In a rapidly changing world, every business needs to adapt to evolving challenges and new opportunities. Problems that Trigger Change in Design Thinking often require a business to redefine its approach, strategy, and product offerings that have brought it to the problem point. It is here that the design thinking process proves useful as it helps businesses solve these problems while being customer-centric.
This blog discusses how the steps of the Design Thinking process may help a business solve a problem that triggers change, why businesses must embrace change, and how these steps are applied in a practical example.
Recap: Problems that Require Insights and Innovation
We have learned in our previous blogs that there exist two important kinds of problems for businesses. There are Problems that Require Insights and Problems that Require Innovation.
Problems that Require Insights arise when businesses need to dig inside customer behaviour or feedback to find hidden issues. By gaining insights, a company is able to know what is really going on as it provides solutions based on what customers need.
Problems that Require Innovation are unique. These problems require new innovative ideas to be built because the old-fashioned way of solving things cannot work anymore. For example, if online shopping is taking over, a retail store might need to create a new hybrid shopping experience to stay competitive.
What are the Problems That Trigger Change?
Problems that trigger change are challenges that push businesses to make significant adjustments. They could be with respect to market change, new technology, or the revision of expectations for what customers can demand of them. They make businesses move out of their comfort zone and adapt to new realities.
For instance, let’s say a local grocery store realizes its customers now want more environmentally friendly products. This will require the grocery store to rethink the sourcing and packaging of products. That challenge brings about change, and the grocery store innovates and responds.
Why is change so important to Design Thinking?
Change is essential because of its role in helping businesses stay competitive. These Design Thinking process steps provide businesses with clear approaches to change, ensuring an understanding of customer needs and the development of solutions that work in the real world.
This is why design thinking principles are crucial when facing change:
Customer Focus: Design Thinking puts the customer at the center, and through this, it helps businesses create solutions that can actually meet customer needs.
Flexibility: The iterative nature of Design Thinking makes firms respond rapidly to evolve and change according to customer feedback.
Promotion of Innovation: Design Thinking forces companies to think out of the box and come up with innovative, out-of-the-box ideas to solve changing problems.
Examples of Problems That Trigger Change
Here are a few common examples of problems that force businesses to change:
New Technology: A company may need to adopt new technology to stay relevant, like adding online shopping options for customers who prefer to shop from home.
Environmental Regulation: Businesses will have to either convert towards 'greener' packaging or eliminate waste lines under the new legislation.
Evolution in Consumer Preferences: Customers might start demanding products that are sustainable, healthier, or otherwise better so businesses will have to change their product line-offs accordingly.
Example of Design Thinking Applied to Problems That Trigger Change
Let’s use the example of a local grocery store that faces changes due to customers wanting more eco-friendly products and packaging. Here’s how they might use the Design Thinking process steps to solve this problem:
Step 1: Empathize
The supermarket listens to its customers' concerns through surveys and interviews on plastic packaging, a desire for sustainability-related locally sourced products, and so on.
Step 2: Define the Problem
It defines the challenge by stating it like this: "How can we reduce our environmental impact and offer more sustainable options to our customers?"
Step 3: Ideate
The team bounces around several ideas, among them introducing a bulk section where customers provide their containers, using biodegradable packaging and more local products.
Step 4: Prototype
The store will test some of the ideas by setting up a small section for bulk goods and reusable shopping bags at the checkout lines.
Step 5: Test
They gather feedback from customers who purchase from this new bulk section. People appreciate the innovation but still ask for an increase in stock in the bulk section. The shop expands the stock and continues developing the experience.
By these steps of the Design Thinking process, the store transforms to better serve users’ needs with more sustainable shopping opportunities while improving customer satisfaction.
Ready to Apply Design Thinking to Problems That Trigger Change?
The Design Thinking process steps provide a clear, structured way for businesses to adapt to change. Whether it’s shifting customer preferences, new technology, or changing market conditions, Design Thinking principles help businesses stay flexible, creative, and customer-focused.
By following the Design Thinking process steps, businesses can turn challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Book a discovery call to explore how we can help you or your team become more innovative.
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