that could make life easier for your team.
