It’s the first time that you’ve thought about getting help from a product design consultancy then you’ve probably got a problem that you’re trying to solve and are considering the options available and the benefits the expertise of a design expert could help. It’s likely that you’ve come across an issue that you don’t know how to solve or don’t have the resources available to solve or have a problem that makes it impossible to resolve within your company. It almost always comes down to a combination of factors in the workplace, typically lacking time, expertise and agility, or even resources. You could belong to one of the following groups:
You’re not equipped to resolve a problem at home
You don’t have the time nor resources to resolve it at home.
You’re not able to solve the problem in the timescale
You need to create something completely new, however internal efforts have resulted in predictable results.
A product design consultancy will be able to solve all these problems. Based on your company’s size and its size, the industry and your place in it design consultancy can offer you different benefits and advantages.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the advantages having a design consultant from the viewpoint of the client as well as the different issues they can address. Here are 10 good reasons to consider working with a consulting firm.
Reasons to hire consultants for design
1. Consultancies could have knowledge you don’t
The design and development of products by different firms are the same and they tend to specialize in various fields. Some focus on strategy, while some are more creative, others specialize in more technical fields , such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices. In the case of your particular challenge you might find an agency that has expertise where you do not , which could mean that you don’t have to spend time developing these abilities in-house. The search for a design company such as Flynn Product Design Agency who know your business and have the expertise they require can provide useful insights and save you time and cash.
2. It is better to focus on results rather than on the details
When you decide to work as a consultant you will be hiring a ready made design team that has methods and procedures for solving problems that are already established. The company you choose to work with will have an executive in charge of the project to keep things in order and technical people that can engineer solutions to issues that might otherwise take up your time, energy and attention. That means instead of needing to tackle every issue you can take a step back and take a bigger picture view of your project. It allows you to focus on the context of your business and the value to your stakeholders. It will help to keep momentum going and the enthusiasm for a project.
3. They may have solved a similar issue prior to
Sometimes you will find designers from a design firm who have already done something similar, they might have created an identical product, been working in your industry previously or worked on a similar problem in a different sector. In any case what is obvious from these is the fact that they will probably already have an excellent understanding of your industry, your customers or the problem in hand. They may also have a solid understanding of the regulatory and technical factors and be able to help solve the issue more quickly and with less effort.
4. You don’t have enough time or resources at your disposal
Sometimes, it’s not a lack of knowledge or experience that you’re experiencing, it’s the lack of access to these resources. There may be hundreds of engineers and designers in your company but they might be occupied with other projects or sustaining existing products. The product design consultancy could be a design department that you are able to parachute into your company to tackle a specific issue without sacrificing focus on other crucial projects.
5. Internal development would take too long
If your company is large then the chances are everything takes quite a long time. Especially product design and development. There are many reasons for this and it is a trend that gets more severe the larger the business is. Design consultancies can be efficient businesses and large enterprises have the benefit of working with consultancies for product design for their creativity, agility and problem solving ability. Even if you’re not very large, given they focus on product design and engineering, consultancies are usually geared to accomplish tasks faster than you can internally.
6. You want a fresh perspective
If you’ve tried to come up with fresh ideas but continue to come up with predictable results you might want to reconsider the way you run your business. One of the main responsibilities of a design consulting firm is to question how you conduct business and provide you with options based on their own, independent research of your customers’ needs and market. The solutions they offer are things you might not have considered (otherwise where’s the value?). Transferring your problem to someone outside your company to resolve it can provide innovative and creative solutions, particularly when guided by a strong design thinking approach.
7. You shouldn’t be able to hire for a project that is only short-term
Another benefit of working with a product design consultant is that you have access to a pool of skilled and innovative people who are usually proficient equipped with the latest equipment and following an organized product design procedure. A product design consultant can function as a plug and play design department for your organisation and should be able integrate and come up to speed quickly. The benefit is that you don’t need to find a new employee which is especially beneficial if it is only a temporary demand or you want to get moving quickly. If you have an immediate project that requires a team but you don’t have the time to find, working with a consultancy is a viable option for you.
8. You can do more in less time
A product design consulting is the equivalent of a design engineering department within your business. While also providing a place for new depth of ideas and fresh concepts, having a design consulting firm on board can enhance the capacity of your company to manage more projects simultaneously. Your consultant will take care of coordination and management, assigning the appropriate technical and project managers for the projects. You can send them several reports or even give them multiple design consultancies for different projects to speed up your development.
9. They can step in if you lose key team members
Business aren’t always fully resourced and even when they do, the balance could shift when one of the team members leaves or a new possibility or problem arises in which the team is not equipped. Design consultancies, as a rule are typically able to offer diverse people and expertise, and frequently will have staff members who are able to step in to fill a gap at short notice. This is particularly beneficial since finding the right person and replacing skills lost can often take months.
10. You don’t have to establish an internal design team
If you don’t introduce new products frequently it can be costly and ineffective to hire a designer or design team within the company. You could collaborate with a product design consultant when you are working on a new project and then when the project is completed, you aren’t subject to any additional legal or financial obligations. This can help lower the risk of losing knowledge because of employees who leave your company, especially if your company is small or has a small design team.
Which of these applies to you?
It is likely that at the very least one or two of these points apply to you. From the largest to the most small of businesses at some point, the majority have been experiencing a combination of these pain points. From startups who lack expertise in specific areas, to global businesses that are threatened by the rise of challenges and that need to be more agile. The issues are common and if you’re faced with a new challenge you might be wise to speak to the services of a few consultancies.
The Little Red Journal Business Pages