Startups are always after the secret sauce that turns a company from nothing to international success. The common wisdom is that the secret sauce doesn’t exist. Each business, we’re told, has to find its own way and something that works in its own unique circumstances. But is that always true? What about presentation and design? Do they matter at all? Let’s take a look at the evidence.
Design Sells
If you’re somebody who thinks that design is just extra fluff that doesn’t really affect bottom lines, then prepare for a rude awakening. Back in 2005, The Design Council studied the portfolios of a bunch big British companies on the London Stock Exchange. They went through their product pages and ranked them on how well-designed they were. Guess what; those businesses that exhibited better design did much better overall. In fact, they did a whopping 200 percent better than their less design-focused peers. What’s more, the Council also found that for every £100 those companies spent on design, they made an extra £225 in profits. Now that’s quite a return!
Photography Is The Lynchpin
What is it that makes a consumer decide to pick up one product over another? Do they carefully compare lists of product specifications? Or is the decision made more on instinct than rational calculation? It’s the latter, and you had better believe it!
It turns out that the average consumer spends about a twentieth of a second deciding whether a product has visual appeal. That means that businesses have roughly the blink of an eye to ensure that their product makes an impact.
This is why it’s so important to get the basics, like photography, right. Photography houses, like The VOW Studio, aren’t just places you go to have your wedding photos done anymore. They’re in the business of making your products look as good as they could ever possibly look.
Your Product Is Not Hard To Understand
What about businesses whose products aren’t so much in the physical space? How do they make a great impression? If your company deals with a lot of data or is more of a concept, then things can be a little trickier. Things are especially tricky for startups offering unique services. If what you do is entirely new, it’s unlikely that people will be well-informed about what you do. And so communicating your message can be difficult.
It turns out, however, that the way you present your product makes all the difference. According to studies, around 65 percent of all people learn best in a visual way. That means that if you explain your concept to them verbally, they’re unlikely to grasp it the first time. If you explain it to them in the form of images, however, they’re much more likely to get it. In today’s market, you’re spoiled for choice for how you visually present stuff. What about an explainer video or an infographic? Just make sure that whatever you do, and why it is important, is explained as simply as possible. You’re educated about what you do. But your audience isn’t.