by Mel DePaoli

  This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute Newsletter

If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies. . . . It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it.  Albert Einstein

Once again, Einstein was ahead of his time!  But, in this case, he was only half right.

There are many companies out there that have hired an incredible designer that was able to initially cover up the shoddiness of the business as Einstein might lament. On the flip side there are many GOOD companies that for whatever reason will not or do not invest in quality design, and this is as sad a situation as Einstein described.

How does good design affect your business, be it for a website, marketing materials or any other aspect that the public views? What is the value of design? Can you control the effect of quality design? And, does good design impact my bottom-line? Since these questions are all intertwined, there is no clear yes or no answer to any of them.

The world is as it is. Unfortunately, no matter what our parents tried to teach us, we do judge a book by its cover, even when we may not mean to. That being said, when your business has nicely designed materials, this is a direct representation of HOW you do business. Think about it, if you do not care enough about your own ‘stuff,’ how are your customers to know you will provide top quality and treat them with respect?

“But we want that mom-n-pop feel.” That is great; there is value in this as well. But leave that to a designer to accomplish because just using clip art and having someone without experience putting your materials together does not give the perception of ‘mom-n-pop,’ it gives the perception of cheap! Does this mean that the more expensive the designer or firm the better your materials? The answer is a firm: “No”.  Price can be misleading just as with any other profession.

The secret is that you need to know who your company is and what it stands for BEFORE you talk to the market or put your materials together. Why? Because when a prospect views your materials (this can be anything from a magnet to your website and everything in-between) a perception is created in their mind about the experience they will have when doing business with you. If they like the perception, they will want to do business with you. Of course, once you create the perception, you need to deliver!

This is where most companies miss the boat. They think that advertising and marketing are separate from how they do business. I am here to tell you that they are not—they are one in the same! Your marketing and advertising efforts are laying the ground work for the experience that your customers will have. People like what they expect.

It truly is amazing how the smallest thing can have the biggest impact on your bottom-line and can create an industry standard. By creating an industry standard, your competition will not survive unless they (at least) match your level of service and how the market perceives you. This is a great way to minimize your competition. An excellent example of this is the McDonald’s Happy Meal. It is a child size portion of food, in a fun box with a cheap toy. It not only shows that McDonald’s considers children an important part of their market, but the design is perfect to capture their attention. No fast food or family restaurant will last long without offering their own version of this. It is simple but VERY powerful.

When design + marketing and advertising + how you do business come together harmoniously authenticity is achieved and there will be a positive impact on your bottom-line—guaranteed!

Mel DePaoli is the president and founder of Omicle located in Seattle, WA. She is also interviewing companies for her upcoming book series Brand or Culture: Which Comes First. Please visit www.omicle.com for more information about how Omicle can become your Catalyst for Discovery and www.brandorculture.com to get involved in the Brand or Culture Debate! Ms. DePaoli can be reached at mel@omicle.com.