If you still find yourself spending considerable time sifting through paper-based business-contact repositories; or if you still rely solely on printed business cards for your own networking purposes, it’s probably a good idea to find a digital solution that will dramatically cut down the time and money you spend trying to stay organized.
While paper business cards aren’t becoming extinct anytime soon, there’s a plethora of easy-to-use and cost-effective tools available to help you convert the cards you are given into quickly searchable digital files you can access anywhere on your smartphone or tablet.
Conversely, many free or almost free apps can help you reduce the number of business cards you pay to have printed by digitizing your business-contact information into “cards” you can quickly share via your mobile device with just a few swipes or taps.
In a recent article, “Mobile apps galore for managing business cards,” courtesy of ZDNet, the author states, “The nature of card-collecting habits makes managing them an inherently mobile task, one that relies on either manual entry or a smartphone camera or even a miniature scanner to turn the information digital.”
She then provides a thorough laundry list of iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps you can download today to help you stop spending unnecessary time finding the right contact, and stop spending unnecessary money at the print shop on so many business cards.
Small-business owners know all too well that time is money, so start saving some of both by finding the free or low-cost digital/mobile contact management solution that’s right for you.
With that said, I encourage you to read the ZDNet article, and return here to share your own tips for reducing time and money spent on routine business networking activities.
Also, it’s important to note that “analog,” i.e., paper business cards remain an important business networking tool. And if you own a printer or MFP that’s capable of printing on professional-grade cardstock, you’ll save money by creating and printing your own cards. But printing in-house still costs money, which is why you should learn more about the Xerox eConcierge program.
Easy to install and use, Xerox eConcierge allows you to order supplies for all your eligible office equipment (even non-Xerox printers and MFPs) with just a few clicks. The cost-saving benefits are numerous, including free service coverage for the life of your Xerox device(s). Click the above link for details.
As always, thanks for reading.
Share this story on Twitter with the following suggested tweets:
Free or low-cost apps for contact mgmt. via @greentechlady, @ZDNet
A better way to manage your biz contacts via @greentechlady & @ZDNet
