Do you have a visual competitive edge?

Do you have a visual competitive edge?

It’s a cut-throat world out there and as competing businesses clamber for ever wiser customers, you should be focused on carving out a competitive edge for yourself. A company has achieved a successful visual presence when their customers can find them easily and, more importantly, when their customers can understand them.

Graphic design is often misunderstood and seen as an unnecessary cost. Many businesses severely under-utilise the power of visual design. But one thing is for sure, design-led businesses stand out from the crowd. Successful businesses of any size are embracing design, using it as a strategic resource to strengthen their products and services in order to achieve profitable growth.

Visual design should not be seen as a cost. If a company is achieving a successful visual market presence, design is not money down the drain. Rather, a strong visual presence gives your customers a compelling reason to buy from you and not your competitors.

Before any potential client even walks through your door, they have undoubtedly experienced the visual identity of your company. This identity can make you look fun or serious, large or small, traditional or forward-thinking, professional or unprofessional. You need to strike a chord with your target audience. Customers know what they want. The question is, can you successfully communicate to them that you know what they want and that you have it?

Here are a few things to think about: What does your logo say about your company? What impression does your company literature give your potential customer? Is your website pulling in customers or turning them away? Why? Can your customers find you and can they understand what you offer?

Sara Brown is an expert contributor to Marketing Donut and runs her own creative consultancy, Sara Brown.

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