Businesses need innovative ways to display their offerings that resonate with professional audiences, communicate value, and leave a lasting impression. Under current market conditions, how you present your products can determine the difference between capturing or losing interest. Focusing on strategic, visually engaging presentations can elevate your brand and strengthen connections with partners and clients.

Highlighting product benefits through contextual storytelling

Going beyond basic product features and diving into real-world applications is crucial when engaging with other businesses. Contextual storytelling enables you to frame your product in scenarios that resonate with your audience. Rather than simply listing benefits, create a visual narrative demonstrating how your solution solves common challenges. For example, if your product improves efficiency, illustrate its impact with data visualisations or diagrams comparing time saved before and after implementation. Consider creating a photo collage that showcases your product in various contexts, highlighting its versatility and effectiveness in real-world situations. Including case studies or testimonials within these stories makes the content more relatable and credible. Showcasing tangible outcomes builds trust and helps decision-makers envision how your product integrates seamlessly into their operations.

Designing product overviews with professional simplicity

Simplicity is key when presenting to business professionals. A clean and professional product overview enables clients to focus on the essential aspects of your offerings without feeling overwhelmed. Focus on clear layouts that segment information into digestible sections, such as technical specifications, benefits, and pricing. Including high-quality visuals like diagrams, charts, or product snapshots helps break up text while maintaining visual interest. Use a structured hierarchy with consistent fonts, corporate colours, and logical flow to communicate professionalism. This approach reinforces your brand identity and caters to the time-sensitive nature of business clients.

Showcasing products through interactive demonstrations

Interactive demonstrations add a dynamic layer to your product presentations, offering an experiential glimpse into how your solution works. Whether a prototype walkthrough or a clickable demo, interactivity allows clients to engage directly with your product. Consider integrating features like 3D models or animations that showcase product functionality in a detailed yet accessible way. For instance, a company manufacturing industrial machinery could create a virtual model that lets clients explore its components and features. Interactive content also works well during webinars, client meetings, and trade shows, where live engagement can leave a lasting impression. This hands-on experience gives clients confidence in your solution, positioning your brand as innovative and transparent.

Custom visual layouts to highlight product versatility

A cohesive and creative layout ensures clarity and impact when presenting a diverse product portfolio. Custom layouts help organise multiple offerings in a way that underscores their unique selling points without sacrificing visual appeal. A business that offers various solutions, such as office supplies or software suites, might group complementary products with annotated highlights for each. This approach ensures that potential clients see how individual products fit into a broader solution tailored to their needs. Use design elements like grids, alignment, and whitespace strategically to maintain professionalism. These layouts can be applied across presentations, brochures, and online platforms, ensuring consistent communication.

Personalising presentations for targeted audiences

Clients value tailored solutions that address their specific needs. Customising your product presentations to reflect the recipient’s industry, challenges, and goals is a powerful way to showcase relevance and expertise. For example, a packaging supplier pitching to a food company might emphasise its eco-friendly materials by including examples of existing partnerships with other food brands. Similarly, a technology provider could customise its demo to include industry-specific use cases, such as retail inventory management or manufacturing automation. Tailored content demonstrates a deep understanding of your client’s business and enhances your pitch’s persuasiveness. Keep templates adaptable and refine them for each interaction to achieve the perfect balance of preparation and personalisation.

Leveraging visual data to strengthen impact

Data-driven insights hold significant weight in business decision-making. Infographics, charts, and graphs are excellent tools to present data visually compellingly, allowing you to back your product claims with concrete evidence. For instance, a cybersecurity company might use a bar chart to showcase how its solution reduces breach incidents over time, while a logistics provider might illustrate improvements in delivery times with a line graph. These visuals should align with your narrative, making it easy for clients to understand and remember your key points. Be selective with the data you present, focusing on statistics that address pain points and reinforce the value of your solution.

Elevating brand identity with cohesive design

Consistency in design across all product showcases reinforces your brand identity, making it easier for clients to associate professionalism with your company. Branded design elements such as logos, corporate colours, and typography unify your messaging and create a polished image. This approach is particularly important in multi-channel presentations, where clients may interact with your content across brochures, digital presentations, and online platforms. Consistency builds familiarity, which can strengthen trust and brand recall. Incorporate subtle branding in all visual materials to maintain professionalism, such as watermarked logos or branded icons, without overshadowing the content.

