Client survey shows how our business support helps boost sales and improve services

Design Council provides business support to SMEs across the UK through our Design Leadership Programme which is part funded by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. 

Over the last decade we’ve helped more than 2,500 businesses prosper and grow – and as part of that process we regularly measure and evaluate the impact of our work.

We’ve just received the results from the latest survey of our clients. Here’s what they found…

The top five benefits our clients reported were:

• Increased sales
• Improved services to customers
• Jobs safeguarded
• The creation of new products and services
• More creative thinking processes

Businesses also noted strategic changes our support had brought about, including:

• A more design-focussed work culture
• Changes to company methods
• An increased profile for design

Summing this up one respondent wrote:
“We now think about design in the way we present ourselves and our products to our customers. All future developments will incorporate design expertise.”

Clients told us the Programme had changed the way they thought about their products and services, for example:
“We are more aware of the things we need to think about to have a successful product … better designed products give us the confidence not only to increase existing markets but to explore new opportunities”.

This often resulted in a re-launched or refreshed brand that businesses felt better reflected them and their values

“A clear design brief has helped us to express our message more clearly … it has given us the opportunity to focus on higher-value client sectors.”