Over the past decade, India has become a popular investment destination for global companies, as seen in the tremendous movement in private equity investments and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. Having said that, private equity and venture capital companies have been treading carefully due to deals gone sour in the past.

The biggest aspect for any investor to consider is the risk involved in investing. Business audits, analysis and management evaluations are done to minimise risks and extend the probability of an investment accruing high returns. Most organisations and investors form their strategy through the analysis of traditional methods. By studying recent failures, we can identify brands that have scored high in traditional analysis but still failed in the market. Many businesses have failed due to their inability to dig deeper into the emotions, experiences and relationships the brands can touch, create, and build. These aspects are centred on design and hold the key to a brand’s success.

Love at first sight

Design is not only about usability, functionality and attraction. It’s about understanding consumer senses, desires and aspirations. In this case, it would be fair to assume that a product, and in turn the investment, may fail due to the brand’s inability to create an emotional, deep-rooted brand with its consumers through design. This can be deeply affected by the historical and socio-economic state of the country and hence the design aspects need to be customised to each culture. A wrong decision in design can lead to the downfall of even the biggest global enterprises.

Apple has been successful primarily due to its ability to create a holistic product experience through its design. This has led to a strong emotional bond between Apple and its community of users.

Consumers were in search of a brand to come and sweep them off their feet and recognising this, Apple did just that. It was truly love at first sight. On the other hand, Motorola Razr created great excitement in the first phase of its launch due to its stunning design but soon failed due its poor user interface, and the brand’s inability to forecast the trends in consumer desires, aspirations and experience. Motorola was the first brand to prove that aesthetics can be a great attraction and in the first phase after its launch, did a splendid job of it. However, the brand failed to innovate.

This is an important case study for companies to understand that engineering, design and marketing are three essential pillars for a good product but without the brand’s ability to build an emotional relationship with its users, it is never enough for a truly great product!

It is integral for brands to know about the three key intervals of design innovation. They are:

Repositioning: This refers to a major change in the target audience’s understanding of the product. This, in certain cases, can prove to be a challenge, especially in cases of well-established brands. BlackBerry is a fine example. For years, the brand was known to make phones that were in line with the need of a corporate audience.

With multiple companies entering the same space, it was time for the brand to reconsider its product design to increase its user base. BlackBerry understood its security system was its USP and worked on it for the younger audience. With the repositioning, it was reinstated as the leading brand in the cell phone industry. Unfortunately, it forgot that innovation is a continuous process.

Reenergising: When a brand has been around for many years, consumers start taking it for granted. It is at this point that the brand needs to transform and reinvent so as to shift consumer focus back to the product. Reenergising is a process of making minor changes in the design so as to effectively engage consumers. This is an important step in creating loyalty towards the brand.

Design improvements: For a brand to create a strong recall factor, it is vital for it to constantly make design innovations that are in line with the changing behavioural pattern of the consumer. Apple is a prime example of a brand that constantly improves, innovates and understands to keep the bond with its consumers strong and undying,

So while management audits, business projections analysis and market studies are important, potential investors should not overlook the importance of design audits for consumer brands. A good design can lead to good business but a great design - a design with the ability to truly meet the aspirations and emotions of consumers and continue innovating to keep up the pace - will lead to a great business and powerful brand. A design due diligence at the pre-investment stage will reassure investors that the brand they intend to invest in does business smartly.

Shekhar Badve is Founder Director (Marketing & Strategy), Lokusdesign

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