Business cards are an important tool for today’s pharmacy professionals. Despite the current focus on websites and social media, these small pieces of paper are still a cornerstone of networking, and are essential to growing your business.
Business cards serve as a building block for expanding your patient and partner networks. It might happen when a potential patient takes your card at a health fair, or when you hand one to a local physician during an office visit. These cards will be their first impression of your pharmacy.
Even if your pharmacy has a strong online presence, you still need business cards. They provide potential and current patients with the information they need to find your pharmacy. People know to ask for a business card, and if you don’t have one, you might just miss out on a new patient or business partner.
Plus, business cards are convenient. Their small size makes them easily portable, so you can network with new patients and business partners wherever you go. They’re also inexpensive, especially in comparison to other printed promotional materials like trifold pamphlets or larger flyers.
Some popular business card printers include Vistaprint, Moo, Overnight Prints and Canva. Shop around and evaluate the various printing options. Some services will require a minimum number on your card order. Shipping time, price and print quality will vary, so it’s best to explore your options in order to get the best deal and product.
To help you get started, here are some “Do’s” and “Don’ts” to keep in mind while creating and distributing your pharmacy’s business cards.
Business Card Do’s:
Do provide all relevant information
Business cards aren’t the final transaction, but simply a tool to connect in the future. Be sure your card has all the information people will need to contact you later. Include all pertinent information including email address, phone number, pharmacy address, pharmacy name, your name and your title. Also, don’t overlook obvious information. For example, if your pharmacy has an offbeat name that might leave people wondering what you do, consider including a tagline such as, “your community pharmacy” so people know that it’s a pharmacy.
Do make cards consistent with your brand
Business cards are an opportunity to build brand awareness. Keep your colors, fonts and logo consistent with your store’s other marketing materials. While non-traditional shapes or paper options might seem trendy, if they’re different from your other branding choices, you might leave patients wondering if the card is for your pharmacy or for another business.
Do err on the side of professionalism
Clever and creative ideas can make your business card stand out, but while jokes can fall flat and cleaver puns can miss the mark, professionalism will always be in fashion. A classic, well-designed and professional card will stand the test of time and appeal to everyone.
Do use structure in your card
A good business card should have an order of information. Usually, this mean placing the pharmacy name first in the biggest and boldest version of the font you’ve chosen. Then, follow it with your name and title, followed by all of the contact information for your pharmacy. Placing your phone number in a huge, bold font across the bottom might seem like a great way to get people to call, but if they don’t know who they’re calling, it’s a useless feature.
Do make cards for your employees
Give your employees business cards so they can share information with potential customers, too. Whether they’re general business cards with your pharmacy’s information, or individual business cards, providing them to employees multiplies the potential number of new patients and business partners you can reach. Plus, providing your employees with business cards makes them feel like part of the team.
Business Card Don’ts:
Don’t sacrifice function for attractiveness
A creative design can make your card attractive, but crazy fonts or odd colors can make your card hard to read. Above all, your card should be readable and clear. Your card can still be attractive, but make sure you aren’t sacrificing its function, which is to provide important information about your business.
Don’t opt for large cards
While large, wacky shapes can make your business card standout, cards that don’t fit in traditional wallets are the first thing people will throw away. If you do want to use a special size, make sure it’s smaller than the normal size of a business card—3.5 by 2 inches—so it will still fit in a standard wallet.
Don’t be stingy
Business cards only work if you share them with others. Generously give them to coworkers, potential patients, current patients and potential business partners. Encourage your coworkers to share them with people they meet. Anyone who you pass them on to might also give the card to a friend to recommend your pharmacy.
Don’t include unneccessary information
Avoid a cluttered business card. Carefully consider what information you want to include on your business card. For example, it might not be important enough to include a complete listing of all the services and product genres you provide.
Also, avoid sharing information preemptively. If you’re about to open a new store, or are gearing up to launch your pharmacy’s Facebook page, but those projects aren’t ready for the public yet, consider waiting and adding that information on the next batch of cards you order.
You don’t want people driving to your new pharmacy location six months before the store is ready to open. Keep cards up-to-date, but don’t add information about a new project before it’s ready for the public. Save the space for something more relevant.
Don’t lose your design
Once you order business cards, make sure you save your design. Chances are that you will eventually need to order more cards. Avoid wasting time trying to match the shade of red you picked, or trying to figure out what font you used by saving your card design in a digital file.
A Member-Owned Company Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy-side of their business. Founded and owned by pharmacists, PBA Health serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, wholesaler contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, and more.
An HDA member, PBA Health operates its own NABP-accredited secondary wholesaler with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products — offering the lowest prices in the secondary market.
