Business cards for your staff will not only help promote your business, but they also could promote something even more valuable than potential customers—employee loyalty.

When you invest in your employees and give them "ownership" by printing personalized business cards for them, you are saying, "I value you." You are building them up and showing them respect by involving them in the ministry of your store.

When printing business cards, you must make a purchase of usually around 250 cards for each person, so be sure to wait until the employee is past the "trial" period, is proving to be a valuable employee and is planning to stay at the store. But after that, don't hesitate to spend some money on personalized cards.

Business cards with a blank space for a name to fill in not only look unprofessional, but they also communicate that the store can't keep its employees. Personalized business cards are worth the investment.

Your store business cards should look different than those used by the other church staff. Having a card specific to the store will minimize confusion about who to bill and where to send products when you are ordering at conferences or conventions. Also, it will give your store its own identity, which is especially important if your store had an outreach to the community outside the church. It will make a statement that a potential customer doesn't have to be part of the church to frequent the bookstore.

Include the following information, at the least, on the cards:

- Name of the store
- Name of the employee
- Store address
- Store phone number
- Store e-mail address
- Store Web site.

If your store has a slogan or a catchy mission/vision statement, consider including that on the card as well. It will give the customer a stronger sense of what the bookstore is all about. Also, if you're a CBA member, consider paying the fee to include the CBA logo on your business cards.

-Teresa Nardozzi is the former manager of Charis Christian Bookstore at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, Largo, Fla. She founded the store in 1985.

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