Business Card Swap ShopWhere I come from, the "business card" does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. While lots of business professionals are likely to have them, they tend to be exchanged almost exclusively in “business” situations, that is, when one party has a service to offer the other and wants them to get in contact. The business card is a branding tool to make one’s services seem more attractive, as well as a practical way of making your services and contact details easily visible in black and white. In daily life (which I am defining here as involving situations such as riding on the bus, shopping or just hanging out with friends, rather than striking up deals or searching for suppliers for your company) business cards rarely seem to make an appearance outside the office.
I have found in Beijing, however, that the business card is a constant feature in almost every social interaction. I was sitting on the bus recently and the girl who was sitting beside me struck up a conversation. Before long, she suggested we swapped business cards, even though I am fairly sure she wasn’t intending on our working together professionally. At another friend’s birthday party, each time she introduced me to somebody new, we would soon exchange cards by way of introduction.
This ‘card swapping’ idea hadn’t really been part of my life before, with the possible exception of the days when football cards came free with wildlife chocolate bars and I dreamed of collecting a whole set of players. So I didn’t quite know what to do when strangers presented me with their business cards at first. For instance, I had been in China just a few days and was waiting for a train in the subway, when one man who seemed especially curious about life in foreign countries, started a chat and took a business card out of his wallet to show me. “Ah, insurance, like my uncle” I said, and tried to give him the card back. He didn’t like that very much at all... Eventually I realised that he wanted me to keep the card for myself, but the whole situation caused much embarrassment. When the train did arrive, we both stepped into different carriages.
Once I got used to the idea (which admittedly is a very simple one), I have come to the conclusion that this card swapping culture is, in fact, a very positive thing. Of course, the often cited reason for it is to build up a network of guanxi: possible useful contacts for future use. But there are other benefits too. That horrible feeling when you are talking to someone but cannot remember their name can be avoided, as it is nicely written down for you on the card. If you meet lots of people at once it helps to avoid the awkwardness of everyone typing their new contact’s numbers into their cell phones, as they are already neatly noted to fit in your wallet. Swapping business cards with someone early on in a conversation helps you to know where you stand and may prevent embarrassment – you will know not to make that lawyer joke and offend your new friend’s profession. The business card introduction is really very practical. Especially when you are in a foreign country, and some words and accents are unfamiliar, having someone’s details in black and white makes everything a lot clearer and more comfortable. You don’t need any special language or social skills to swap a card.
When my employer first presented me with my business cards, I did not reckon I would be using them very much: based on my life outside China, I had never really felt like I was missing out by not having my own business cards. But on the contrary, these days I carry my business cards with me everywhere (even to the gym), as they have become an essential part of social, as well as business, interactions.
