Business cards are essential for a business, but the costs of traditional business cards can give you a headache sometimes. If you are still using paper-printed cards, you have to pay for all the cards. Printing will be charged on a per-card basis. That’s the reason why more and more business founders and entrepreneurs have started using digital cards for networking purposes.
Due to hidden costs and recurring costs, people are fast switching over from paper-printed cards to electronic cards. As a result, the demand curve of digital cards is constantly moving upward against the downward trend of paper cards. According to a market survey conducted by Allied Market Research, the demand trend is likely to grow in the coming years. The report of the survey says: The global digital business card market was valued at $159.4 million in 2022 and is projected to reach $505.2 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2023 to 2032.
You pay only once, but you can send countless digitized cards to your business associates and others. As you don’t have to pay based on the number of cards printed on paper, you save a large amount of money. Besides, paper-printed cards have some hidden charges, which you don’t pay for digital cards.
Hidden Costs of Traditional Business Cards
Traditionally made business cards on paper involve several hidden charges. You pay on several heads, like for buying the packet of paper cards, card design, and printing charge. Your digital card eliminates all these. Below are the five hidden charges that you pay for paper-printed cards:
The reason for recurring and hidden costs with paper cards arises from the need to buy a new pack of blank cards and go through the same process as earlier. This means you again have to pay for designing and printing, besides buying a new blank card box.
The best way to do this is to switch over to a digital card from a costly paper-made card. The digital card involves no recurring or hidden costs. These are the two primary reasons for it:
Since you are not using a cardholder and finishing the card by giving it to multiple people, you don’t have to buy fresh stock (once all cards are finished). You can transmit or email the end number of cards.
If you are using NFC or QR-coded cards, you have to pay once only for their digitization. Once they are online, you don’t have to pay for anything.
You can make as many changes digitally in your e-card without paying any extra money.
Paper-made cards are physically exchanged. But digital cards can be shared online on Android, iPhone, Computer, Laptop and handset. This helps the ease of doing business.
You can frequently change your new or add new information including change of address and all other contact details with digital cards.
With a paper card, you cannot keep on adding new links to your blogs, social media developments, links to company newsletters, and new videos. However, all these are possible with virtual or electronic cards.
A large number of corporate companies are switching over to digital or virtual cards from paper-made cards due to their growing concern about saving Mother Earth from carbon emissions. They are discouraging cutting trees for wood pulp to create paper cards. By switching over to digital cards, they are greatly promoting the green earth concept.
Due to this environmental concern, the demand for digital cards is growing worldwide. One of the many practical benefits of switching over to the digital mode in information exchange from the traditional paper card is the fact that if you are using paper cards, you may lose them. However this is not the case with digital cards. Once the digital card is stored in your mobile phone, it would never get lost.
