fEATURE what is the reaL vaLUe OF desiGn? Good design is the difference between a complex, frustrating interaction and a delightful experience. maRkeT expansIon ThRough 7 peRsona DevelopmenT anD useR unDeRsTanDIng 6 haRDwaRe/sofTwaRe/ With their special ability to understand and interpret people seRvICe InTegRaTIon and cultures, designers are well suited to help their companies assimilate what is required to capture the hearts and minds of Good design is the difference between a new types of customers, sometimes in new parts of the world. complex, frustrating interaction and a delightful Being in touch with both existing and potential customers experience. it could be your car dashboard, your has been an exceptionally successful tactic for Aloft, digital camera, or an app on your smart phone. Starwood’s newest hotel concept. Despite a tough market for Well-designed interactions can save us time, the hospitality industry, Aloft has opened 75 locations in just make us more productive, and even provide over four years and plans to open more than 30 more within the emotional support in practically everything we next few years, thanks in large part to thorough understanding do. think about this the next time you easily of its target customers. withdraw money from an AtM or, conversely, Conceived as an interactive, trendy hotel for plugged- close a website in frustration because it is too in young travelers, Aloft is designed to evoke an energetic hard to navigate. Clearly, customers are flocking atmosphere that encourages guests to socialize, rather than to companies that have gained a reputation for immediately retiring to their rooms. its super-modern style well-crafted interactions. and pioneering initiatives in music and technology have Coca-Cola has mastered designing generated significant press—and business. the franchise’s interactions that reinvent the way customers explosive growth since opening its first location in 2008 helped connect with its products, most recently to fuel Starwood’s 54 percent climb in stock prices emerging APPlE ForD HErMAN-MIllEr evidenced by its recreation of the fountain drink from the recession. Simply by using intimate customer machine. Marketed as “the refreshing new way knowledge, Starwood was able to identify and fill an unmet to express yourself,” the Freestyle, a touchscreen desire in younger travelers for a hotel experience akin to its IBM INTuIT NEWEll-ruBBErMAID soda fountain, allows users to customize their W Hotels line, as well as broaden the entry point to its brand, beverages by dispensing different flavor options making it possible to engage a wider variety of customers and along with their selected Coca-Cola product. cultivate longer-term loyalty. NIKE ProCTEr & gAMBlE the revolutionary machine allows for more in our recent recessionary environment, it is remarkable than 100 drinks, a far cry from the standard for a company to exhibit the leadership to develop and invest 8-option fountain soda machine it is quickly so heavily in an entire new category. Armed with the confidence STArBuCKS STArWooD STEElCASE replacing across the country. the company even of knowing its new customer so well, one can see it would be rolled out an app designed specifically to help less of a stretch for management to think boldly and take big customers locate nearby Freestyle machines risks in search of big returns. CoCA-ColA WAlT DISNEY WHIrlPool and share favorite drink combinations, among other activities. not only that, but each machine maintains a data connection to Coca-Cola APPlE ForD HErMAN-MIllEr IBM INTuIT headquarters and uploads information about each drink dispensed and all supplies used in real time, which creates critical conduits for NEWEll-ruBBErMAID NIKE ProCTEr & generating customer insights. 36 DMI Winter 2013 gAMBlE STArBuCKS STArWooD STEElCASE CoCA-ColA WAlT DISNEY APPlE ForD HEr