Design Method

How to Use Digital Design to Stand Out from the Crowd of Competitors

CEOs and marketers all over the world are trying to get to grips with a long list of universal problems for businesses. How to approach the unrealistic rise in expectations from customers, adjust to the unstoppable pace of change, or successfully navigate around GDPR are just a few issues keeping leaders awake at night.

However, despite being armed with the latest tools and a wealth of technology at your disposal, making your business stand out from the crowd can be the biggest challenge of all. But did you know that digital design can separate your brand from the pack and most important of all, ensure that your voice is heard online?

A Gartner study predicted that 89% of companies were destined to compete with customer experience before it was even a trend. The research firm also predicted that by 2020, tech-savvy consumers would manage 85% of their relationship with a brand without even interacting with a person.

Digital experiences are not just another buzzword, trend, gimmick, or marketing tactic. If you observe your friends, family, and work colleagues in any location, they will be staring down at a screen at some point; these are the habits that are transforming the business landscape. Brands that stand out will keep people coming back for more, but those that don’t are destined for hard times. But it’s not too late to do something about it.

The Rise of Invisible Design

The first rule of design is that good design should be invisible. The layout and design of your business website should be intuitive enough for your users to browse seamlessly on multiple devices without encountering any issues or thinking about the design itself.

For many users, much of the web can feel like a negative experience, especially when attempting to close a popup ad that covers the entire screen of a smartphone. Alternatively, providing a positive and rewarding experience for your customers will help you separate your brand from the online noise and can even increase loyalty.

By positioning yourself away from the rabble of your competitors, your company will provide a touch of class to the digital landscape and be remembered for the right reasons. Ultimately, this drives more customers your way and all because of design. Invisible design brings new features, added functionality, and improved aesthetics in a way that feels completely natural.

Remove Pain Points

If you spend a few moments looking at your competitor’s website or using its mobile app, you will quickly come across a number of customer pain points. When armed with this information, you can ensure that your company offers a destination that is free from all of the issues that are the biggest cause of frustration for your target audience.

Rather than building a website, you need to develop a positive online experience. Every person reading this will have encountered problems with a site for a local business that was either poorly designed or won’t work on their smartphone. You seldom get a second chance to make a first impression, especially online.

Improved User Experience

In the digital age of the empowered customer, UX, and usability are rapidly rising to the top of consumers’ wish lists. It’s no longer about how cool something looks; it’s about how it works. For example, anyone can visit Uber or Airbnb and instantly know what it is and how to use it without any learning curve. The problem for other businesses is that they must meet these expectations or be deemed clunky and old-fashioned.

UX should never be tagged on as an afterthought, especially considering the ROI that it can deliver. A user-centric experience design could be the difference between a customer purchasing from you, rather than your competitor.

How to Stand Out from the Crowd: Innovative Web Design

We are all bombarded by marketing messages, smartphone notifications, and popup ads every hour of every day. There is also an almost endless list of options for virtually any service or product that you can imagine. Throw a generic website into the mix, and it should be no surprise why so many businesses struggle to stand out from the crowd of competitors.

Web design should also enable you to convey your brand’s image, message, and values authentically. However, it’s your visitors and their online experience that should be at the heart of everything that you do. If you can succeed at doing all of the above, you will genuinely stand out from the crowd and reap the benefits.