Today’s business world is fast moving and ultra competitive. Competition is intense and customers expect better products and services. But products often don’t last long in the marketplace. Consequently, businesses need to create, develop and differentiate constantly in order to compete and move forward. Design is an integral part of this process, and one that can help them to win new business.

Design helps businesses to compete as it enables marketing messages to be made visible and understood. The most successful businesses have a culture of creativity that has become an integral part of their organisation, improving production, design, sales and marketing, and even finance.

Everything in a business is affected by design, from staff work-wear to packaging, corporate literature to technology and manufacturing. The impact of a corporate website, for instance, can be crucial in winning business as it encourages a feeling of security in your customers and suppliers alike.

Increased sales and profit margins can also be generated by design. Better products will obviously be more attractive and therefore generate more sales. But better designed manufacturing processes or service operations which match the flexible requirements of the marketplace will save time and money. Reduced manufacturing and warranty costs will increase your profits and easier servicing will increase the satisfaction of your customers and increase sales.

Improving your image through better design will give more people the confidence to do business with you, but understanding what customers want is vital. Look at how Orange have changed the way mobile phones are sold, or how Dyson wrestled the vacuum cleaner market away from more established manufacturers. Both have been achieved using design.