From the perspective of design thinking, what is missing in marketing?
Today, I had a small conversation with an instructor of design school, University of Tokyo, after the class about how marketing practice lacks the 'define the underlying problem' process that exists in design thinking.
In marketing, the 'problem' is often taken as given, and we, marketing-side people, rarely question it.
We discussed how there might actually be a need for a stage where we question and define 'the underlying problem' even in marketing practice.
This could be a critical missing element in marketing.
Let's break down this difference between design thinking and traditional marketing approaches.
Traditional Marketing Approach:
Often starts with given assumptions: "We need to increase market share" or "We need to improve brand awareness."
Typically begins with business-centric problems
Solutions are often constrained within existing frameworks like 4Ps, STP, etc.
Research focuses on validating or invalidating pre-existing hypotheses.
Problems are usually framed in terms of business metrics.
Design Thinking Approach:
Starts with questioning the problem itself: "What's actually happening here?"
Emphasizes empathy and deep user understanding "before" problem definition.
Uses "How might we..." statements to reframe problems.
Often uncovers hidden root causes
Problems are framed in terms of user needs and experiences.
We need to understand the gap between the two approaches, figure it out, and turn it into a marketing process that drives better practices, and here’s why:
Marketing might be solving the wrong problems
E.g.: A company X might think they need better advertising as a marketing solution when the underlying problem is that their product doesn't fit a genuine user need.
Missed opportunities for innovation
If marketing accepts problems as they seem, it might miss opportunities for more creative solutions.
Risk of surface-level solutions
Without figuring out deep problem, solutions might only scratch the surface rather than root causes.
A potential solution might be integrating a "problem definition phase" into marketing processes:
Start with user research before defining business problems.
Question underlying assumptions.
Use "5 Whys" technique to get to root causes.
Reframe business problems as user problems.
#UTDS