The Significance of Design in the Business World: Your Company Can Make a Fortune! Really.
Hey! Today I invite you on an exciting adventure. Let’s step into a world where creativity and innovation embrace, accelerating the rhythm at the heart of the business world. Yes, I am talking about the magical world of design-oriented approach!
In almost all corporate companies, there is a resistance to design-oriented approaches that cannot be ignored. But this is not because people have negative feelings towards design, but because they don’t know enough about it. And of course, as designers, this makes us all uncomfortable, but few of us make the effort to change this view. There is no need to sulk or give up — we always have the option to use real data to convince our stakeholders that there is a much better way than the current one.
Rather than presenting technical data, this article will give you an overview and show you a few ways you can start or expand your research.
Today’s business world has become a rapidly changing and fiercely competitive arena. To succeed and stand out in this environment, companies need to move away from mediocrity and stand out with innovation and user-centered approaches.
Design is no longer just the exterior of a product, but a magical key that shapes the customer experience. If you are ready to explore the importance of design in business for your company’s future success, let’s get started.
Data-driven success stories
McKinsey’s “The Business Value of Design” report revealed the huge increase in revenue and shareholder returns for design-oriented companies. This report continues to resonate with the business world since it was first published.
According to the report, which analyzed more than 300 companies and more than 100,000 design actions, design-driven companies achieve 32% higher revenue growth and 56% higher total shareholder return than their competitors in the same year.
This data alone proves that design is not just a cost factor, but a strategic advantage for companies.
The power of user experience
The impact of user experience-oriented design can be easily demonstrated with concrete examples. At TurkNet, we are starting to reap the fruits of the user-oriented design approach we started to implement last year; in the last step of the sales channel on our website — despite the economic conditions we are in — we managed to achieve a purchase rate that increased from 7% to 10%.
Thus, we were able to show all our stakeholders how important user experience and a design-oriented approach are in increasing the likelihood of users choosing our products.
Of course, examples can be diversified, but what I want to talk about here is that making visible the gains of an approach that only one team has started to implement can provide data that will help the whole company to adopt this approach and support you.
Competitive advantage
A design-driven approach is the key to making a difference and gaining a leading position in a competitive market. The examples of MySpace and Facebook show how a design-driven approach can open doors to success.
MySpace was a failed venture in the long run because it prioritized short-term financial gains. Facebook, which served in the same segment for the same period, became the leader in the sector with its user-friendly design and innovative developments.
Andrew Chen, who interviewed an interaction designer from the MySpace design team, summarizes the failed product and the situation that led the company to bankruptcy as follows:
The MySpace redesign prioritized short-term monetization over user experience due to failed business fundamentals.
Cost and return balance
The cost of design is only an initial factor. According to Forbes, every $1 invested in user experience yields a return of between $10 and $100 per year.
Better-designed products can not only increase customer loyalty, but also reduce customer support costs, significantly increasing the return on investment in the long run.
If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to read this article from Forbes: “How UX is Transforming Business (Whether You Want It To Or Not)”
Investing in the future
Strengthening your design team helps the company achieve future growth goals. According to the McKinsey Design Index, companies that design better achieve at least twice the annual growth of their industry peers.
According to another study by Nielsen Norman Group, the ability to influence key business metrics (sales, customer satisfaction, etc.) is greatly increased in companies where design teams can report to product teams.
Design is becoming increasingly important in the business world and a critical factor for your company’s success. User experience, innovation, competitive advantage, cost-impact balance, and investing in the future all determine the role of design in business.
Your company should see design as a strategic advantage, not just a cost, and focus on empowering and supporting your design team. Remember that design shapes not only a product, but also a brand and a vision.
Of course, we have only seen a few tips and examples here. Exploring what we can do on this exciting journey offers a great opportunity to make a real difference in business.
I’d also be interested to hear your views on what your next steps are and what efforts you are making to prioritize design in the companies you work for.
