Frontline Perspectives

Consider visual thinking to simplify a complicated sell.

Of the many unique challenges in b-to-b advertising, one in particular seems to come up all the time in discussions with my team and clients alike.

How do we satisfy the need to educate as part of the sales cycle while staying compelling, concise and on the path to close? After all, it is a sales cycle.

As with all marketing questions, answers abound. But, I’d like to highlight the use of “Information Graphics” (infographics) as an underutilized tactic in this area.

Infographics can be anything from simple pie or bar charts to typographic animation, from tag clouds on a Web page, to rich maps of multi-variable information. But what they all have in common is that they convey much (or all) of their messages through means other than words — through shape, size, color, symbolism, proximity, etc.

Tag clouds, for example, are not just communicating when the words are read. Half of the information they convey is about usage frequency, and this is represented by the relative size of the words to each other. Viola, it’s an infographic.

When you open communication to other, more visual techniques you can reduce your audience’s reading or listening fatigue. You can convey more information and more complex information with what feels like less effort. And you can focus your energy on being compelling and concise, and closing the sale.

PS: Visit DzineBlog for some infographics at the highly developed end of the spectrum. They are fun to explore, but don’t forget that simple stat charts are often all you need to reduce word fatigue.

PPS: Look for more posts on infographics in the future — like What Makes a Good Infographic. It is a favorite topic of mine.