The digital business card for tradespeople

Plumber, electrician, joiner, painter. People call you when something is broken, and look for you in a phone. What your card must hold, and where to stick the QR code.

People look for you in a phone

A tradesperson gets called back for two reasons: because a satisfied client has a new job, or because they recommended you to someone. In both cases the person opens their contacts and searches "plumber". If you are not in there, they search Google, and you are competing with the whole canton.

Your business card's only job, then, is to get into the contacts, under the right word, at the moment the client is happy. A paper card left on the kitchen table ends up in a drawer. A QR code scanned on the spot, with an "Add to contacts" button, ends up in the phone.

What the card must hold

• Your trade in the title. "Plumbing and heating, Sion" rather than the company name alone. That is the word the client will type into their contacts.
• The mobile number, and calling hours if you have them. A tradesperson who does not pick up on site loses the client at the second call. One line in the bio, "Calls 7am to 6pm, otherwise message", changes a lot.
• WhatsApp. That is where people send you the photo of the leak. A direct link, with no number to type.
• The area you cover. One line: "Central Valais". It saves calls from Geneva.
• One or two job photos. Not here, on your website or your Instagram page; a link is enough. The card stays short.
• The legal form, if you are a company (GmbH, Sàrl). It reassures on a four-figure quote.

Where to stick the QR code

The van. A twenty-centimetre QR code on the back door, "Quotes and contact". It is parked all day in front of buildings full of future clients.

The quote and the invoice. At the foot of the page. The invoice is the document the client keeps, and the moment they think "I'll call him back for the bathroom".

The site board. The neighbour redoing their kitchen in six months scans as they walk past.

The sticker on the boiler, the fuse box, the cistern. The best placement in the trade: the day it breaks down, your code is already on the appliance. A three-centimetre sticker, printed from SVG so it stays sharp, with your name next to it.

What does not work

An e-mail address as the only contact. In this trade people call or write on WhatsApp; e-mail is for quotes.

A link to a website last updated in 2019. Better no website and a current card.

A card that changes address. The QR code stuck on fifty boilers has to work in ten years. The address vizy.me/your-name is yours as long as the account exists, and the service is free, with no expiry that would drop the link.

The contact file, for a tradesperson

The file the client saves holds your name, your company, "Plumbing and heating" as the role, your number, WhatsApp and your photo. In two years, when they type "plumb" into their contacts, you appear, with a face they recognise.

To start, create your card: your trade, your mobile, WhatsApp, your area, and the QR code for the next invoice.