Hiring conditions remained challenging in December, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England survey. Permanent placements were down at the quickest rate seen since mid-2020, while there was a sustained rapid drop in temp billings. At the same time, vacancy trends turned more negative in December and the supply of workers increased at a quicker rate on the month. The KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to around 150 recruitment and employment consultancies in the North of England. Decline in permanent placements deepens in December The seasonally adjusted Permanent Placements Index fell further into contraction territory in December, to signal a substantial drop in permanent staff appointments across the North of England. The rate of decline was the fastest seen in four-and-a-half years and the second-quickest regionally, surpassed only by the South where the downturn was slightly faster. Survey respondents linked the contraction to reduced vacancies and increased hesitancy among firms to hire following the Autumn Budget. December data pointed to a second successive monthly decrease in temp billings across the North of England. A drop in demand for short-term staff and the non-renewal of contracts drove the latest downturn, according to respondents. Though slower than November’s recent record, the rate of decline in December was nevertheless strong and faster than that seen for the UK overall. As in November, December saw a further drop in the number of job vacancies for both types of staff across the North of England. The trend for permanent job openings turned more negative in December. The decrease was marked and the quickest since August 2020. Regionally, the South of England and the Midlands recorded a faster drop in permanent vacancies than that seen locally. Meanwhile, temp vacancies fell solidly and at the quickest rate seen for four-and-a-half years in December. Further substantial rise in permanent staff supply There was another substantial boost to permanent staff availability in the North of England in December, thereby stretching the current run of uplifts to exactly a year. The latest increase was linked by recruiters to a rise in redundancies and skills mismatches. The local pace of expansion accelerated to its strongest for seven months and remained faster than the UK average. Recruiters based in the North of England signalled a further robust rise in temporary staff supply during December, thereby extending the current trend of growth to 22 months. Panel members often linked the improvement in the availability of short-term staff to the ongoing market downturn. The local uplift in temp staff availability in December was more pronounced on the month and slightly stronger than the UK average. Strongest rate of starting salary inflation for four months Recruitment consultancies in the North of England pointed to another monthly increase in permanent starting salaries in December, thereby extending the current sequence of growth to nearly four years. The respective seasonally adjusted index rose in each month of the final quarter, placing the rate of inflation at a four-month high that was strong overall. Panellists linked the rise to increased competition for skilled staff. Of the four monitored regions, only London posted faster salary growth than that seen locally. December survey data signalled a thirteenth consecutive monthly rise in short-term wages across the North of England. Amid another marked increase in the availability of temporary staff, the rate of inflation was only marginal and subdued by historical standards. The rate of temporary pay growth across the North of England was largely in line with the UK trend in December. Phil Murden, Yorkshire Office Senior Partner at KPMG UK, said: “The steepest drop in permanent hires since mid-2020 shows Yorkshire businesses continue to navigate a complex labour market. “This, compounded by a broadening gap between supply and demand of permanent and temporary staff points to a challenging outlook for 2025. It’s clear that many businesses remain cautious about hiring. “That said, a new year brings new opportunities and with recruitment consultancies reporting the strongest rate of starting salary inflation in December, 2025 could see an uplift in skilled staff hires to drive growth plans.” Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, said: “This report emphasises a weak mood in some businesses as they built their budgets for this year, and made changes designed to save on costs after a tough Budget. That said, sentiment can change quickly. There was a softer drop in temp billings signalled in the North. “December is always a hiring low point, and a new year brings new hope – with inflation under control, low unemployment and economic growth expected, the fundamentals are better than many appreciate. “It is what happens now, as firms return to the market in January, that will decide the path ahead. Recruitment is one to watch in early 2025 because it is one of the earliest indicators of a broader economic recovery, with any sign of a turn hugely significant with the sector contributing a massive £44.4bn to the UK economy in 2023.”

It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.  It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. Here we speak to Jeremy Hughes, Director at RBH Properties and developer of Pennine Five in Sheffield. Following a challenging 2024, marked by continued political uncertainty and the Autumn Budget, the commercial property market is entering 2025 with far more clarity. While some economic challenges remain, occupiers and landlords now have a clearer vision of what’s needed – high-quality, flexible spaces that not only appeal to employers but also meet the needs of employees. The good news is that the ‘return to the office’ is definitely happening. Businesses are starting to take their office space seriously again and understand the crucial role it plays in attracting and retaining talent. I expect this trend to gain even more momentum in 2025. However, due to the challenging business environment of recent years, not every business can afford to step into a new Grade A development. And even if they can, many cities, Sheffield being one, have a limited supply of brand-new commercial developments – an unfortunate legacy of Covid-19. Therefore, it’s essential for cities to strike the right balance in their commercial offering – delivering more affordable high-quality spaces that still feature outstanding amenities and flexible leasing terms, to complement flagship developments. We’re seeing this combination prove very popular at our revitalised Pennine Five office campus in Sheffield, which is attracting a diverse mix of technology SMEs, innovation firms, and serviced office providers like Spaces. I’m confident that 2025 will be a strong year for the commercial property sector.