Given the importance of having a digital presence, particularly on the Internet, are printed materials still important for the image of your business? They absolutely are when you consider them in the framework of basic client contact

How many times have you been asked for your business card? Although contact with your or your business is likely continued via email or telephone, the initial point of contact can still be via print. Face to face meetings with prospective clients aren’t quite complete without the exchange of business cards – in some cultures, having a business card is essential to conducting business. It can even be an insult not to receive one! It is still worth the investment to make sure that you not only have a business card, but that the card stock, the typesetting, whether or not it is one or more colors, even whether or not it is embossed or printed vertically or horizontally, best represents your corporate image. It should be an extension of your business and part of your branding, and even tied into ongoing marketing efforts where possible.

Another important print item is leave behinds: your company brochure, or datasheet, or even a catalog, items that you can not only mail to prospective clients but can take with you on a sales call or have available at a tradeshow or convention. While digital or desktop publishing has made the distribution of these materials easier, actually holding a colorful and informative brochure still carries great impact. Of course, it’s great to tell a client that you will email them an electronic version of the brochure, but it is also beneficial to have a print version on hand for them to look through on the plane or to share with colleagues. And there is an added benefit of a print catalog – the free advertising that your company will get just from being carried around the convention floor by prospects!

With more and more of what was traditionally printed being digitized, it is still important to have print items. Everything from the look to the literal feel of your print materials helps to cultivate your business and is still valuable for marketing your company. Digital media hasn’t taken over yet – it’s a compliment to the print materials you use in your day to day business, as well as for special events.