The growth of an enterprise can be said to be a process characterized by gradual progress and accumulation of experience and knowledge. For a long period of time in the past, the small and medium enterprises of Taiwan have exhibited such vitality and entrepreneurship that they have been the central force that drove the development of the country’s trade. The small and medium enterprises of Taiwan have since then become world famous for their great versatility, perseverance and adventurous spirit.

Results of various researches show that small and medium enterprises in Taiwan are experiencing greater difficulty in reaching the goal of breaking the NTD1 billion revenue point in recent years due to fierce international competition from rapid globalization. On the other hand, large corporations have continued breaking records in terms of their revenue, and the gap between large corporations and small and medium enterprises has become larger very quickly. Evidently, the business environment for the operations of small and medium enterprises has become more difficult and perilous. The major problems faced by Taiwanese enterprises in all these years of operation such as low profit margins and lack of original brands not only remain unsolved, they have even turned into barriers that prohibit further growth for these enterprises. The most basic solution to these problems is to work towards increasing added value of products, promote R&D for designs and engage in brand marketing. In addition, the creative energies devoted to the existing production processes should be directed to product innovation and channel innovation in order to achieve innovative business models. These enterprises need to elevate themselves from being manufacturers and become manufacturer and service providers to create irreplaceable quality values.

From the data, one can see that the vitality of small and medium enterprises is the fundamental driving force of our society’s economy. This is particularly true in Taiwan, as the ratio of small and medium enterprises exceeds 97% of all businesses in the country. Out of these small and medium enterprises, 61.66% have been operational for more than 5 years; 41.83% of these businesses have run for more than 10 years. While the number may appear to be impressive, if we look at it from the opposite perspective, this means that nearly 40% of these businesses could not last more than 5 years in operation, and almost 60% of them could not run for more than 10 years. This proves that the issue of sustained management is still a major concern for small and medium enterprises.
In light of the days to come, small and medium enterprises have no choice but to be creative and devote resources to R&D of designs in order to meet market demands. In addition, they must recognize the importance of having their original brand. The dawn of the branded era has come, and these businesses must start by creating their own brands and proceed to strengthen their brands.

According to data from the Intellectual Property Office, from the statistics gathered between January and August of this year, the total number of applications for trademarks (including new applications, licensing and modifications) is 77,440, and 44,668 of these applications were new applications. This figure would translate to approximately 5,600 new trademarks entering the market every month on average. If we were to calculate it by day, it would mean that 184 brands have applied for trademarks on a daily basis. This goes to show the concept of branding is becoming more prevalent among businesses and new brands are beginning to show vitality. However, most businesses still face the problem of lack of know-how and capital, and old brands are losing their momentum gradually. Many businesses no longer invest in brands that have matured, and this is essentially snuffing out the lives of brands. As of now, many businesses are facing the test of re-activating the life cycle of their brands.

Taiwanese entrepreneurs are famous for their keen entrepreneurial spirit. However, they seem to have overlooked the area of creative industries and have yet to make significant investments in this area. Even though aesthetic culture is a very personalized and segmented market unlike the economies of scale pursued in industrial economics, it will help to strengthen the cultural content of various fields of management and enhance the competitiveness of businesses if the spirit of innovation and professional management skills of finance and marketing of an entrepreneur are combined with the aesthetic capacity of an artist. Taiwan’s economy thrived due to OEMs, and these OEMs are tremendously advantageous to brand development since businesses are able to create their own products. But despite having traveled on the path of branding, most small and medium businesses are still more concerned and more skilled in manufacturing products and place much less importance on the level of product design. So even though consumers are tempted to buy their products, since these products lack their own definition and features, they usually fail to become a consumers’ final choice. These products lose competitiveness in the final moments of a consumer’s purchasing decision because they don’t have a brand of their own. So what can we do to turn the tables so that consumers will fix their eyes on our products the very moment they see them? How can we win the competition from the beginning?

Martin Lindstrom, the renowned global expert in branding, in his book: Brand Sense uses the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch to understand a brand; companies can even use these perceptions to draw out the desires to purchase a product hidden deep in the sub-conscious of consumers. If we re-interpret things from a sensory perspective, then every market still has room for improvement. Every brand has its own sensory visage, and it can still be re-sculptured. Original brands must locate the key that will activate the senses of the consumers to get the chance to tell consumers who they are in order to change their opinion of them.

There is no doubt that the functionality of a product is important. But because of fierce competition in the market, products produced by different manufacturers now hardly have distinguishable features since their price and quality are almost identical. Engaging in price wars and quality wars is simply futile. As of now, the aesthetic sense of a product design and its brand image has become the only way for products to stand out, and the aesthetic of a product has become a source of leverage. Just as the head of the global aesthetic planning department of GE Plastics states, “aesthetics is now equivalent to style, and it has become the generally acknowledged unique selling point for products.” In the past, businesses were focused on the innovation of functionality, but now, functionality is no longer the only thing that matters; it is all about “sensory aesthetics”. For consumers, a “good product” is no longer just an object that is convenient to use; it must also be able to help their users to build a unique personal image in order to be truly attractive.

Mr. Kenya Hara (Japanese graphic design master and a member of the MUJI advisory committee), stated in his book Design of Design that the economic competition of the present world will turn from production technologies to become cultural elements that will remain hidden in the dealers’ market. For every culture or market, if one is able to produce a product that is capable of stirring up other markets, he would gain absolute competitive leverage. Mr. Kenya Hara provided an example: when a product with good design aesthetics is introduced to countries that are inferior in the knowledge of aesthetics, the general population of these countries would be inspired and awakened to the concept of aesthetics due to the product. They will be more than willing to embrace this foreign product and their desire for the product will be stirred. In comparison with products without aesthetic sense, the aesthetic products will have the power to inspire consumers and to expel other products. Aesthetics not only apply to lifestyle; the philosophy of life manifested through design is where the dominating power of design truly lies.

The reason why appealing to the consumer’s sensory pleasure is advantageous is because aesthetics are inherently valuable in themselves. It is what inspired Macintosh to turn their iMac from being a boring personal computer into semi-transparent eye candy with elegant lines. Aesthetics turn cold and hard technological innovations into dazzling products that scream style. Even those who are too busy to pay attention to fashions and trends are able to see that home appliances, digital products and commodities have become colorful objects in a variety of designs that are pleasing to the eye. Ernest Elmo Calkins, the famous advertising guru, has claimed that manufacturers should no longer be satisfied with making ugly products with good functionality, because “consumers want products with beauty in practicality and beauty that would make one gasp in admiration; everything that they use in their daily lives has to be beautiful.” From this, it is evident that aesthetics have become the critical factor that will guarantee good sales for products