The business value of design – The ROI of exceptional design

BUSINESS DESIGN AS AN OFTEN UNDERESTIMATED FACTOR?

Whether a small craft business or a global corporation, no company can do without contemporary marketing in many facets. The topic of design, whether web or print design, quickly comes up. Professional agencies argue that visual brands and clear lines make a significant contribution to a company's success.

However, it is often assumed that the design aspect makes a secondary contribution to product and company success. Factors such as quality and price are seen as more important in attracting customer interest and ultimately leading to a purchase or booking. What is often overlooked: Without initial attention or good „visibility“ of one's own company, the perception of quality or price advantages does not even occur.

Of course, it is difficult to quantify the extent to which a modern visual language or clear brand communication contributes to success. Nevertheless, McKinsey looked into this some time ago and followed 300 companies from various sectors over a period of five years. The analysis by the world-renowned consulting agency shows that the success of professional business design and branding is measurable.

WHEN ASSUMPTIONS BECOME FACTS

While it was previously more of an assumption that good design contributes to a company's success, McKinsey's analysis provides concrete facts and figures. Over the course of five years, more than 100,000 design activities of the 300 participating companies were tracked. At the same time, over two million financial activities were recorded, such as payments, invoices and balance sheets.

The so-called design best practice was correlated with the financial performance of the companies to measure professional design activities.
With meaningful figures:

Companies that achieve the „best practice“ level in design are able to increase their annual turnover almost twice as much as other companies.
Over the five-year study period, these companies were able to record a growth in turnover of just over a third compared to their competitors.
In the case of public limited companies, shareholders also benefited from best practice in design, according to the study by up to 56 percent compared to other companies.

There is basically nothing to add to this.

VALUE OF BUSINESS DESIGN IN SOME INDUSTRIES SURPRISING

When it comes to design, people quickly think of artistic and creative ideas that lead to lifestyle products. When it comes to financial performance, McKinsey's analysis shows an impact particularly in sectors where it is not immediately assumed that customers in B2B or B2C business have a high level of „design awareness“.

The medical technology sector is an absolute example of success, as is the food sector. At second glance, however, the successes in these segments make particular sense. Here, customers often find it difficult to recognize the specific added value of a particular brand or product. Here, design helps to communicate values and content more quickly, while in other sectors the products and services often speak for themselves with their unique selling points.

RIGHTLY DETERMINING THE VALUE OF DESIGN

As part of its study findings, McKinsey presented four starting points on how companies can rethink their business design. These are not specific design tips, but ideas and philosophies that can be used to better capture the value of business design. The four starting points are:

1. design should be approached analytically. Although there is often talk of aroused emotions when looking at visual communication media, business design planning is about maximum objectivity. Companies should adopt the same approach here as in accounting or management.

2. design should not be understood as the design of a single product or the company website. The focus should be on the customer with their needs in terms of user-friendliness and their expectations of their own brand. A business design should be based on this as a guideline that can be used in every instance.

3. design is an ongoing process. It is not about finding the perfect business design once, but about remaining constantly open to trends and developments in the target group. This does not mean that the wheel must always be reinvented, but there must be a willingness to constantly change.

4. design should be able to effortlessly break down the boundaries between different media. Digital and physical design as well as service design are not separate disciplines, but should follow the uniform guideline mentioned above. This also means remaining open to new media channels and user trends.

OUR SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

The vierzehn02 agency knows from everyday experience how professional design has a positive effect on brands, products and customer satisfaction. Many of our projects have been a great success because companies have understood the value of a special design and are open to change. We will be happy to pave the way to sustainable business design for you too.