Scannable Business Cards: How They Work + Benefits & Best Practices

A business card is an indispensable networking tool that can help you attract new customers and build genuine connections to grow your brand or business.

However, in today’s digital and post-pandemic world, traditional business cards are losing their appeal as a suitable networking medium. Many professionals and organizations are now shifting to a more effective alternative. 

Enter: QR Code-based scannable business cards.   

These interactive and scannable business cards allow you to conveniently share your contact information instantly and professionally. Your recipients only have to scan a QR Code within your business card to access and save your contact details on their smartphones.

This post dives deep into the benefits of scannable business cards, how to use them, and some of their best usage practices. We will also demonstrate how to create them—as a standalone or in bulk. 

Table of contents

1. What is a scannable business card?
2. How does a scannable business card work?
3. How do I create a scannable digital business card?
4. How to create up to 2,000 scannable digital business cards at once
5. Create a scannable business card with Beaconstac

What is a scannable business card?

A scannable business card refers to a business card—either physical or digital—with a visibly embedded QR Code. Scanning this QR Code allows your business card recipients to access and save your contact information on their mobile devices in a few clicks.

How does a scannable business card work? (The 2 methods)

A scannable business card can work in two ways: 

1. Embedding a business card QR Code on a paper-based card, or
2. Using a business card QR Code as a digital business card—shareable as an Apple or Google Wallet pass or in email signatures.

Let us thoroughly examine how each method works so you can determine which is most suitable for your business requirements.

Jump to:

• Method 1
• Method 2

Method 1: Embedding a business card QR Code on a paper-based card

A scannable business card can take the form of a paper business card embedded with a dynamic QR Code. Your clients can scan the QR Code on the paper-based card and access the business card landing page containing all your relevant information.

In addition to your contact details, your business card landing page can contain unlimited multimedia content—such as links to your career portfolio, social media profiles, and other relevant web URLs.

For this method, you will need a dynamic QR Code. If you use Beaconstac, each business card you create will come with a dynamic QR Code you can print and embed on any physical medium.

Top 4 Benefits of adding a QR Code to a physical business card 

1. Share more information than a physical business card can accommodate
2. Establish an interactive two-way communication channel
3. Monitor performance with card-scan tracking and analytics
4. Update your scannable business card without reprinting

#1 Share more information than a physical business card can accommodate

Traditional business cards restrict your information-sharing to a 3” x 5” cardstock. For certain use cases, this content space might not be enough to convey your complete value proposition. 

Adding a QR Code to your business card lets you go beyond this restrictive content space issue. The business card landing page—which your QR Code links to—can accommodate unlimited information. For instance, in addition to your contact details, you can add multimedia elements, such as web URLs, social handles, Google Maps locations, and more. 

Learn: What information to put on a business card  

#2 Scannable business cards establish an interactive two-way communication channel

According to a Demand Metric report, interactive content generates 2X more conversions than passive content. So making your business cards interactive goes a long way in boosting client conversions or establishing new connections to grow your network.

In addition to allowing you to add comprehensive details, each element in your QR Code-based scannable business card is interactive. A client only needs to click a phone number, email, or web link to access it in real-time. 

To learn more about business card interactivity, refer to our complete guide on interactive business cards.

#3 Monitor your scannable business card’s performance with card-scan analytics

A scannable business card—courtesy of its dynamic QR Code—allows you to capture meaningful engagement metrics. These metrics include unique scans, total scans, and engagement by location, time, and date.

#4 Update your scannable business card as and when required—without reprinting

Another significant advantage of using a scannable business card is that you can update your card details as and when required. Anytime you need to change a phone number, URL, or any other element in your business card, you simply make the updates at the back end. 

Once implemented, these back-end updates will instantly reflect on your live QR Code-based scannable business card. This capability lets you avoid the needless AND costly reprints of updating a non-QR-based paper business card.

Top 3 Tips when using a QR Code on a physical business card

1. Customize your QR Codes to reflect your branding
2. Resist over-customizing the QR Code in your scannable business card
3. Ensure your QR Code is in the ideal size and format

#1 Customize your QR Codes to reflect your branding 

Make sure the QR Code in your scannable business card is designed in a way that reflects your branding. Add your logo and customize your QR Code’s visual elements, including its background, pattern, and CTA frame, until it mirrors your brand’s visual aspects. 

#2 Resist over-customizing the QR Code in your scannable business card

While you might get a plethora of ways to customize and design your business card QR Codes, it is best not to overdo it. An overly customized QR Code can cause scannability issues. For this reason, avoid adding unnecessary tweaks, such as a contrasting background and pattern colors.

#3 Ensure your business card QR Code is in the ideal size and format 

A QR Code, either too large or too small, can pose scannability issues. At worst, it can result in a scan failure and, with it, lost business.

Another crucial aspect to consider for scannability is the format you choose when downloading and printing your business card QR Code. A high-quality image format, such as a PNG or JPG, works ideally for most physical mediums.

Method 2: Using a business card QR Code as a digital or virtual business card

Embedding a QR Code on a physical business card constitutes one significant drawback: high printing costs. Depending on the number of business cards you need to print and the complexity of their designs, you might incur a significant amount of card printing expense.

To avoid printing costs altogether, simply use your business card QR Code as a digital business card. You can share this virtual business card in various paperless and contactless ways—via Google or Apple Wallet, email signature, or social media.

You still leverage all the benefits of a physical, scannable business card—sharing limitless information, capturing card-scan metrics, etc.—but without the massive printing costs. 

This method also introduces a number of new benefits unobtainable in the previous method. Let’s dive into these benefits.

