Over the years, companies big and small alike have come to adapt design thinking practices as a way to develop effective solutions and drive business growth. Some of the world’s famously innovative companies like GE, 3M, and IBM are known for putting the user at the centre of their problem-solving approach.
While design thinking may catapult businesses into the realm of the awe-inspiring, there are many practical benefits that can boost the bottom line, such as a meaningful brand experience, effective resource allocation, highly collaborative teams, and more. Hence, it’s no surprise that more companies are bringing design into big business decisions.
What is design thinking?
3M’s Chief Design Officer Eric Quint describes design thinking in a 2017 Cheddar News video as a creative problem-solving approach that stimulates collaboration within teams and companies. By using design thinking, businesses can come up with ideas and solutions that are relevant to customers.
Expanding on the role of design and innovation in helping companies to grow, Quint highlights that its application is also “very much about brand experience.”
“Whatever you create is making up the brand and the experience around the brand,” he notes. Remember, it is not about the product itself, but also the interfaces of the products, the point of sale, and the many other elements that makes up the brand experience.
Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that is widely used in business and design contexts. The basic idea behind design thinking is to come up with creative solutions to problems by considering the user's needs and wants. This can be extremely valuable for businesses, as it can help them to create innovative products and services that meet the requirements of their customers.
There are five stages of design thinking with the first three being: empathising with the user, defining the problem, and ideating possible solutions. In the first stage, businesses need to understand the needs and wants of their target market. This can be done through market research, surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Once businesses have a clear understanding of their users, they are better able to determine the pain points and bottlenecks that are preventing customers from having an optimal experience.
In the second stage, businesses need to define the problem that they are trying to solve. This involves coming up with a clear and concise statement that summarises the issue. Once the problem has been defined, businesses can start focusing their efforts on coming up with potential solutions. In the third stage, teams must collaborate and allow creativity to flourish.
The fourth phase has to do with prototyping or bringing the proposed solution to life. Lastly, teams must then test their ideas in the real world and iterate as necessary.
How to use design thinking for business growth
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, design thinking can give businesses a competitive advantage. It helps businesses to create products and services that are tailored to the needs of their customers. Additionally, it encourages out-of-the-box thinking, which can lead to more innovative solutions.
Companies can use design thinking to grow their business in a number of ways. Firstly, to help businesses create better products and services. Secondly, it can also enable brands to improve their customer experience. Lastly, design thinking also allows companies to improve their internal processes, which leads to greater efficiency and productivity.
If you want to use design thinking to drive business growth, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, you need to start with your customers and understand their needs. Once you have a good understanding of your target market, you can better assess whether your proposed solutions properly address their pain points.
After that, design thinking should be used as a tool to generate new and innovative ideas. These ideas can then be tested and implemented in order to take your business to the next level.
Quint says it all starts with the mindset. He suggests understanding first the difference between design thinking and design—the latter being the art and craftsmanship of products and solutions. The former, on the other hand, refers to a collaborative problem-solving approach.
Design thinking principles are improving not only how products are made, but they have also influenced the development of business strategies because of the strong focus on solving customers' problems and needs.
We’ve seen how design thinking is not limited to product design. Business leaders can adopt the design thinking mindset to better serve their customers and take care of their bottom line.
For companies to remain relevant, they need to understand what makes a successful brand or customer experience. Join SMU Academy’s Design Thinking - Innovation Management Tool, which is one of the modules taken in the Graduate Certificate in Innovation programme. Develop the capacity to create and implement solutions that will keep you ahead of the competition. Find out more about the course here.
