The boring business card might soon be completely replaced by custom coins as the primary method of exchanging contact information between companies and potential clients. This might sound strange, but it makes sense when one considers it. In business, the goal is often to stand out from competitors in one way or another. Businesses customize everything from marketing campaigns to communication channels in an effort to stand out and draw more business. The business card is one such example of people in business stand out from one another. This may not be the case for much longer.

The traditional business card actually has two purposes. On the surface, its main function is to provide contact information to potential clients or partners. It’s compact, fits in a wallet and has all of the vital information necessary to recall a person or company later on. The second purpose that the business card serves is to distinguish an individual or business. Cards usually include a logo and some form of color scheme, no matter how minimal. The idea is for it to be eye catching, so that when a person has cards from multiple clients, the most distinctive one will stand out. It increases business.

Well, custom challenge coins can and do fill both of these needs. In terms of uniqueness, they surpass the business card. Suppose a person interacts with twenty people all seeking his business and receives business cards from nineteen and a coin from one. At the end of the day, he might not remember every individual person he spoke with. He will, however, remember the person who gave him a coin in lieu of a traditional business card. He will have the coin stored somewhere separate from the nineteen cards he received, and will have to do something with it. Thus, the metal coin works as a constant reminder of the business or individual who gave it to him.

Custom coins also have a way of being much more unique in appearance than a typical card. Most business cards are fairly homogenous. They show a name, a phone number, an email address and perhaps a logo or title. Most people will glance at them as they receive them and put them away, but they won’t look at them. If the card is from a person representing a business, there’s a good chance they won’t even remember the company’s name.

This problem is done away with when a custom challenge coin is used in place of a card. People aren’t accustomed to receiving coins, and the information on them will always vary. They’ll look over a coin on both sides and see what’s on it. Because of these extra few seconds that they spend looking at a custom coin design as opposed to a card, they’re much more likely to remember the name of the company or person, along with the products or services being offered. Since custom coins are nowhere near as formulaic as business cards, they do away with the reflex of glancing at a card and putting it away and force the individual to digest the information that’s on it.

Thanks to the overall uniqueness of custom challenge coins, they fill the role of a business card coin better than a business card. They’re an effective marketing tool that will cause anyone receiving business coins to think about the company just a little bit more. Having that extra share of a person’s mind might be the difference between getting a call back and never hearing from a person again. Couple in the fact that company challenge coins are naturally more aesthetically pleasing and less plain than a business card, and it’s easy to understand why corporate business card coins are taking over.