Designing for Brand Loyalty
by Stormy Grinnell of Matre Design

A team of Industrial Designers begin a project, and they're like a bunch of students again, focusing all their attentions on the product's function: How will it be used? How can we improve functionality? What is the environment that it will be used in?

While these questions are important to define immediate objectives and identify needed features, a team of designers at an integrated design firm, working closely with the marketing department, or at least with a lead designer looking to keep the money flowing past summer break, know there's a lot more to ask.

As designers, we must look beyond the product's immediate physical use to its entire life cycle when setting our goals. By approaching a project with the intent to improve each phase of the product's life, we have the opportunity to enhance the entire experience for consumers.

Products easily leave long-lasting impressions on customers. A truly successful one creates a positive image of, and preference for, its brand. That darned elusive experience so blithely referred to as Brand Loyalty; it doesn't happen by accident or good design alone.

The following graph identifies seven phases of a product's life cycle and indicates how much time a consumer might spend in each phase. Although actual data on any given phase will vary from item to item and consumer to consumer, the underlying principles transcend most products.

The more phases that provide a positive experience for the consumer, the more likely the consumer will purchase that product and brand again. Therefore, as designers, we should know each phase well. Let's meet them:

Consumer Awareness. We tend to assume that the job of creating public enthusiasm for a new or redesigned product rests solely on Marketing's shoulders. The fact is, however, that if the product is poorly designed, has no marketable features, or omits popular features of other comparable models, then it is doomed to fail.

Look at any product that was hyped before market introduction and then enjoyed continued success after months, even years in the marketplace - sometimes even at a premium price. Chances are good that design played a major role in the success of the product and Brand (Mercedes Benz, iMacs, Sub-Zero). Better yet, how about a Brand that has had years of success with little or no marketing support to speak of (Harley-Davidson)? These all have those kick-ass touches that just work so well their users have to talk about them, use them, share them, and buy them again...

Purchase. Just as good design can help generate awareness and heighten consumer interest in a product, designers can have an enormous impact on consumer experience during the purchase process. This is another point where designers must ask themselves and the client additional questions.

We have all made "impulse purchases" at some point in our lives or another. Certainly not a car or a computer, but I don't think there is a wife out there that doesn't shudder every time her husband announces he is just going to the hardware store for a couple of nuts and bolts (or the opposite when she says she just needs to stop for some hose).

Design can help influence consumers into these impulse buys in many ways. By differentiating the product from the competition via form and color certainly will increase the shelf appeal. But once it has caught the attention of that consumer, the features and benefits should be visible (and intuitive) to the potential user when possible. Some of these details could be brand specific or new and innovative ways to utilize that product.

By examining the entire buying process, defining consumer expectations and articulating purchase behavior parameters, designers can help shape and enhance how a products "communicates" to potential consumers.

Orientation/Assembly. Often a consumer's initial experience with and first impression of the product occurs when it's taken out of the package and assembled. How many times have we encountered a product that was complicated and frustrating to assemble, and thought to ourselves, "Who designed this?" What was your impression of the product and brand at that point? Turn those curses to accolades by making it extremely easy to set-up, modify and customize the piece.

Use. Naturally, it's important to address issues surrounding the use of the product and examine how industrial design can improve the functionality of a product. By studying how the product is used, who uses it, what precisely it's used for, where to use it, etc., a designer can significantly impact this phase of a product's life cycle. Traditionally, very detailed, albeit laborious, research has been the focus of successful designers and is still a very important facet of product development.

Storage. As our life cycle graph indicates, most products spend more time in storage than in any other phase. While it's easy to see the impact design has on the Use phase, designers should recognize the role of design in the Storage phase is just as important. If a product is not compatible with the storage available in its environment, or is difficult to transfer to and from storage, the likelihood of use or continued use is reduced dramatically. This can be a serious concern for those clients that rely on residual sales off a hard good product (filters, chemicals, etc.).

Maintenance/Cleaning. Change the oil. Clean out the lawn mower and sharpen the blade. Wash out the food processor or blender. Undoubtedly, the consumer's least favorite activity involves cleaning or maintaining a product. If these needed steps are too cumbersome or costly, it can give the consumer negative thoughts that will adversely impact the brand. As more and more people realize the benefits and cost savings of maintaining products themselves, it is important that design consider the ramifications of this life-cycle phase.

Disposal/Recycling. Environmentalists contend we could furnish entire third world countries with the stuff stored in America's attics. The fact is we live in a material culture - all the more reason design must take into account a product's life after use.

Designers and engineers have done a remarkable job of specifying materials that are recyclable and minimizing the use of toxic coatings, paints and processes. By making the products we design better, more functional and easier to use, we can extend the overall life of the product and help reduce the amount of waste.

Certainly, this is one of the more difficult phases to address and requires the attention of everyone, not just designers. But it deserves our utmost attention to ensure a quality of life for many generations to come.The likelihood of a consumer purchasing the same brand repeatedly is proportional to the number of positive experiences he encounters in each of a product's life phase. The bottom line is that if the product is designed well enough to create these positive feelings, sales will rise. If not, sales will fall. So it is clear to see that the activities and results of a design team have not only a large impact on a company's brand, but their fiscal well being as well. But that is a story for another day.

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