By: Caroline Petersen
High-quality designs and friendly customer experiences have upped the ante for a business’s ability to be successful. From the beginning, entrepreneurs need to think about how they represent their company to the public to effectively demonstrate what they know. And with the world moving faster than ever, it needs to grab their attention quick!
The truth is no one really reads anymore. One study found that people only read about 20% of the words of an online page.
Why? Because the vast majority of people are visual learners. They understand images more easily, and it takes less time for them to dissect information presented in graphic form. This affects not just potential clients but your employees as well.
To communicate what you offer to potential clients, you have to make compelling arguments that show — not tell — what you can do for them. Strategic uses of data to back up your argument, in a visually compelling way will boost your credibility. Fun and engaging graphics, videos, and other presentation elements help your audience remember the information you want them to know and convince them to use your service. These types of presentations can also bring new clients on board because there is no question as to what you are supposed to do for them. Customers can be confident that your work will live up to their expectations.
As your company grows, it becomes even more important to show employees how your company works, what it offers and how they fit into your overall mission. Surveys have found that sales representatives are only able to spend 36% of their time on actual sales, and instead dedicate most of their time to administrative tasks. But when you streamline these tasks take with clear explanations from the beginning, sales teams have more time to do what you hired them to do — sell — and doing so has proven to make them almost three percent more successful.
And if you still don’t think using visuals will help — miscommunication with job function, policies and processes have cost U.S. companies $37 billion dollars. Yes, you read that right. With so many different ways to get information, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because we continue to be boggled by how much is put in front of us.
Between emails, social media and advertisements coming across our screens, there’s only so much we can remember in a day. We know that adding visuals helps to retain information for a longer period of time. Just think about your experiences — wasn’t it easier to remember the last gif you saw than the plain words typed on paper?
A great way to earn even more attention is to not use presentations to sell your company, but instead, create visuals that tell the client you understand theirs. Use images of the information your audience cares about, and then connect it to what you want to do for them.
Here’s the good news: studies have shown that businesses with a strong design as part of their overall brand and culture doubled their performance compared to their competitors. Having these strong elements in place ensures everyone is on the same page — whether it’s a client or employee —and there are many ways companies can use the latest techniques to streamline processes that increase sales and get the job done.
The designs you create for your company can communicate goals to your employees, explain the processes for how the company runs, and personalize pitches for the potential clients, so you can stand out from the crowd.
Don’t think it’s too late to start, either. Companies can always refresh their online presence and presentations, prioritizing customer needs and in turn fuel their growth.
Caroline Petersen, Founder and Creative Director, Gallery Design Studio, https://www.gallerydesignstudio.com, caroline@gallerydesignstudio.com
