In times of doom and gloom - revitalising your services and sales could be vital to survival
In these times of projected economic hardship - the initial instinct of
many businesses is to batton down the hatches and try to ride out the
storm. At the same time, we know that people become more particular in
what they need in terms of services and products, and being able to
differentiate yourself from the competition is vital in order to make
sure that you survive in the increasingly difficult market conditions,
which is why we are going to be seeing many large brands relaunching/
rebranding themselves in the coming months.
Proof from the Design Council that businesses that utilise design do better than those that do no, based upon the Value of Design Factfinder which shows the positive impact of design on practically
every measure of business performance in terms of market share, growth,
productivity, share price and competitiveness. Here is a brief list of some of their finding -
- Two thirds of companies who ignore design have to compete mainly on price.
In companies where design is integral, just one third do so.
- More than eight out of ten design-led companies have introduced a new
product or service in the last three years, compared to just 40 per cent of UK
companies overall. 83% of companies in which design is integral have seen their
market share increase, compared to the UK average of 46%.
- Design is integral to 39% of rapidly growing companies but to only 7% of
static ones.
- 80 per cent of design-led businesses have opened up new markets in the last
three years. Only 42% of UK businesses overall have done so.
- A business that increases its investment in design is more than twice as
likely to see its turnover grow as a business that does not do so.