Emotional design, company design and elements with impact on decision of potential customer
photo taken from http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1431130 Design as a part of marketing and business strategy
It is a dream of every businessman to persuade a customer in order to pay more for a same product or to make a bigger purchase than he planned to. Additionally, many companies nowadays regularly prepare various projects and offers with aim to convince customers to buy a more expensive product with parameters and options they do not really need.
Basic elements of unique company design are:
logo – characteristic label of symbols of subject or product. It is composed by graphically compiled written mark, completed by another graphic structure.
mark - combination of name, verbal expression, of graphical or audio symbols of design, which are used by companies as an identification of their own products or else to distinguish themselves from competition.
color – important element of designs mark and one of the most important identifier of given subject.
writing – verbal and numerous signs which from the point of view of design have to meet the following criteria : clear arrangement, readability, equilibrium, uniformity.
heading or architecture – holder of fundamental signs of identity in its most tangible form. They include elements of visual style both inside and outside of company.
product design – concrete visual conception of company products. It represents more flexible and practical holder of design signs, which is able to adapt to product purpose and will of buyers.
Marketing departments are familiar with some methods of how to achieve these goals. They know what a big impress winning design can cause and how is an effect of resounding name. For example, mobile phone is a product which people often buy spontaneously without a consideration whether it is not already old and non-functional. This is why producers invest main part of communication budget into motivational competitions for sellers and in different support in the place of sale. A mobile phone is like clothing. It has become a personal thing, for many it is a part of image. Despite the customer thinks that he has bought a new model because of its better functions, actually it is more probable that the emotions stand behind the purchase. They are affected by design or mark, especially if it shines as much as one of the highly regarded marks. Some customers overlook these connections. Sometimes our decisions are influenced by unsuspected and seemingly insignificant things. In fact they do even play a major role. And what is more important, mostly without our knowledge.
Subconscious perception:
One thing is certain; there are many procedures with great impact on customers subconscious. They stay in the opposite with traditional economical view and models, which are trying to explain shopping behavior of consumers. According to them, customer’s decisions are rational. They recognize a problem at first, then they search for information and finally they evaluate options and make a decision, which means they do their shopping. But these theories forget other inputs on the basis of which people act and make decisions. Social status, subconscious, context or emotions, which often not even marketers and psychologists, are able to name, play sometimes more important role than logic and reason. We can see it during the process of choosing automobiles. If people bought them just according to what they are designated for, then people would probably not drive jeeps or sports cars through the down town. Of course as a reason of their purchase they always mention good engine, big boot or extra equipment. Even though some guess it, it is very rare for such a customer to confess that the primary impulse was for example, to impress the woman of his dreams , to support own ego or to beat a neighbor who has also bought a new car recently.
Even at such a demanding and long-term investment like a real estate is, the customer is controlled mostly by emotions. Much later he rationalizes the choice and priorities. This was confirmed by qualitative research of many companies which evaluated customer’s priorities by purchase of real estate. For example, respondents affected by emotions, spontaneously reflected names of locality and their image. According to that, without additional verification, they also classified project into some price level. It took deeper and more detailed dialogue for them to start looking for quantitative, reasonable arguments. However, those were also highly adjusted to primary reaction.
Making of non-rational decisions is obvious by purchase of financial products as well. It is natural that before making a decision, they think of events which are still fresh in their minds and even more of which they already witnessed. If they experienced an earthquake once, it is more probable that they are going to take out insurance against it, despite they live in a place where risk of such a natural catastrophe is extremely low. But irrationality of customers is actually a lot deeper. Psychologist found out, that for example major part of tourists is willing to pay for insurance only against the death caused by terrorist attack much more, than for insurance against death caused by any reason. Even though, the second product includes also terrorism. Also professional prognostics marked in their test risk of natural catastrophe in concrete city as higher than in whole state. This absurdity can be reasoned by a fact that people do not like to take out insurance against something abstract. If they should pay attention to something, it has to be more visible and concrete.
photo taken from http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1428637
Similar examples of irrational behavior do not work by purchase of foodstuff. Despite it does not look like it, according to it, foodstuff are more utility than automobiles. They are supposed to provide essential living needs and they are bought by people daily. That is why a businessman has a problem to trick someone. His space for manipulation is smaller because the customer has an immediate opportunity to put things in a right place. In other words, the customer punishes manipulative businessman by not shopping at him next day. This of course does not mean that in supermarkets and hypermarkets do not work techniques which allows businessman to manipulate a buyer. When he wants for example get rid of some items, the best way how to do it is put them on sale. But sometimes it is not even necessary to organize sales which reduce salesman profit. For example, when staff enlarged size of price tags above juices in one hundred percent, their sale increased about one half despite the price remained unchanged. “Nothing was changed, just the way of communication.” The most important thing in process of goose sale is making product more visible in any possible way, like put towards to it a label saying “Daily low-priced”. Sale ability will become higher.
Other good example of how an important role plays subconscious in retail is impact of colors and music. When we spread out the pallet for example, colors which we have chosen cause us subconsciously pleasant feelings. It is proved by psychologist that warm colors like yellow, cause more positive effect on customers than cold colors. Even though we can find suitable color range intuitively, impact of music has to be tested. Try to mix likeable music and to choose optimal volume is a goal of every seller. It is necessary for it to cause pleasant feeling in customer but both do not distract him from shopping too much. Managers were surprised by the results. They found out that in stores where they broadcast on air music mixed in central office, was sale increased in eight percent in comparison with stores, where they let local managers to choose the music.
