Do You List Your Cell On Your Business Card?

How many people out there list their cell phone on their business card? It’s something I’ve always done, but am starting to see less and less of. As a fan of this practice, I only list my cell on my current business card. In fact, I’ve often refused to have a company line opting instead to use my cell or skype for everything.

In a smaller company, listing your cell phone is a great way to get intimate with your customers. Knowing they can get a hold of you in an emergency is a great benefit for most people. From my experience customers rarely abuse this, opting only to call you if it’s extremely important.

With that said, there are a few times it can be a bad idea. I remember once being yelled at by a boss when the CEO of a company called me on a Sunday wanting some text changed on a yet to be released feature and I told him that I wouldn’t be able to do it until Monday. I happened to be at a Michigan football game, and there was no way I was going to get to a computer. All in all, these experiences are rare to me.

Then there’s the occasional “old business card” folly. I was woken up today by a frantic employee of a company that I had worked with in my last job. I left that job over 6 months ago, but this employee had no way of knowing that. She was panicking because the prices on her website were wrong, and wasn’t very happy when I told her that I no longer worked for that company. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the number of anybody there who she could call either.

So what do you think? Are cell phones on a business card a good idea or a bad one? What are your experiences?

April 17th, 2008