Design Your Small Business Or Die!

“We don’t have a good language to talk about this kind of thing. In most people’s vocabularies, design mean veneer. But, to me nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a manmade creation.” – Steve Jobs, CEO Apple Computer

Design. A Competitive Advantage

According to The DesignSingapore Council, it says: “In a crowded global marketplace, businesses can no longer compete on price and functionality alone. To be at the forefront of global competition, companies and even entire economies need the ability to constantly tap on new ideas, innovate and move beyond existing paradigms.

Design is at the heart of this new competition. By bringing together considerations of form, function, aesthetics, culture, engineering and lifestyle, the design process helps solves problems and creates new value and markets. Design is therefore critical to enhancing competitiveness and creativity in all stages of business—from product or service conceptualisation and development through to manufacturing, marketing and the design of user experience.”

These are big words for small business like us. However, the gist of it is that Design (Web Design, Graphic Design) is surely a force to be reckoned with, in particular for us small business.

Design. Or Die!

In a feature article for the Singapore’s Business Review (Oct 2005), Designed to thrill or kill?, Ken Koo, president of red dot Singapore, the local branch of the renowned German design institute bearing the same name said, “Design relates to so many industries, it’s one layer above everything… it touches everyone and can be a critical success factor for almost any business.”

On Creative’s Zen Micro MP3 player and Apple’s iPod, said the CEO of a company focused on product design:

“It’s simply not cool and the design aspect is not there. When you look at iPod, your jaw drops. You don’t care how much it costs. If you’re fifty dollars short you’ll steal another fifty to buy it.”

“Without good design, I don’t think we’d be where we are today.” – Ban Yinh Jheow, Chairman & CEO, STIKFAS

Design. A Strategic Tool

As Tom Peters, the brand/management guru, puts it in his book Re-imagine!:

“Design is hugely underrated as a “strategic tool”. Design is the essence of emotional attachment to a product, service or experience … and therefore the wellspring of the corporate culture (or “soul”) and of the “brand proposition” itself. Hence, “design mindfulness” … can be worth hundreds of billions of dollars… to a single firm.”

[Note: As an arsenal to add to your business resource, check out Tom Peters’ latest book Re-imagine! and discover crucial business truths and inspiration on leadership, innovation, design, or women in business.]

As a small-small business owner, this proposition becomes even more vital. You need to set yourself apart from millions of other small businesses. You need an identity with a personality (corporate identity). One that is unique. One that is YOU. The perennial question:

“If everything being equal, who would your customers go to buy their products or services from?”

Put yourself in your customer’s shoe. “Would I purchase this product/service from me if I were the customer?”

Make use of Design [graphic design] as a strategic business tool to expand your business opportunities!

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