Strategies for Reconciling Design Thinking and Marketing Disputes
Transforming Markets: The Nestlé Case Study and the Rise of Design Thinking
In the world of business, disruption is often the key to success. Two industries outside their core domain, music and smartphones, were disrupted by a company that focused not just on the product, but on the entire customer journey – Apple. However, Nestlé, a company known for its chocolate, took a different approach to conquer a market, using design thinking and anthropological insights to transform coffee from a foreign novelty into a beloved staple in Japan.
In the 1980s, Nestlé acquired the KitKat brand and adapted it to Japanese culture. They offered over 300 different flavors, including Matcha Green Tea, and partnered with Japan Post to launch the postable KitKat. This innovative approach resonated with the Japanese market, and Nestlé has since dominated the Japanese coffee market.
The secret to Nestlé's success lay in their deep cultural understanding. They hired anthropologist Clotaire Rapaille to identify the reason for the sales mismatch. Rapaille found that Japanese consumers had no emotional attachment to coffee, as tea had played a major part in Japanese culture and was associated with social gatherings and happy memories. Nestlé imprinted positive emotions into children through coffee-flavored candy to change this perception.
In contrast to traditional business structures, Nestlé brought together design and marketing teams to work collaboratively. This collaboration led to the identification of opportunities to improve the customers' experience, such as creating associations with warmth, family, and routine, thereby embedding coffee into daily life and intergenerational memories.
The iPod and iPhone, on the other hand, were products of Apple's design thinking approach. Apple's designers explored problems and tested solutions to see if users would actually use them in their context. This focus on the user experience led to products that were not just functional, but delightful. Apple took control of every aspect of the customer's journey, from the product design to the user interface, to the apps available on its App Store.
The rise of design thinking in business is evident in the shift towards a more customer-centric approach. Design thinkers create user personas to understand the individual user and create solutions with the user in mind. They advocate for a "seat at the table" – the authority to make business decisions. This shift is reflected in the Business RoundTable's 2019 statement, where the core values of businesses were redefined to include investing in employees, protecting the environment, dealing fairly and ethically with suppliers, and supporting local communities.
In conclusion, Nestlé's approach to the Japanese market and Apple's disruption of the music and smartphone industries demonstrate the power of design thinking. By focusing on the entire customer journey, understanding the cultural context, and collaborating across teams, businesses can create products and experiences that resonate with consumers and lead to long-term success.
UX research was conducted by Nestlé to understand the emotional attachment of Japanese consumers towards coffee and tea, paving the way for designing a product that would bridge the gap.
The partnership between Nestlé's design and marketing teams, as opposed to traditional business structures, facilitated the creation of innovative solutions like the postable KitKat, tailored to the preferences of the Japanese market.
To ensure business decisions incorporated user-centric thinking, design thinkers advocate for having a "seat at the table" and creating user personas, practices that were amplified in the 2019 Business RoundTable statement emphasizing a shift towards ethical and employee-focused business practices.