Top 3 Benefits of using a digital medium for sharing your scannable business card 

1. Eliminate the high cost of printing paper business cards
2. Conduct eco-friendly networking
3. Avoid tedious and lengthy paper business card procurements

#1 Eliminate the high cost of printing paper business cards  

The average cost to print paper business cards in the US can go as high as $194 per employee per year. But you can eliminate this printing cost simply by sharing your scannable business card digitally—as opposed to sharing it using a physical medium.

For instance, using Apple or Google Wallet to share your digital business card eliminates the need to use cardstocks. You can just share your business card directly from your smartphone. This results in completely paperless and contactless networking and steers you clear of card printing expenses that might cost you thousands of dollars annually.

#2 Conduct eco-friendly networking 

According to a recent report from Statista, 82% of consumers prefer companies that put people and the planet before their bottom lines. If your target audience belongs to this consumer category, eliminating paper entirely in your networking makes your value proposition significantly more appealing.

Remember, digitally sharing your scannable business card does not involve any form of printing or paper usage. In addition to eliminating card-printing costs, sharing your scannable business card digitally allows you to network in a paperless and eco-friendly manner.

Check out our guide on why digital business cards are also known as eco-friendly business cards.

#3 Avoid the tedious process involved in procuring organizational paper business card 

The administrative procurement process for paper business cards—from start to finish—takes an average of 30 days. While this 30 day-period can prove lengthy enough, it can further prolong if you find errors on the printed business card batch. 

You can simply move away from this tedious procurement process by using a digital medium when creating your scannable business cards. With this method, you can create batches of scannable digital business cards within minutes. This is significantly more efficient than going through lengthy procurement procedures which take weeks to complete.

Top 3 tips when digitally sharing your scannable business card

1. Leverage Apple or Google Wallet when sharing your business card
2. Ensure your digital business card includes more than just basic contact details
3. Share your scannable business card using various digital channels

#1 Leverage Apple or Google Wallet when sharing your scannable business cards

Using Google or Apple Wallet is a contactless and instant way to share your digital business card with your clients. You only need to open your wallet pass, then present the card. Your client then scans the QR Code on your virtual business card to instantly save your contact information on their mobile device.

To learn more about this, refer to our guide on creating and sharing Apple Wallet business cards.

#2 Ensure your digital business card includes more than just your basic contact details

To increase the networking impact of your digital business card, it must showcase your full value and services—not just your contact details. Through Beaconstac, you can flesh out your profile information and include your branding elements. You can also add every relevant URL, including your portfolio and social media handles.

#3 Share your scannable business card using various digital channels

Using multiple channels to share your digital business card exposes it to a much wider audience—in addition to those you meet in person. 

For instance, adding your scannable business card to your email signature makes it accessible to your entire email list. Upon scanning the business card QR Code from their desktop, your email recipients can save your contact information seamlessly on their mobile devices.

How do I create a scannable digital business card?

The most efficient way to create, manage, and distribute scannable digital business cards is via a specialized digital business card solution. A dedicated solution gives you access to the full suite of features needed to maximize your networking efforts—regardless of your niche or unique application. 

For an easy-to-implement guide on scannable business card creation, refer to our post on how to create a digital business card.

How to generate 2,000 scannable digital business cards in less than 5 minutes

You don’t have to spend hours manually creating hundreds or thousands of scannable digital business cards. Beaconstac’s digital business card generator lets you bulk-create a batch of up to 2,000 unique virtual business cards in less than five minutes. 

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Go to Beaconstac’s dashboard, navigate to the left panel, and click ‘QR Codes’

Step 2: Click ‘Bulk upload’ and choose the ‘Digital Business Card’ campaign

Click the Bulk upload button.

Next, select the Digital Business Card campaign.

Step 3: Download the spreadsheet template and fill it with the required details

You can download either a CSV or an XLSX version of the bulk-upload template.

The information you put on this spreadsheet template will reflect on each scannable digital business card in your batch.

Pro Tip: You can add or delete columns as per your requirements. However, you need to ensure a consistent data arrangement to avoid errors.

Step 4: Upload the populated spreadsheet template

Note: You must upload your spreadsheet in either CSV or XLSX formats.

The platform will begin generating the virtual business card batch after uploading the file. You move on to the next step if there are no data inconsistencies.

Step 5: Customize your batch’s business card QR Code

Note: All visual customizations you make apply to every digital business card QR Code in your batch. 

Once you’re done with the customizations, click Finish.

Step 6: Label your batch for easy identification

Adding a label and a color code to your batch will help you easily manage multiple digital business card batches in the future.

After assigning your batch label a suitable name and color, click Apply.

Step 7: You will be notified via email as soon as your batch is ready

Upon clicking Apply, you will get a notification that your bulk request is being processed. This takes 1 to 5 minutes to complete.

Upon completion, you will receive an email informing you that your batch is ready. 

Note: The option to bulk-generate scannable digital business cards is available on our Lite plan and above.

Create a scannable business card using the best digital business card solution

To truly leverage the benefits scannable business cards offer, we recommend choosing a robust and capable digital business card solution.

Through Beaconstac, you get access to all the features and functionalities you need to create scannable digital business cards—at scale. Once created, share your digital business cards via Apple or Google Wallet, email signatures, or other channels. 

This platform offers its full capabilities—card-scan tracking, multiple sharing methods, and extensive card customizations—without forcing you to download an app.

Beaconstac is also safeguarded by industry-leading, enterprise-grade security, ensuring you and your clients operate in a safe and secure environment.

• Author Details

Author Details

Reuben Isidoro

Reuben is a Content Marketer who helps businesses drive audience engagement and conversions through compelling content narratives. Currently, he explores the profound impact of simple yet innovative business tools, such as digital business cards, on organizational ROI.

https://blog.beaconstac.com/

[email protected]