Design thinking offers a fresh operational approach to companies in a wide range of industries. While leveraging a concept from the art world seems counter intuitive, many businesses derive many advantages from its implementation.
Everything from product design to customer services stands to benefit from a design thinking approach. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the ways a company boosts its prospects because of design thinking. Perhaps it is something worth looking at to take your organization to an even higher level? Maybe your competition is in the process of adopting it?
Companies using Design Thinking outperform the S&P 500
One simple metric illustrates the advantages gained by companies adopting a design-driven approach to business. According to the DMI Design Value Index, companies using design thinking outperformed the S&P 500 by 228 percent over a ten-year period. The index includes publicly-traded organizations able to meet six design management criteria from the DMI – Design Management Institute.
The companies on the list include some of the most innovative in their respective business sector. Apple, Herman-Miller, Starbucks, Walt Disney, Nike, IBM, and Starbucks all remain successful in a wide variety of industries. Additionally, those listed businesses only make up less than half of the full DMI list!
Explaining the Advantages of a Design Thinking Approach
DMI dove into the details to find out how these design-led companies are able to significantly outperform the industry leaders on the S&P 500. In essence, these firms are the best of the best. DMI isolated the ways these organizations led the pack when it comes to business operations.
Ultimately, these industry innovators leverage design thinking to better understand what customers truly need. They are also able to reframe complex business problems into actionable solutions. These insights allow these organizations to devise products, services, and systems that give them significant strategic advantages.
Also, providing better customer experiences is a key factor in building the brand loyalty that generates long-lasting success. Customers don’t mind paying a premium for what they perceive as high-end products, as evidenced by many companies on the DMI index, especially Apple and Starbucks. This allows these firms to drive their profit margins even higher, leading to a dominant presence in their industry.
So, implementing some form of design thinking at your business offers the potential to truly grow your success. It needs to be considered no matter your industry.
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