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Short answer: Keep a detailing card to five things on the front: business name and logo, the word "mobile" or your service area, your phone number, three core services, and a one-line specialty. Use the back for one link that does one job, usually your booking page, as a QR. Hand cards to people who ask, never under strangers' wipers.
What goes on the front?
Detailers who post their cards on r/Detailing get the same feedback: too much text. A card is read for about three seconds. Five items fit in that time:
- Business name and logo, large enough to read at arm's length.
- "Mobile detailing" or your service area, so people know you come to them, or where you are.
- Phone number, the biggest piece of contact info. Many customers still call or text first.
- Three core services, such as interior reset, paint correction, ceramic coating. Not the whole menu.
- One specialty line, like "Ceramic coating specialist" or "We come to your driveway."
Three front layouts you can copy
| Type of business | Headline | Under the logo | Services line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo mobile detailer | [Name] Mobile Detailing | We come to you. [Town] and nearby | Interior reset · Exterior wash and seal · Pet hair removal |
| Coating and correction | [Name] Detail Studio | Ceramic coating and paint correction | Paint correction · Ceramic coating · Maintenance plans |
| Shop or car wash | [Name] Auto Spa | [Street address] · Open [days] | Hand wash · Full detail · Headlight restoration |
What goes on the back?
One link, one job, written as a call to action. Pick the page you most want strangers to see:
- "Scan to book" pointing at your booking page with your packages. This is the best choice for most detailers.
- "See our work" pointing at your Instagram or before/after gallery, if your photos sell better than your price list.
- "Tell us how we did" pointing at your Google review page, but only on cards you hand to customers after a job.
Avoid a QR that opens your homepage. A customer who already liked the work shouldn't have to hunt for the booking button.
Static or dynamic QR?
A static QR encodes your link directly and keeps working as long as the page exists. A dynamic QR routes through a third-party service, which lets you change the destination later but can stop working if that service's free plan ends or you cancel. If you're printing hundreds of cards, check which kind your generator makes.
Where to hand them out (and where not to)
- To every customer after a job, with a second card "for anyone who asks you who did your car."
- At car meets and shows, in conversation.
- On the counter of a partner business that agrees, such as a barbershop or a tire shop.
- Not under windshield wipers. Detailers are blunt about this: touching a stranger's car uninvited is a bad first impression for a business that cares for cars.
Where a tap card fits
Paper cards are for handing out. The card you keep is different: a tap card that opens your booking page or a tap card that opens your Google review page, with your logo on the front and a QR on the back. You tap it to the customer's phone at the walk-around and put it back on your keyring. One per tech is enough.
More for detailers
Questions detailers ask
What should a car detailing business card say?
Your name and logo, mobile or your service area, phone number, three core services and one specialty line, with a booking QR on the back.
Should I put prices on my detailing card?
Usually no. Prices change, and a printed card can't change with them. Put prices on the booking page the QR opens.
Is it OK to leave business cards on cars?
Not on strangers' cars. Many people see a card under the wiper as touching their car without permission.
Matte or glossy for a detailing card?
Either works. It's a style choice; pick the finish that suits your logo.
Should the QR go to my website or booking page?
Your booking page, so interested people can choose a package and a date right away.
