You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
You could counter this statement with another cliché that people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But, the fact is, they do. Although we’re not big on clichés, they are often clichés for good reason.
You will have to work many times harder to win your clients over if that first encounter is not positive. So why do so many people skimp on the one thing that could be part of their differentiator – good design?
Branding is a lot more than how your marketing collateral appears, but the design of it, is visually how your brand will be perceived. This is often what potential clients experience first and come to associate with you.
It’s this visual association of good design that helps win the hearts and minds of your potential customers and retain their loyalty.
So, when some organisations argue that cost is why they find ways to cut corners in producing marketing collateral, rather than purchasing professional design that could make the difference, it begs the question ‘how can you afford not to invest in good design?’
Good design doesn’t have to blow the budget. And a good design agency will offer more than just a good design service, they will add value to your overall marketing strategy.
So what is good design?
A good designer will challenge you and work with you to get a perspective on the issues you face. Expect questions to your brief – it’s important to get to the heart of the problem to be solved as it is to this brief that solutions will be provided.
Sometimes in understanding the problem you face, good design may challenge what your customers are telling you – it was once said that if Henry Ford, father of the motorcar, had asked his customers what they wanted they would have asked for a faster horse. The late Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, was reported to have put little store in customer research in defining the products they developed. Instead opting to challenge their designers, programmers and engineers to shape their future.
If you look at product design for instance, it’s no surprise that Dyson and Apple have been so successful. Design is at the heart of these companies, challenging and shaping what they do at every level to create exceptional products. For them, their products are an integral part of what their brand is about which is why design is at the core of what they do.
It’s the same for service organisations. Consider Virgin Airlines, who use memorable design that is consistently applied through all the elements of the customer journey. It provides a first and lasting impression of what to expect and differentiates their brand from other airlines.
So good design solves a problem, it conveys a message, it stimulates emotion and engages people, it supports your marketing and differentiates and positions your brand from your competition. It supports your business objectives. In short, it has a very significant role to play that should not be underestimated.
You may be thinking, of course, we would say that, but it is actually logical. The best idea for a direct marketing campaign will be less successful if the final solution is not thought through and executed well.
A website that is poorly considered and constructed will be exited within seconds of someone landing on it, no matter how good the SEO or marketing campaign to get them there in the first place.
Good design may be a lot of things, but in the end it is actually about collaboration – from developing a brief that understands the problem, to creating engaging solutions that deal with the issues to be solved.