Far too many small businesses see graphic design as an optional expense. Instead of using custom graphics, businesses slap a stock image on their blogs, brochures, and other marketing materials and call it a day, or use stock templates on programs like MS Word.
While it can be OK to use stock images or templates, it’s not the best way to grow your business. Well-thought-out, attractive graphic design can make a huge impact, especially when it comes to your business logo and marketing collateral. When small businesses fail to see the value in good design, they’re missing out on a big opportunity to put their best foot forward.
Here are 10 of the ways graphic design helps grow small businesses.
1. Great design attracts people’s attention.
Before you can even think about converting shoppers into buyers, you need to get them to notice you. If you have a boring logo or zero graphic design, people probably won’t be attracted to what you have to offer.
Imagine that you’re at a trade show, going from booth to booth, and dozens of companies give you their business cards. Some of the cards are plain, perhaps even boring. They display the person’s name, their company name, and contact info—everything a business card is supposed to do—but there’s nothing eye-catching or memorable about them.
However, one of the business cards is professionally branded. The color and design of the business card matches the color and design of the company’s booth at the trade show. You remember the great design of the booth, and you even remember a bit about the company’s values because their branding tells a story. When you get home and pull out the business cards, that is the company you remember above all the rest.
2. It makes a stellar first impression.
If you have zero design, you might not make an impression at all. If you have terrible design, your first impressions are likely to be poor ones, no matter how good you are at what you do. But if you have great design, you can make an excellent first impression on anyone who sees your marketing materials!
3. People will come to recognize your branding.
Over time, as your company grows, people will see your branding over and over. They’ll come to recognize it, especially if it’s good branding. For example, my local area is full of real estate agents. But over the last 5 years or so, one particular real estate company has exploded in size. You can’t drive across town without seeing this company’s signs. The reason is simple: all the branding of this company is beautifully designed with bold, modern fonts and a bright pink color. It’s instantly recognizable.
4. It makes you look professional, credible, and trustworthy.
Let’s go back to the real estate agency I mentioned above. People see the bright pink signs all over town and think, “Wow, this real estate agency sells a lot of houses. Their signs and billboards look super professional. They must be great at what they do!”
5. It sets you apart from the competition.
Graphic design offers tons of possibilities when it comes to colors, shapes, fonts, and more. You can use it strategically to set yourself apart from your competitors.
6. Great branding and design helps you create an excellent website.
If you have a good logo and branding in place, you can design a website that looks great, too. Websites are absolutely necessary for all small businesses today. Anyone who is interested in your products and services will be checking out your website, and you need it to be as compelling and memorable as possible.
7. It helps you on all your social media platforms, too.
Just like graphic design is one of the foundations of a compelling website, it’s incredibly important on all social media platforms, too. Good social media design will grab people’s attention, help you look trustworthy, and set you apart from social media competitors.
8. Great design can build loyalty with customers and employees alike.
People will be proud to be part of a great brand, and visual design is part of being a great brand! On the flip side, your employees and customers may be embarrassed to be a part of a company with poorly designed visual material, even if it’s a great company in other ways.
9. Logos and design help you show customers what your company is all about.
Every small business has a story. If you want to inspire customer loyalty, you need to be able to share that story. A thoughtfully-designed company logo and branding can help you tell that story in a concise, appealing way. For example, if you want to play up the fact that your company was founded in the 1800s, you can use design to evoke that history.
10. It converts.
And finally, graphic design helps grow small business by doing what every business owner wants: it converts. Graphic design works for you 24/7 without demanding wages or benefits. It converts by doing everything we talked about above: grabbing attention, broadcasting your professionalism and credibility, setting you apart from the competition, and more. All of this leads to more conversions, more profit, and a thriving small business!
About U Visibility
U Visibility is a full service professional digital marketing agency. We help business owners strengthen their visibility on the internet, to generate more leads and sales with their websites. We can potentially do that for you. Visit us online at https://uvisibility.com/ to schedule a free consultation!