(Newswire.net — November 12, 2014) Nerang, Gold Coast, Queensland — Award winning Retail Interior Design firm, Cuschieri Design Consultants, based on the Gold Coast, Australia recently caught up with us to answer our questions about the importance of good design.
We sat down with founder David Cuschieri to find out the role that good design plays in business success. “Having been in the retail and food design industry for the past 15 years I have begun to see more and more, the level of sophistication that customers of retailers and food business owners have come to expect. It isn’t enough these days to simply have good coffee and great service. Customers expect it all. They want to buy from businesses that they know and trust and so design and branding has become very important”. David says
Branding is the secret sauce in a business that attracts customers to your door initially. Not only should good design be practical and functional, it must also illicit an emotion that makes customers want to buy from you.
Marketing Without Words
David adds, “We see retail interior design as ‘marketing without words’. The look, the ambience and how customers feel when they enter an establishment is vitally important. In fact, it starts before they even enter a business. It begins at the front door. Retail designers know that they have only a split second to capture the attention of potential customers as they walk or drive past a business”.
The shopfront must instantly captivate and enchant the customer to stop and walk into the business. The design of your business is your best calling card and what it says in that split second can make all the difference. Once you have the customer in your clutches, then it is time to weave your magic by providing value, exceptional service and a difference to your competitors.
David believes, good design can boost your bottom line by:
- increasing productivity through a well designed and functional space that ensures the best workflow is achieved
- safeguarding against accidents and injury down time
- attracting customers to your business through captivating and innovative deisgn and great branding
- creating an ambience and atmosphere that is conducive to the well-being of your customers that creates word of mouth, repeat business and new business
Never underestimate the value of good interior design says David. ‘Some clients will begrudgingly engage a retail designer because the landlord stipulates they must do so. Some clients at first don’t believe that the design makes a lot of difference to their business, but as they are more involved in the design process they begin to see that without good design they are starting their business on the wrong foot. Good design is an investment and should be treated as such”.
You Get What You Pay For
A good retail interior designer can help your business discover and bring out its point of difference so that potential customers ‘understand you’ in an instant. A designer can help attract customers; after all, what is a business without them? A good designer will ensure that no money is left on the table and that your business is fully optimized from the get go.
For example; David says that many clients underestimate the importance of good lighting and as such, will skimp on this facet of their business. “The right lighting for your business is integral to projecting how your customers will feel in your store, cafe or restaurant. Does the lighting need to be bright and really well illuminated to showcase the range of products you have on display or does your business require dim lighting such as a fine dining restaurant to convey mood and ambience?”.
The biggest tip that David can give existing or new business owners looking to open up a shop or start a café or restaurant is to hire the right people for the job. If you hire the right people you will get the job done right – simple as that. The saying ‘You Get What You Pay For’ always rings true. Good design is an investment and it can make or break your business, so finding the right retail interior designer who matches your wants and needs, is one of the first key steps in giving your business every chance for success.
So remember, a designer is much more than a decorator. Their job isn’t simply to ‘pretty up’ your business. Their job is to get to the heart of what makes your business unique and to ensure that this in sync to what customers are looking for. A good designer will think of areas you may not have even thought of. It is their job to take your ideas and business to another level. It is their job to listen and guide you and open your eyes to what the possibilities are for your business. An experienced retail designer will not only know how to point you in the right direction, but they know the pitfalls to look out for too. Additionally, they will know what regulations that need to be adhered to.
A good designer delves deeper and finds out about what is the core of your business and who your customers are. Once they have discovered this then this becomes the basis of the design brief so that every design decision from the layout and work flow down to the signage and graphics are in line with the brief.
Another way to see how design can boost your bottom line is to ask yourself the following questions:
- Would I be a customer of my business?
- What would I like to see, how would I like to feel etc. if I was a customer?
- What would make me want to come back to my business time and time again?
- How does my business compare to competitors?
Remember to answer these questions objectively. Good business owners constantly ask themselves these questions and put themselves in their customers’ shoes. Alternatively, you might like to ask a friend who will be honest with you to gain their feedback on your business. Collecting the answers to these questions will help to shape the design of your business so that it can be maximized to its fullest potential.
With over 15 years experience in the retail and food business, David Cuschieri from Cuschieri Design Consultants based on the Gold Coast can provide you with the advice, service and expertise to ensure that you design your business to maximize profits from day one.
About Cuschieri Design Consultants
Our designs turn heads. In a retail environment where businesses are screaming for customer’s attention and their wallet, that split second decision to enter your business counts. Our job is to create environments that captivate and delight your customers. With so many years of retail and food design experience, and with all of our business coming through word of mouth, remarkable is a word that is part of the vocabulary of everyone who does business with us. From the design process to assisting you with Council approvals and tendering for fitout, we can help you. If you are looking to make your business remarkable, let us help you to achieve it.