Design thinking is all about empathizing with the users of a product or service, defining their needs and their problems, generating ideas to try to solve these problems, creating prototypes, and testing them until we are confident we have found the best solution possible.
A design thinking workshop can be scheduled to get everyone in your team involved in this hands-on process that will help your business face different challenges. It’s also possible to learn the different steps of this effective, human-centered approach, and to put them to good use in different areas of your life and career.
Here are 7 reasons why design thinking is important in a business, and why you should consider learning more about it:
1. Design thinking allows your business to think outside the box and innovate
The design thinking process can help you face different challenges. You can use it to create new products, services or concepts, or to improve an idea that already exists, but is not fully meeting the needs or solving the problems of the people who use it.
By showing you how to generate ideas and test prototypes while always keeping the end user in mind, design thinking makes it easier for your business to think outside the box and to come up with innovative solutions.
2. It helps improve the customer service your business offers
Another important reason on why design thinking is important in a business is it improves customer service your business offers. No matter which industry your business is in, you have to be able to offer good customer service to your customers if you want to be successful.
Since design thinking teaches you how to identify the needs and problems of the end users, how to listen to what they have to say, and how to leverage their feedback to improve your ideas, the whole process will help you improve your customer service operations as well.
And when your customers find out how much you care about them and about their comments and complaints, they will be loyal to your business.
3. It brings more empathy into your company culture
Design thinking is very likely to bring more empathy into your company culture. For a business, having empathy for your customers means that you not only understand their problems and their needs, but that you are ready to do everything in your power to solve their problems and to meet their needs.
Obviously, this will result in satisfied customers who will be happy to recommend your product or service to their friends.
And when your employees have genuine concern for your customers, they will also have more empathy for each other, and for everyone they collaborate with.
4. It makes it easier for you to meet your clients’ expectations
Implementing the design thinking approach will also help you empathize with your clients so you can meet their expectations.
If a client is counting on you to create a new product for them, using design thinking will help you understand exactly what they want. You will then look for solutions, prototype and test them, and get feedback from end users and from your client.
You will then be able to provide them with a product that meets all their requirements.
5. It promotes collaboration and teamwork
Design thinking is not a process that only your design department should be involved in. Everyone can and should contribute to the process, even if they don’t know anything about design.
Your employees and managers can brainstorm together, talk about the different possibilities, and give their opinion. Design thinking is a collaborative effort, and it will be more effective if you have a diverse team of employees who are ready to work together to generate new ideas and create something great.
6. It leverages the experience and the ideas of everyone in your team
The whole point of design thinking is that many heads are better than one. Anyone can contribute their unique perspective, to see a situation from a new angle and bring creative ideas to the table.
The process will leverage the experience, the ideas and the opinions of everyone in your team, to come up with a more accurate representation of who your end users really are. Your employees are your most precious asset, and a design thinking workshop will benefit from their wisdom and their unique voices.
7. It helps you save a lot of time and money
Last, but not least, design thinking can help your business save a lot of time and money. Since your team will be building prototypes and testing them to get feedback from real users, you will not be investing your time and money in creating and marketing a solution that no one needs or likes.
Any product or service you create and market will be designed to meet real needs and to solve real problems. In that sense, design thinking is an investment that increases your chances of being successful.