Similarly like colors and music, voice also affects customers to a large degree. That is the reason why financial products are promoted usually by male cultivated voice and the future and togetherness to operators offers fresh female voice. In their subconscious, people have encoded trust in deeper voices. Higher – pitched voices represents fun and youth, in other words also certain degree of an adventure.
Have fun and also to purchase:
Another example, how can a consumer, often unknowingly influence by the competition.
Installment companies have always mostly customers with lower education. When they begin to face competition that comes with the product with a lower interest rate, they try to promote sales of competitive activities and sales are stabilizing again. Competition plays now and in the past in the subconscious client big role. And in this way allowed to affect people with higher education, so who can most easily calculate that the installment competitive product is more beneficial to them than our.. Success of the action is attributed to the desire of people winning. In addition, they can play the game with a chance to win and are willing to replace older appliances or other equipment for the new ones although ,perhaps old are not break down yet and might work for several years.
Things that consumers are not aware, not only affect what and how much shopping but also what characteristics of the product assigned. Research has found that, among people consider ATMs with nicer design for easier to use than the traditional ones, but though in fact have the same control and there is no difference between them.
A similar effect has designs on satisfaction with the products. Donald A. Norman states in his book Emotional Design example with cars Mini Cooper from BMW. They do not compare with other cars almost nothing exceptional. In addition to the unusual design. For that fact owners are happier and do not irritate the potential errors as much as owners of other models. On the other hand, maybe the same part of the subconscious mind can have on product sales negative impact. First computers in the 80s of last century gained only a limited number of customers, especially students and graphic designers. According to some reviews, it was just a cute design that limited the potential to reach a wider market. For even held beliefs and psychological perception are determining what people buy and what not.
Photo taken from http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1371406
Win awards for all:
Examples that show what all the effects on consumers, without realizing it, are countless. Tell a story about the vulnerability of people who are seemingly programmed to make bad decisions. Just very little lacking to make them more or less to decide worse. Smart marketers know that when you ask people what is the probability that they something will try or buy, it will increase the chance that they it did easier. Similarly, with the "small push" customer desired direction, marketers just they informed that a decision weight before them did most other peopl and therefore it can not be bad. Make decisions according to other humans is well known many years. Desire to follow the proceedings community lives so strong that it can alter an individual's perception of reality, if people who surround him insist on they decisions.
Promotion on the Internet:
To facilitate accidental and may be potential customers of the company is a very good step in setting up a website. Visitor must have on your site a good feeling. Quality web design and well thought out site structure is an essential key to success. The result is always just your profit. To the content of the website is necessary to write high quality text, such that the potential clients will can understans and web browsers will to fill rich keywords (called keywords). This is a very complex matter. Quality text site is definitely the essentials. It is not necessary to its website immediately publish photos or videos of excellence quality, but a degree of discernment must be maintained. For making photo-documentation must possess processing capabilities of digital photography. This also applies about video records. No website ends by end of its creation. It is always to be reckoned with changes and various interventions to its content..
Product packaging is important factor:
In today's highly competitive environment is particularly true old familiar - packaging sells! Even the most perfect product is no perfect without original packaging and in market is very disadvantaged. Good packaging must fulfill a number of functions in perfect balance. Must take, to present, inform, protect. Packaging design is industry-specific design that always solves complex marketing problems, industrial and graphic design, technological, logistical and economic constraints. Perfect package these products must always meet the high demands. In consumer packaging can be considered a primary function to attract attention, inform and provoke a purchase. Among secondary functions can include the protection of the product itself, good storage stability, resistance under specified conditions and efficient logistic characteristics such as dimensions subpackaging optimized to reduce transport costs. In other words - does not need to carry air between poorly stored product packaging. In every sector of the packaging design are certain habits and specifications. These relate in particular types of packaging, the colors, shapes, fonts used and other attributes. A typical example of close to opposite ends of the food and can be electrotechnical industry. Buckling of sectoral practices may be specific cases, revolutionary and successful experiment of this type, it is advisable prior to serial production testing to verify the consumer sample. In simplified form can be described as "adaptation" packaging to market itself requirements. Testing can have a different methodology and scope. The aim is to statistically test group to pick a winner of several draft versions of the new packaging or packaging lines. Not always true that what pleases to marketing department must also good operate in the market. Testing largely helps to objectify elements of box design and adapt it to the real requirements of the market.
photo taken from http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1370974
Summary:
The design is the outward appearance of the work or part thereof formed by specific features, such as lines, contours, colors, shape, texture or decoration. We can say that the design is decoration or aesthetic value of the work. Generally, all that is unique to its shape, has the potential to be attractive to consumers. It is essential not only functionality and quality of products or services, but also appearance. Customer demands will be constantly increasing by increase of innovation competition and strictly it is necessary to arrange that the customer feel comfortable and refrained from buying because of the lack of transparency, poor design or other factors. One of the main characteristics of a successful company is its unique corporate identity, which includes the company brand and created awareness about it among consumers. Simply put - its corporate design that is necessary forming and improve into the actual ,immediately in birth of the company or during its restructuring.
There is no doubt that the future will reveal more of it, what signals and messages that have nothing to do with rational thought, customers send to the brain's subconscious and emotions. The flood of new knowledge will grow urge businessmen to manipulate or at least nudge people where they want regardless of the advantage. Then there will be even more important for them than it is today maintain ethical face., To achieve the objective, so that both become winners.
Processed by Daniel Kaplan
Sources used in preparing the article:
http://branding.krea.sk/clanky/obalovy-dizajn-sucast-marketingovej-obcho...
http://podnikanie.etrend.sk/podnikanie-riadenie/vylet-do-podvedomia-spot...
http://diamond-web.sk/webstudio-diamond-web/dizajn-webstranok-diamond-web/