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Why companies switch to digital business cards: 7 reasons
Companies usually switch to digital business cards because of familiar problems: cards circulating with old details, a leaver's number, cards brought back from a fair and forgotten. This article covers seven practical reasons, where each weighs most, and when the switch is not yet necessary.
Contents
Plans: QR codes, vCard, NFC, the contact form, templates and email signatures are included in Starter and higher plans; your own logo and colour on cards and sending requests to your own CRM in Pro and higher; Contacts, Follow-up, departments and employee sync in Enterprise.
A company's decision to switch to digital business cards rarely comes from a wish to "try something new". Behind it there are usually familiar problems: cards circulating with an old title, the number of someone who has left still in a customer's hands, a stack of cards brought back from a fair and left in a drawer. This article covers seven practical reasons behind the switch and where each one weighs most. At the end we also say plainly when the switch is not yet necessary.
Seven reasons at a glance
| Reason | Where it weighs most | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Cards live in the company account | Companies with many employees and high turnover | Starter and higher |
| One update when details change | Teams whose titles, numbers and regions change often | All plans |
| Faster follow-up after a meeting | Sales, dealer and field teams | Contact form in Starter and higher |
| Measurable interest | Companies attending fairs and events or running campaigns | All plans |
| A shorter print cycle | Companies printing cards for many people | All plans |
| Brand consistency | Companies with several offices, dealers or brands | Templates in Starter, logo and colour in Pro and higher |
| The other person's habits | Work with heavy email, messaging and remote meetings | All plans |
Not all seven reasons carry the same weight in every company. The second column of the table helps you see quickly which ones weigh most in yours. If two or three reasons are strong for you, that is reason enough to try the switch with a single team first; if none is, the section at the end of this article is for you.
1. Cards live in the company's account, not the employee's
With paper cards, the card belongs to whoever carries it. When an employee leaves, their cards stay in circulation and customers keep calling the leaver's number for a while. With digital business cards, cards are created in the company account and managed from one panel. Roles decide who can edit which card: the company admin manages the company's settings, cards and members; an editor creates and edits cards but cannot touch settings or invoices; a viewer only sees cards and reports. A new hire's card is created from the template in a few minutes.
When an employee leaves, their card is set to inactive; anyone who opens its address sees "This business card is not published", and the inactive card no longer counts towards the plan's card allowance. We explain step by step how to set this up for a team in managing digital business cards for a team.
2. One update is enough when details change
In real life card details do not stay fixed: titles change, numbers change, an employee moves to another department or region. On paper every change means a new design approval, a print order and distribution, and old cards keep being handed out in the meantime.
On a digital card the change is made on the card's page. QR codes and NFC tags already handed out point to the same address, so everyone sees the current details the next time it opens. For teams working abroad, the English version of the card fields is kept on the same card.
3. Follow-up after a meeting gets faster
For sales teams, the real value of a business card is what happens after the introduction. With a paper card, the other person decides later whether to call you or not. On a digital card page the next step is right there: call and email buttons, a WhatsApp button if a mobile number is entered, the website, custom links such as a catalogue or quote page, and a PDF presentation or document attached to the card.
In Starter and higher plans a contact form can be added to the card. When a visitor leaves their details, an email goes to the card owner and the admin, with one-tap call, WhatsApp or email replies. In Pro and higher, requests can be sent to the company's own CRM, and in Enterprise each request becomes a contact record on the Contacts screen. Whether the visitor gave contact permission is recorded with the request. The flow is described in lead capture with a digital business card.
4. Interest becomes measurable
With paper cards you often do not even know how many were handed out, let alone how many worked. With a digital card the panel shows how many times the card was opened, how many different visitors came, which links were clicked, which device and source (QR, NFC or link) visitors came from, and the trend over time. The most opened cards across the company are listed too.
For companies attending fairs and events, an event QR code helps as well: scans and requests from that QR are tagged with the event name, so you can see separately what worked after the event. One limit should be stated clearly: individual visitors are not identified. You learn someone's identity only if they leave their details through the contact form. How to read the data is in digital business card analytics.
5. The print cycle gets shorter
The cost of paper business cards is not just the print invoice. Design revisions, extra prints for new hires, boxes thrown away after title changes, following up the order and distribution are part of the work too, and all of it takes someone's time. These items vary so much between companies that we do not give a general number; the real cost of paper business cards has a calculation table to fill in with your own figures. On the digital side the cost is the plan fee; you can compare plans on the pricing page.
6. The brand looks the same on every card
In companies with several offices, dealers or brands, business cards drift apart over time: one is printed with the old logo, one with a different typeface, one with the print shop's own interpretation. With digital business cards every card follows the same layout. In Starter and higher a template is chosen for the card design; in Pro and higher the company's logo, primary colour and footer text come from the brand settings onto every card. When the logo changes, the brand settings are updated once and the change appears on every card at the same time.
7. It fits the other person's habits
Today a large part of business relationships runs through email, messaging and video calls. In these settings you cannot hand over a card, but you can send a link. The other person does not need to install a special app either: the card page opens in the phone's browser, the "Save Contact" button produces a standard vCard file, and your details go into their contacts with one tap. How to add the card link to an email signature is explained in digital business card in your email signature.
Extra needs in large teams
As a team grows, running cards together with the company's employee records matters more than opening and closing them one by one. In the Enterprise plan cards are organised by department. With employee sync, the employee list is read from a CSV, Excel or JSON file or from a saved address; changes are previewed first and applied to the cards after approval. If you choose, cards of employees no longer on the list are set to inactive; a change that would close many cards at once needs a separate approval. Incoming requests move into the sales process on the Contacts and Follow-up screens. How personal data collected from the card page is protected is covered in privacy and security of digital business cards.
When is the switch not yet necessary?
Not every company needs to switch right away. If details have not changed for years in a team of a few people, customers are met almost only face to face, and measuring what happens after a meeting is not a need, paper cards keep doing the job. Even then, adding the card's QR code to the next print run is a small step that makes a later switch easier. A detailed comparison of the two tools is in digital or paper business cards.
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to switch the whole company at once?
No. Most companies start with the team whose details change most often or who meets customers outside the office most, then expand to other teams once the setup has settled.
What happens to an employee's card when they leave?
The card is set to inactive. Anyone who opens its address sees "This business card is not published", and the inactive card no longer counts towards the plan's card allowance.
Should we throw away our existing paper cards?
There is no need. Use the stock until it runs out and add the card's QR code to new prints. The paper card stays something physical to hand over at a first meeting, while its details stay current on the digital card.
How long does setup take?
The brand settings and template choice are made once; after that each card takes a few minutes. In Enterprise cards can also be created in bulk by importing the employee list from a file.
Which plan should we start with?
If QR codes, NFC and the contact form are enough, Starter; if you need your company's logo and colour on cards or want to send requests to your own CRM, Pro; if you need departments, employee sync and the Contacts and Follow-up screens, Enterprise. Details are in digital business card pricing.
