Designing demand

In a recession, new ideas matter more than ever for businesses looking to give their customers a reason to buy. Even before the current downturn, cutting prices had already become a risky strategy thanks to rivals in countries like India and China. Now more than ever, companies across the country are discovering that innovation and added value are better routes to competitiveness.

They’re also finding that design can speed up innovation. According to Design Council research, 30% of UK businesses and 46% of manufacturers see design as integral to their operations. But not every management team knows how to spot design opportunities for their business or make the best use of designers in realising those opportunities.

The Design Council has developed a support programme called Designing Demand that’s helped more than 1,500 businesses discover what design can do for them, and then mentored them through successful design projects. Its experts work with managers to scrutinise the business’s strategy, offering and markets and pinpoint ways for design to make an impact. In the process, managers develop the skills to choose designers, brief them and manage projects. In Yorkshire alone, 60% of businesses who have taken part said increasing their focus on design was helping them cope with recession. Among the benefits they report most often are increased sales (50%), better customer service (40%) and higher profits (36%).

One of the Yorkshire success stories is Naylor Industries, a family-owned drainage pipe manufacturer which had diversified into clay plant pots to make the most of its capacity but didn’t know how to make the new business pay.

‘We were engineers making functional products - if it did the job well, it was a good product. But there’s more to making pots than asking whether they do a good job. We had the germ of an idea but we didn’t know how to turn it into something commercially successful,’ says Chief Executive Officer Edward Naylor.

Designing Demand helped Naylor develop a Yorkshire Flowerpots brand and a range of products aimed at the quality end of the market and sold on their British origins, as well as being frost proof, a feature lacking in many cheaper imports. Sales have risen from £500,000 in 2005 to £6m in 2008/09. ‘It’s nice that a recent presentation at a major trade show credited us with bringing branding to an unbranded sector,’ says Naylor.

Innovation has rippled out through the rest of the business. Naylor has a more structured product development process than before and it’s telling that over half its sales come from products it wasn’t making five years ago. While Naylor used to offer just two ranges of clay pipes, it now has a 34-strong product range.

Increased innovation means increased ability to cope in the downturn, adds Edward Naylor: ‘It’s certainly helping us at the moment. Some of our competitors have seen their turnover fall by as much as 30 or 40 per cent but we are tracking last year’s figures.’ Innovation has also brought Naylor external recognition - the company was recognised as Best SME 2008 in the prestigious ImechE Manufacturing Excellence Awards.

The change that began with the Designing Demand programme means Naylor is a keen advocate for design: ‘Design is not just about aesthetics. It’s the creative process within the business. Design is fundamental, creating brands, products and an environment for businesses to move forward, not just sit back and wait to be attacked by cheaper competition.’

For further information on the programme and the benefits, visit the Designing Demand website .