MOO has kindly donated 3 sets of 100 business cards to lucky Jobacle readers! For a chance to win one of the 100 business cards, all you have to do is post a comment below and give us your best business one-liner that you could write on a business card!
As with any major upheaval, there’s a scarily large pile of logistical details to consider when planning a change of office, a rebrand, or a redesign of your corporate stationery. The trick is to prepare well and plan ahead.
Here’s a little checklist for the office move:
1. What’s the best day to move? During the week? An evening? Over the weekend? Which solution will cause the least disruption, and allow the maximum time to get things shipshape before business starts again?
2. Who will physically move you? Will they take apart office furniture? Will they supply boxes and tape for your staff to pack their belongings into?
3. Packing and tagging. Be sure to devise a system that will allow you to efficiently pack your office supplies and equipment and one that can be tagged for efficient unpacking once you arrive at your new location.
4. Have you planned to have your phone system moved? Who is going to do that for you, and how much notice will they need?
5. Prepare your employees for the move. Give them a schedule several weeks ahead of the move, so they can factor it into their work planning. As you get closer to the day provide your employees with clear direction on what is expected of them – what they should pack, how they should pack it, etc. Once you arrive in your new office location you may need to provide an orientation to your employees about the new facilities.
6. Don’t forget to update your website, social media accounts and stationery with your new office location.
And it’s the same process for business cards, whether you’re changing your address, or rebranding entirely:
1. When do you need them? Some employees (e.g. sales team) may need to hand out new cards in the run-up to the move, while others may not need theirs until after the dust has settled.
2. How will they be designed? Do you want them to look just as they did at your old office or do you want entirely new designs?
Note: If it’s a new office fit out, be sure to plan sufficient time to come up with something everyone is happy with. We find designing new cards can often take companies longer than they anticipate.
3. Card quantities – not all employees will need the same number of cards, so it’s a good idea to have a chat with everyone, to work out who needs what.
4. If you’re changing the card design, and the address, make sure your employees throw all of their old cards away, to prevent embarrassing mistakes. Start as you mean to go on.
Of course, it’s not all tick-lists and planning. We’ve asked two businesses with recent experience of a total rebrand to offer their ideas on how best to handle the move, and what advice might help you and your business.
Belinda Mustoe, of Roger Stephenson Architects:
“Roger Stephenson Architects was born after Roger’s former business partner left the company, which meant the old name, Stephenson Bell, had to change. Incorporating the new name change seemed like an ideal opportunity to refresh the branding, letting our clients know we are the same people & the same company, but that we are going in a new direction.
“The re-design of the Business Cards was integral to the change, as a first point of contact it is as important as our website to sell our business, which is why we needed high-quality cards at a reasonable price.”
David Hammock, designer at Taphandles.com:
“The business cards were created while Taphandles was going through a change in our branding and marketing to reflect our expanded services. Our previous cards were pretty boring, 1-sided standard business cards, printed on cheap paper, and we thought we should make an upgrade to something more colorful and interesting, while still sticking to our simple core message: “Sell. More. Beer.”
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