How creativity impacts business results

Creativity, in short, is increasingly another (crucial) part of doing business.

Business is changing and you can thank creativity for that. While the connection between business and creativity is not always immediate, the truth is they produce amazing results together. Creativity, it has been proven, is driving actual business results.

The question is: how, exactly, is that happening? How can we tie something as intangible as creativity to the more hard metrics practice that is business? Here are a few facts you should know about the importance of creativity for your business, based on a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe.

Most companies don’t think they’re creative

Creativity is broadly recognised as being important, but most companies don’t see themselves leading on that front. In fact, among business decision-makers who influence creative software purchases, only 11% considered their firms creative, while 10% felt their practices were actually the opposite of what creative companies do. In total, even 61% of companies don’t see themselves as being creative, which opens up a huge opportunity for growth.

Creativity grows business revenue

Did you know that companies that foster creativity are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers in terms of revenue growth? That’s a total of 58% companies that grew their business by 10% between 2012 and 2013, compared to 20% of less creative companies with similar financial performance. Creativity pays off – literally.

Creativity increases market share

Also proven: more creative companies enjoy greater market share and competitive leadership than their counterparts. Among the leaders in market share, creative companies tend to outperform their less creative counterparts by a factor of 1.5.

Creative companies are great places to work

More creative companies (69% to be precise) win recognitions as best places to work, since a positive work environment is a fertile breeding ground for creativity. On the other end, just 27% of less creative companies achieved similar accolades. Creativity and happiness at work go hand in hand!

Creativity is increasingly a part of the business agenda

Rather than pursue ad hoc accomplishments, most companies tend to set goals around creative outcomes (58%), collaborate with customers to achieve them (58%), work with executives to prioritise them (55%) and actively fund new ideas (48%) that come out of creative brainstorming and ideation. Creativity, in short, is increasingly another (crucial) part of doing business.

Creativity only works if leaders are on board

Regardless of the type of business or industry, it’s proven that creativity in a work environments only works if there’s total buy-in from executives and business leaders. It is key that senior leadership nurtures, funds and promotes programmes to increase creative capabilities, including early technology adoption and novel customer experiences.

We believe in empowering everyone through creativity and knowing how it changes both our personal and professional lives only drives us to keep doing so. Creativity is more than just making something original – it’s changing business by driving actual, tangible results. If you want to learn more about how it can impact your business as well, download our Creative Dividend free report here.