In last week's Shrewsbury Marketing blog I discussed, or perhaps ranted about, free website builds. Today I thought I'd have my tuppence worth about free business stationery.

Free stuff - it's worth every penny

If your company's main selling point is about being the cheapest, then I've got no problem with free business cards and so on. But I was seriously concerned when a financial advisor told me he's aiming for the loaded retired market then gave me a Vistaprint card. Bit of a mixed message really. He'd even changed phone numbers, scribbled out the old one and written in biro the new one....

DIY stationery

A number of people are also printing out their own stationery. It saves a few quid, yes, but a business card that's so thin it dishes out paper cuts just by looking at you is plain shoddy. Throw in some dodgy ink bleed from your standard home printer and it just won't stack up next to a professional card.

We all know who our local competitors are. We should all know what our slice of the pie is. If your business competitors in Shropshire have professional looking stationery and a professional looking website, guess what? They're going to look professional. It's hard to claw your way back into contention after that.

Affordable, quality Printers in Shrewsbury

So do I mean go out and spend a fortune on cards, letterheads and comp slips? Your stationery doesn't have to be embossed with gold leaf, just done cleanly and on the right paper.

It's surprising just how affordable many local printing businesses are. thebestof Shrewsbury currently promotes Belle Vue Sign & Print and Lasergraphics. Not only are they both lovely companies to deal with, you can speak with a real live person who usually has some great deals on the table.

If someone does not want to spend £50 on decent cards to pass when they're out and about, how seriously will they be perceived by their peers?

Maybe that's not fair, but it's true.