How is Product Design Useful For Marketers?

If you compare laptops and desktops, they are two types of designs of the same product - personal computers. However, in the past few years, we have seen the market share of desktops dropped drastically, and the usage of laptops has increased. This is all because of a simple concept called product design.

Definition:

Product design is vital in an organization or for brands, as it differentiates itself from others. You will always differentiate between a Levis and Killer jeans. Or maybe Arrow shirts are different than Van Heusen. This is because the designs and make is different. It is the way you arrange the features and benefits of the product presented to the customer. Sometimes, the design is also a benefit. When people were listening to Boom Box, Sony launched the Walkman, and it was a hit.

The design involved different technology which created the distinction between the two products. Later, Apple tweaked the concept and introduced iPods which consumed maximum market share. Now, Apple's AirPods are doing the trick

How is product design important in marketing?

Some of the crucial reasons design courses can be later influential in marketing organizations are -

1. If your brand has better design, it will stand out from the competitors.
2. Product designing is a massive crowd pull, especially in the technology industries such as laptops, smartphones, and so on.
3. Even machinery and services emphasize on product design. It brings about differentiation between efficiency and chaos.
4. Designs are of various forms. The better the acceptability of the design, the better the brand built for the organization. Nokia's brand created solely focuses on feedback 'user-friendly phones.' This was nothing playing around with the design of the product.
5. Most of all, packaging plays an essential role in designing products as they as the last point of influence and sales point of the company. Impressive packaging can make a massive difference.

The other aspect you need to consider is the investment vs the returns. Sony, a long time back. It launched a VILLA appliance that works like WiFi. It gave customers access to the internet within homes. However, the device was heavy that people could not move around with it. Soon, the acceptability dropped as it was not user-friendly. In a matter of months, the product failed.

Consumer behavior:

Product designs instigate consumer behavior heavily. Some of the best brands in the world like Louis Vuitton, BMW's American Tourister, are merely famous for their designs. These brands provide features that cannot be found in any other brand. Hence, brands that invest more in designs and include the consumers in the process are guaranteed to receive higher ROI and would be chosen over competitors owing to its user-friendliness.

Design process:

The product design process involves three steps -

1. Analysis: You observe your customers for understanding their behavior and note down the causes of hindrance in their purchasing process. Many times, marketers tend to skip this step since they believe it is not the job of the organization to think about what they require.
2. Concept: At this phase, you need to create various prototypes. These are basic ideas, and when compared with each other at the holistic level, some ideas seem better than the rest. Creativity is at its peak during this stage. This is where the R&D team plays a crucial role.
3. Implementation: Once you have decided on the prototype, you make a pilot launch of it in the market. If approved, the product heads into the production period