The Importance of Visual Communication in Business

| July 7, 2019

communicationIn business, communication is key. Being able to adequately communicate complex ideas is the cornerstone of how businesses can grow their operations and scale their processes in ways that make sense. However, not all communication is the same.

In terms of a growing company, visual communication is among the most valuable to invest in and figure out, whether this is visualization in terms of data, branding, or training.

By applying a dose of visualization to each method of communication within your business, you can save time and money while increasing efficiency.

Here is some information about why visual communication is so important to businesses today…

Visual Communication Unlocks Digital Tools

There are so many digital tools today that make rapid enterprise growth possible, whether it is by reducing inefficiencies in a company, improving customer relationships, or gathering data to make important executive decisions for the future.

The problem with these digital tools is that they are incredibly complex and usually consist of more data than would be possible to read in our lifetimes. 

As such, it is important for there to be a visual method to showcase this data in a way that makes sense.

Software developers use a specific programming language that is specifically meant to help design visual models for this purpose: unified modeling language, or UML. UML enables charts, tables, and other visual representations to be generated from large datasets.

This makes it easy for personnel within a business to make critical decisions and conduct operations based on this data.

Here is a great article about how UML can be used to improve your business processes.

Immediately Convey a Message

communicationWe’ve all heard the old adage that a picture tells the story of a thousand words.

I think that estimate is actually quite small, but the efficiency of an image isn’t just in how much information you can show, it’s also in how quickly you can show it.

An image is able to register in the human brain thousands of times faster than audio and written language is able to.

It’s because of this that people are less likely to read an entire memo or listen through an entire phone message.

People pay attention to visual models, though, which helps more effectively spread a message throughout a business.

Visuals Stick in People’s Memories

If information is visualized, it’s not just easier to read right away. It’s also a lot easier for it to stay in your memory.

While the bogus information about people only remembering 20% of what they read is nonsensical gibberish, information is a lot easier for people to retain when you offer them multiple forms of media to consume it.

As such, putting your information in a visual form is going to help with the retention of your message.

Visuals Cross Borders

communicationAs businesses get larger, the growth will eventually necessitate doing business with someone in another country or who don’t speak your language.

As an enterprise reaches this growth point, they will probably hire translators and professionals who are able to facilitate that new hurdle in communication.

Nonetheless, it’s a major benefit to be able to share information in a way that you know won’t get lost in another language. 

This is where visual communication comes in. Using visual models to showcase data, information, and state your message is something that isn’t limited by a language barrier.

While certain nuances of visualization might differ by country and culture, it is mostly a universal method of communication.

Strengthen Your Marketing Processes

Most of what we’ve talked about is how to use visual tools to improve communication within an organization, or for B2B communication.

However, one of the most important aspects of using visual communication is to improve your B2C marketing efforts.

Consumers are bombarded with marketing information almost every waking moment of the day. In order to compete with that level of “noise,” you need to be able to stand out.

That’s where visualization comes in. If you have a message to deliver to consumers, you should be able to showcase it in a way that is entirely visual.

This will draw in their attention. At that point, your copy can help you deliver the nuances and specifics.

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Category: Business

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