In our recent post, The True Costs of Bad Design, Part I, we talked about how bad design can make a business look unprofessional and, ultimately, confuse or “turn off” potential clients, making them leave and look for other options (read: your competitors).
That’s bad enough, but in addition to potentially losing prospects, there’s another major loss that comes with bad design: Time.
You may be asking yourself, “Why? Designers can take weeks to develop something and it can be expensive. If I can get someone to put a design together for me in a hurry, won’t that save me time?”
The answer is, not in the long run.
In fact, good design actually saves you time (and money) and gets customers to spend more time (and more money) with you. Let’s take a look at why and how.
How good design saves time (and money)
It’s true that a good designer will need some time to create a logo, presentation or website for you.
However, with a professional designer, not all of the time used is for layout and design. Part of it is spent in understanding how a client will interact with a brochure, ad or website.
Good designers get feedback and ask questions. They listen and understand your business, your needs and your clients. They consider who your target group is and they create a focused message that will resonate with that audience.
So when you hire a good designer, you’re making an investment that lasts beyond a single ad or campaign. You build a relationship as well as your brand, and you create a connection with your target market.
In the long run, you’ll save time and money by getting things done right the first time – far more than if you have to rebrand, redesign, and hire other designers to fix what went wrong in the first place, learn about your business, start from scratch, etc.
And in a best-case scenario, you’ll connect with a designer who will build on an initial project, continue the partnership and get a good understanding of what you’ll need in the future.
. . . and can get your clients to spend more time (and money)
When something is well designed, it stirs emotions. Viewers sit up and take notice. They want to see more and learn more about who you are and what you do.
Great design gets people to take the action(s) you want. They see your ad. They check out your website. They sign up for your emails.
And whether they realize it or not, people make a connection between your visual presentation and the products and services you offer. If your website is impressive and enjoyable to use, they assume your products will be, too. If they’re turned off by your brand visually, they won’t waste their time on what you have to offer.
Great design isn’t just about making things look pretty. It’s about creating an experience that clients remember and feel good about.
They add those items to their cart. They have a positive shopping experience. They come back again and spend more time and money on your site. And hopefully, they tell their friends about you, too, which means that they’ll help do your marketing for you.
How much time will that save you?
