This year highlighted your business ’ strength and adaptability during difficult times . While many business owners overcame the hurdles COVID-19 threw before them , the goal is not to settle for what your business was pre-pandemic . As a business owner , you strive for growth , especially when times are tough . One way you can approach growth is by reevaluating the system you use for resolving issues . One process to consider is design thinking .
Design thinking is a multi-step , problem-solving methodology that encourages businesses to come to a human-centered solution . The core of design thinking centers around user experience and adapting to user needs . It is the marriage between what your customer needs , how your technology can be upgraded and what is feasible for your business .
THE STEPS OF DESIGN THINKING
The framework of design thinking flows between understanding , exploring and materializing , with six subcategories — empathize , define , ideate , prototype , test and implement — falling beneath these buckets . But what does all this mean ? Let ’ s go through them step by step .
EMPATHIZE
Design thinking requires you to understand your customers by considering what your customers do , say , think and feel . To best serve your clients , you must see how they are interacting with your business from their point of view . Observe their actions and take note . How you approach this step depends on your business . Do you analyze your website traffic ? Perhaps you should look at the data gathered from user online experiences . If you do not have digital data to analyze , consider sending out surveys to your customers via email . Ask them questions regarding any issues navigating your website and what changes would improve their experience when interacting with your business .
The more feedback and information you can gather about their customer experience the better .
Businesses often wonder how to approach customers on this topic and are pleasantly surprised to learn that asking to have a one-on-one conversation to get someone ’ s feedback is perceived as a positive by customers . While you may be tempted to think you need to speak with customers who weren ’ t happy with their experience , this isn ’ t true . Happy customers often have overlooked little cracks in your service deliverability but would be happy to see your business be even better . Don ’ t forget to also talk with your employees , especially if they represent the face of your business . They may have heard feedback that would be helpful at this step in the process .
BBB TRUST TALK 21