The Role of Great Design For Business Growth

The Role of Great Design For Business Growth Design is all about communication and perception — great design is the path you take to convince people to trust you enough to buy your products and services.

There is no denying the fact that proper planning is necessary to achieve your business goals. Sometimes, what is not all that clear are the things a company must leverage in order to achieve those goals. Perhaps one of the most vital and overlooked factors is design.

Yes, you read it right. Great design helps in the development of business growth.

Businesses often do, but really can’t afford to overlook the importance of great design in terms of business growth.

This is because design (good or bad) has a direct impact on the sales performance and your customer base.

Design is all about communication and perception — in short, it’s how you convince people to buy your products and services. This is the visual foundation for building trust and credibility in your brand.

The strategy behind your communication design is the key to your business growth.

I know, you probably think I’m making this up, because I work in the design industry.

No way — I wouldn’t do that.

Turns out there are actual studies and numbers on the subject of the impact design has on businesses. In fact, one of the leading management consulting firms in the US conducted an in-depth study of over 300 companies.

McKinsey claims the report contains “the most extensive and rigorous research undertaken anywhere” to map the business impact of design.

It concludes that firms that embrace design generated 32 per cent more revenue and 56 per cent more shareholder returns than rivals over a five-year period.

“The companies that achieved the best financial returns in the McKinsey survey were those with a bold, user-centric vision that had embedded design in the planning at the top and used robust design metrics to monitor customer satisfaction,” the consultancy said.

McKinsey’s research found that many companies struggle with design. Ninety-five per cent of design leaders do not feel they can make objective decisions, while 66 per cent fail to share prototypes with end users, and half do not consider users when developing new products and services. ~Dezeen.com

There are some design trends that you can adopt to give your business an extra edge. Let’s have a look at them in detail:

1. Build Customer-centric Design

Business is not only about making money — it’s about serving customers with quality managed service.

Specifically, these services aim to bring the customer to the brand. A good design is the one that aims to resolve the customers’ queries. So, your goal is not just to build a great design, but to create a product/service that aptly meets the customers’ requirements.

Put simply; great design = great customer experience.

Great design, whether print or web, takes into consideration a smooth customer journey.

Great design should;

• Engage the viewer and easily lead the eye.
• Clearly communicate brand messaging
• Motivate the customer to make an action such as a registration, phone call or even purchase.

In web design, enhanced User Experience is a top priority, but the core design principles are the same.

Why? Because great design is rooted in evoking emotion.

Emotion is an absolutely crucial factor to any UX design.

When you make your users feel something, they’re more likely to stick to the brand and like it. You’re involving their personal preferences and provoking them to actually think about what they’re buying and using.

Understanding this customer journey in making a purchase is equally important…

Customer journey mapping creates a visual representation of every experience your customers have with you, according to Salesforce. That visual representation forms a story of how your customer engages and experiences your brand in hopes of turning into a long-term relationship. And the payoffs can be huge.

According to the white paper, Customer Journey Mapping: Lead the Way to Advocacy, customer mapping can lead to a 54 percent greater return on marketing investment.

2. Strategic use of design

Based on what we’ve already covered, you can begin to see that there is a lot of strategy in design and businesses just like yours can reap the benefits of strategy based design.

But what exactly is design strategy?

In a recent article in HOW magazine, design strategy is described as the process of learning and discovery; acquiring a deep understanding of the client’s industry, competitors, goals and opportunities that allow designers to formulate an executable strategy.

Simply put design strategy is a plan to achieve an objective or goal. A great design strategy examines the relationships between your business and your customer and ultimately bridges the gap between the two. This is the critical distinction between pretty design and great design that drives business.

3. Use design for adding value to your brand

Design is beneficial in adding value to your brand in a variety of ways.

As you probably know, every business needs to have a brand, and the stronger it is the better. Just look at the likes of Apple, Samsung, McDonald’s, Nike, or Supreme. They’ve all built a giant following thanks to their excellent, nay, genius branding strategies.

For example, what do you think of when I say “Nike”? The first thing that came to your mind is probably their simple logo and their easy to remember slogan “Just Do It”.

Your brand’s visual identity is an integral and inextricable part of your overarching brand identity. Along with your unique tone of voice, messaging, and brand values, visuals are going to influence the public’s perception of your company, shape your every marketing and advertising strategy, and greatly influence your customer acquisition and retention rates.

Quite simply, it pays off to invest time and effort into building a strong visual presence.

Developing a strong brand strategy is essential for the long-term growth of your business, but it’s important to note that a strategy can only be effective if all brand elements are present. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the key elements of your brand’s visual identity and how you can use them to create a brand that will echo throughout the industry.

Branding is something that makes your business unique. It identifies your business with a certain product or name. In other words, when a person hears a certain name or sees a certain symbol, they automatically think of your business.

For a deeper dive into how to grow your business by building brand awareness, click here.

Summing Up

Great Design possesses the potential to increase the sales and production efficiency. By opting for a customer-based approach in your design, you can definitely leave a long-lasting impact on the visitors. In terms of web design, great design takes the customer on a journey to achieve your goals.

If you’re uncertain as to whether your business is using design effectively for growth, you may want to consult a leading graphic design company for  assistance on creating goals and hitting bench marks for positive ROI.

The post The Role of Great Design For Business Growth appeared first on Graphic Web Design & Brand Marketing Company Medford OR.

by Chris London of Pixel Productions Inc. The Everything Design Company