Behind every successful global firm is the fusion of excellent design and well-fitting marketing strategies, according to the CEO of Han Sung Motor ― the largest Mercedes-Benz dealer in South Korea.

“What almost all successful global companies have (in common) is that they have great design and great marketing,” said Ulf Ausprung during a lecture delivered Thursday to students studying marketing communication at Yonsei University.

“The key message is that design creates great products, and with good marketing these products can be profitably sold,” said the CEO, who has spoken at a number of other educational institutions including Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Ausprung noted that there are various factors to successful design, emphasizing that a designer has to consider not only creating a beautiful design but the subsequent stages that follow, including manufacturing, branding, materials and costs.

“Designing is a whole process,” he said. “It’s easy to design (for instance) a phone, but do you have customers? You have to understand the market, the people … and think about the costs,” he said.

The CEO added that successful marketing begins with a “good product that can be marketed to the right consumers with the right message.”

A marketer’s job is to take that well-designed product and imbue it with a brand identity to increase its market value and appeal to customers, according to him.

When firms introduce new products, “smart companies add not just the product but the brand to give customers a brand experience,” Ausprung said.

The Han Sung Motor chief however noted that branding ― which involves being able to identify and differentiate a given product from others ― takes much effort, development and time.

“A brand doesn’t come just like that. There’s a lot of brain work involved as a lot of people come together to create a company’s brand.”

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)