Bear Brook

“Good design is good business.” —Thomas Watson, Jr.

In 1975 IBM legend Thomas Watson, Jr. began his lecture at the Wharton School of Business with these five words. In today’s global economy this statement continues to ring true. Good design is a powerful way to differentiate yourself from your competitors and gain market advantage.

Design, like quality, must be an integral part of running a business. Sales and marketing professionals should include good design in their arsenal of tools because it is often the difference between being a winner or a loser in the marketplace. Increasing sales at companies as diverse as Apple, Target, and Morningstar have proven that powerful brand strategies and superior creative solutions transform businesses, increase customer loyalty, and increase profits.

Strategically guided graphic design positions an organization to set off a strong chain reaction where positive impressions create higher perceived value, which ultimately boosts sales. Design is important to everything you communicate about your product or service. It’s the articulation of your brand promise to the marketplace. In the end, what customers really see about your company, is what designers design.

Measuring ROI

To determine the effectiveness of design, you need to look at what elements can be measured. Identity and marketing programs include a baseline for comparing “before and after” results. Focus groups, marketplace analysis, and market surveys are just a few ways that businesses can measure ROI. The following are some basics you can start with right away.

• Websites: Look at the amount of traffic that is visiting the site, along with the length of time spent there, and page views. On ecommerce sites, it’s easier; simply measure sales.
• Email Marketing Programs: Look at detailed metrics to measure effectiveness. Open and click-through rates are just the beginning of how email marketing can be tracked.
• Direct Mail: Track response rates for your campaigns. Test and compare response rates by measuring changes in a campaign or sending out two different efforts to see which one does better.
• Advertising: Combine advertising with direct mail response mechanisms to track results. Measure results through publications readership studies.

These are just a few ways that design can be measured. There is no doubt that good design can enhance the value of your product or service.

With the marketing playing field being leveled in so many ways, the only distinguishing characteristic for many companies is design. It ignites passion, identifies, informs, clarifies, inspires, and communicates.

Design is ultimately about creating a better life for people. Along the way it can generate better profits for your company as well.