Good design is good business, a famous quote by Thomas Watson Jr of IBM fame, and one which in these difficult times has become more relevant than ever.
Designing your business for success has the same properties as designing a new product for success; it must be functional, efficient and look good.
Putting aside aesthetics for the moment; functionality and efficiency are two fundamentals that support a strong brand. In this current climate your business needs to be functional more than ever. It needs to fulfill a need of the customer, businesses that will continue to thrive during this recession will be the ‘essential buys’; the bread and milks of the world, those indispensable items businesses and consumers cannot live without. However, this ‘essential buy’ must be efficient, it must deliver to the buyer’s expectation; quality for money is at the forefront of every buyers mind during a recession.
Like any product once developed you need branding to communicate, sell and persuade your target market. If functionality and efficiency are the script and props of your company then branding are the actors bringing it life, and during this recession branding has became more important than ever.
A report in March revealed that 64% of UK business owners saw successful rebranding as a route to gaining “a competitive edge in a downturn”. 56% of marketing directors of blue chip companies also believe that a downturn is the best time strategically to rebrand, with a new identity seen as a “bold embracing of change”.
Further to this the Design Council has revealed that British Businesses…
- … are looking to design their way out of downturn. Over half (54%) of the firms in our survey thought design would contribute to a large or great extent in helping maintain their competitive edge in the current economic climate.
- … think design is more important now. Similarly, 53% thought that design had become more important in helping the firm to achieve its business objectives over the last three years.
- … think design is integral to the economic performance of the UK. The same number agreed or strongly agreed that design is integral to the country’s future economic performance.
This tells us that not only is design integral to coming out of the recession (relatively) unscathed but also that everyone else is in on the game, so how do you really gain a ‘competitive edge’ in the branding stakes when everyone else is sitting with a pencil and sketch book pondering the same thing?
- Have clear direction; know where you are taking your product or services and position the company with a clear point of view. Use this point of view to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
- Channel all effort on creating one solid brand, not numerous different brands which make up the one company.
- Make consumers aware of what your business strengths are, focusing on quality and value.
- Tell people about your green credentials and CSR.
- As everyone else slashes their marketing budgets their brands voice will quieten- what should you do? Turn it up.
