Good design is good business.
From dating apps to online shopping, we choose products, services and people based on beauty. and/or presentation – basically design (think resume).
Companies with a strong design outperform companies with a weak design by 219% on the S&P Index (a stock market index) over the span of 10 years. In fact, 48% of people surveyed by Tyton Media said that the website design of a business was their number one factor in determining the credibility of that business. So not only is good design directly tied to success, it’s also tied to trust.
People don’t trust just anyone: When people work with a company, they want to know they’re working with professionals. Investing in professional design shows that your business values professionalism and sends a powerful message to potential clients or customers. You only have one chance to make a first impression, and using a professional designer helps you make it as effective as possible. Investing wisely is key to sustaining and growing your business, and design is no exception
Here are a few proven reasons why good design is good business (and how you can use design to increase your small business revenues).
Good design makes a strong first impression.
Good design is about using colors, shapes, textures, space, forms, images, and content in a harmonious, balanced way. Good design starts with a strong brand. A well-designed logo is an important part of a company’s brand. A great logo design can be the difference between blending in and standing out from the competition. But while we often recognize the value of a great logo, we don’t always prioritize it. New business owners often incorrectly believe that a good logo will cost thousands or tens of thousand of dollars. As a result, they sometimes buy pre-made logos in an online logo store or try a do-it-yourself approach.
In fact, entrepreneurs aren’t the only ones who make the mistake of using generic logos- businesses of all sizes sometimes use logo shortcuts, only to find out that it’s even more expensive to rebrand later. After all, memorable logos are 13% more likely to get consumers attention, and 71.6% more likely to get a positive response from consumers. In a world of noise, that can make a big difference.
In the digital age, companies only have a matter of seconds before a customer makes up their mind.Those few seconds are crucial because they can make or break a sale – and design plays a huge role in the deciding factor.
People have a very short attention span. In fact, according to a Princeton University study, snap judgments count. The study found after seeing a face for only 1/10th of a second people formed opinions about that person. Judgments were made on attractiveness, likeability, and trustworthiness, and prolonged exposure to that face just reinforced the initial impression. The same goes for websites. Three studies found that a mere 50 milliseconds were all people needed to form an opinion about a website. Google performed similar testing and found an even slimmer margin: a speedy 17 to 50 milliseconds were all people needed to decide how they felt about a website.
Good design builds customer relationships.
Since relationships are based on emotion, customers are often emotionally connected to a company. If you look at this youl see that we should be employing and leveraging this in meaningful ways.
iFrom product value to service to long term relationships both personal and professional – invest in your relationships “by design” and not just some afterthought.
Good design makes it easier to create emotional connections.
Great designs use color, layout, and smart font choice to connect to their consumer in meaningful, emotionally driven ways. Incorporating impactful, memorable, and emotional connection in the visual display of your brand is the best way to show the world who you are and what your brand stands for.
Your materials, ads and internal communications should support the principles you have built your company around, and strive to reach your customers hearts (rather than their wallets). Create valuable, sustainable customer relationships by building your brand’s visual identity on the foundation of emotional connection. There’s no better way to secure consumer loyalty than by connecting you through your shared values, and a great design is the most effective way to illustrate them.
Good design makes you money.
I’ve pointed out that good design is good business and hopefully, you’re beginning to understand why this is true to some degree in your own efforts. Ultimately, good design increases your company’s value, boosts sales, and puts your business in a better financial situation. Through building trust, making strong first impressions, building customer relationships, and even executing successful campaigns, good design helps make your business more profitable. At the end of the day, the technology or the differentiating factor in your business can only take you so far if no one knows about you, remembers you or even has a reason why to even want to know your wonderful staff and systems.
Even though your business is small today, a good design communicating your values effectively can help it be big tomorrow.