Here Are The Top Business Practices That Deliver REAL Business Value

When it comes to design, many people are often surprised to realize just how interconnected design is with best business practice – and success. Think Apple, Amazon, Tesla, or Netflix. These companies – all new – are masters of the design process, while also following great design throughout the company culture.

In turn, a quick look at the S&P Top 500 companies reveals that those who invested the most into their design, leadership, and business practice do infinitely better than others – including brands known around the world such as Disney and Nike.

One question that often gets asked is “what is design?” Well, it’s more than just pretty graphics. In today’s world, more and more consumers are shopping online, which means that the physical (store front) experience is dwindling, so the online (virtual) experience needs to stand out.

That’s tough in today’s world, but having great design is pretty much necessary for people to remember who you are. What seems to matter with these global departments most is not the design – but the fact that it goes through the whole company. It’s not locked up in the graphic design room: it’s a core part of the ethos of the institution itself, going on to inform everything that people within it do to a greater or a lesser extend.

It’s also worth noting that design isn’t just made then forgotten about until it looks a bit outdated. It’s constantly being tweaked for new products and experiences, making it a fluid product that’s full of evocative feeling: everyone knows when they’re looking at an Apple – it’s just known. That doesn’t mean that it’s just a feeling, though: every inch of that experience is measured to within an inch of its life to ensure maximum performance.

So, you’re not Apple, and you’re not going to go to these extremes (at least, not yet). But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take some lessons here right now, especially if you’re starting to expand your business and build a real brand – or just want to start building a presence behind the offers.

This means an integrated, almost holistic business in which each of the moving parts is connected – this can be tricky if you’re working with a remote team of freelancers, but it’s not impossible. What you can do is create systems that are leveraged by everyone.

That means setting up a central office – a place where everyone can meet, virtually or otherwise. Depending on your setup that could mean using an ecosystem of tools such as those found on the Google suite of tools, or it could mean a more customized set of tools and APIs.

Whatever you use, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and using the same workflow enables a certain centralization that keeps you in control of all operations: by design, it boosts productivity. Can this take a while to set up? Absolutely, but the reward is well worth it: there’s a reason that the biggest companies in the world focus on this – which is why you should make this an early focus too. The smaller you start, the easier it is to scale.

No matter what industry you’re in, you will also want to focus on creating a meaningful experience for customers. Once again, think of giants like Apple and Tesla: we all know what these mean and the experience we expect from them – that’s a special recognition reserved only for the world’s biggest companies.

It’s one that you can also come to enjoy by leveraging all your web properties into a coherent, branded whole that speaks to your audience directly, letting them know exactly what you are focused on, and the value that you deliver. The more you can weave this thread through everything that you do, the stronger the messaging becomes to the end user. Over time, that message becomes an unbreakable one that’s very tough to disassociate, and a powerful business practice that keeps you first and foremost in the minds of those interested in your industry.

At the same time, remember that your business is always growing and always evolving: whether going it alone or leveraging the talents of others, always be pushing for the best performance – that related to what your customer needs, a workshop of design and function that is focused on delivering a solution that feels flawless.

Consider the tech hub of Silicon Valley, where old big business has been upsized yet downgraded: it’s huge business, yet the formality of the old corporate giants is gone, replaced by creativity and innovation placed first. The consumer is king, and everything is created with a mind on how to attract, please, and keep the consumer. Now, it’s a case of working in real time to adapt to evolving situations, being close to the needs of the consumer and putting that need first in delivery.

Is all of this difficult to accomplish? Yes, it is – especially if you’re not surrounded by a top team of the best minds in the industry. However, it’s worth remembering that even these global giants all started out in a similar way to you: a garage or even a front room with an internet connection and an idea.

The key to their growth is the key to yours: a carefully designed business practice that’s always driving you and your future teams to be better. It’s that simple, and can also be that hard…