Craig Menzies, iCrossing
STARTING AT THE CUSTOMER
1
Guard cat
I need to get a quote for insurance for my scooter.I start where most consumers start . . . Google.
I choose one of the paid links at the top . . . mostly because I recognize the brand from TV.
From an insurer’s perspective, are motorcycles the same thing as scooters? I searched for “scooter,” didn’t I?
I click here to see what the process is to get a quote.
On first glance: A clean, useful site – someone’s spent time on this.
I get an interim page. I just want to see what the quote process looks like. What am I in for?
I choose “New user.”
OK, this is good. I make sure I have all the details I need. But I still don’t know if they insure scooters!
FOUR pages in from my start page, I finally get to the form. And still no information.
I close the browser window with the quote form and go back to where I started.
I’ll try this one: “Questions & answers”
Nothing here that answers my question.
Now I’m confused AND lost . . . I go back to Google and try someone else.
OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY . . .
The Web
Start with the Customer
Agenda
>Why should we care about Customer Experience?
>Customer Experience tactics and techniques
>Websites and the wider World
>How can we start moving in the right direction?
15
Start with the Customer
Agenda
>Why should we care about Customer Experience?
>Customer Experience tactics and techniques
>Websites and the wider World
>How can we start moving in the right direction?
16
Start with the Customer
Overall website usability is generally poor
17
Distribution Of Web Site User Experience Review Scores Across 1,387 Sites(Pass score = 25, representing a minimally satisfactory experience)
Article source: Jonathan Browne, September 2010 “Web Design Best Practices From UK Interactive Agencies”
Start with the Customer
Your brand is at risk
18
How is your opinion of a brand or company affected if its Web site does not perform up to your standards?
Article source: Craig Menzies (Ed. Harley Manning), January 2009 “The Future Of Web Design: Balanced Support For Both Customer Goals And Brand Communication”
< Poor online experiences damage your brand and lose
you customers >
19
< To prevent a poor online experience,
start with the Customer! >
20
Start with the Customer
Agenda
>Why should we care about Customer Experience?
>Customer Experience tactics and techniques
>Websites and the wider World
>How can we start moving in the right direction?
21
Start with the Customer
Core Principles – The Elements of User Experience
22Source: The Elements of User Experience, Jesse James Garrett: www.jjg.net
UX describes a process for understanding how things should work
UX provides a framework for asking – and getting answers to – the right questions
Start with the Customer
User Experience is about ‘getting it right’
23Image source: http://www.flickr.com (users: RowdyKittens and scarletgreen)
What does the customer REALLY want and need?
This? Or this?
Start with the Customer
Yes, this actually is a real website
24
Start with the Customer
You should see it ‘live’
25
Start with the Customer
User Experience vs Customer Experience
> I believe Customer Experience goes further than User Experience
> It attempts to convince organisations to think about their customers at all levels and across all channels – and strives to give them the tools to do so
> Generic user picture vs a real person
> Tactical vs Strategic
26
Start with the Customer
Core Principles – Evaluating the Experience
> ‘Scenario design’: A concept built on a simple assumption: No experience is inherently good or bad, it can only be judged by looking at how well it helps customers achieve their goals.
> This approach requires companies to continually ask — and answer — three questions:
– Who are your customers?
– What are their goals?
– How can you help them achieve those goals?
27
Source: July 19, 2004, “Scenario Design: A Disciplined Approach To Customer Experience” by Bruce D. Temkin, Forrester Research
Start with the Customer
Who are your customers?
Do we always take the time to understand who our customers are?
Are they really who we think they are?
Are they who they TELL us they are?
28
(SOURCE: www.scificool.com, www.masalatime.com)
I am Darth Vader
I am Darth Vader
Woof
Start with the Customer
The User Experience Toolkit
> Customer surveys (online or offline)
> Examination of existing sales records
> Ethnographic research
> Personas and scenarios
> Market research
> Interaction with call centres and other channels
> Focus groups with real customers
29
Start with the Customer
30
Target audience Personas
Start with the Customer
Good personas go further
31
Anthropologists!Anthropologists!
Ethnographic research means talking to real customers to find out who they are and what they want and need
Start with the Customer
What do your customers want to achieve?
Do we always take the time to understand what our customers really need and want?
Why don’t we?
How can we?
33
(SOURCE: www.failblog.org)(SOURCE: www.lolcars.com)
Start with the Customer
The User Experience Toolkit
> Expert usability reviews of websites or mobiles devices
> User needs analysis
> Examination of customer sales history data
> More ethnographic research
> Information architecture and taxonomies (e.g. Card sorting)
> Usability labs and remote usability testing
> Examination of data from:– Web analytics– Search campaigns (natural and paid)– Social media
34
Start with the Customer
All points of the user journey
35
Lucia’s researchGap year trip to
include Great Barrier Reef
Visits STATravel.co.uk and sees inspiration and
deals. Has a look around the site
Sees a link shared on Facebook, a blog
post of WTI adventures with a
great video
Follows #greatbarrierreef on Twitter to get
travellers’ insights and sees STA in the
mix
Her mate stayed at the Calypso
Backpackers Inn, so she Googles, sees STA’s user reviews
Visits Facebook discussions to find a travel partner. She
sees people like her talking about dive
courses
Now she’s researched, Lucia’s inspired and knows
what she wants She returns to
STATravel.co.uk ready to book
She shares what she’s booked on Facebook:“Look
where I’m going…I can’t wait!!”
Back from her trip, she’s shared her photos on Flickr,
tagging STATravel then writes about it on her blog, linking
to STA Travel
Start with the Customer
Observe and record
36
Article source: Forrester Research, Craig Menzies, May 2008 “Case Study: How Credit Suisse Made Customer Experience Matter”
Start with the Customer
Work out taxonomies and IA with Card Sorting
37
Start with the Customer
How can we help our customers achieve their goals?
Do we always do the sensible thing?
Do we always think all the way through the solutions we put in place?
Do we test the solutions we put in place? (or even the prototype?!)
As an organisation, are we setup or ready to change?
38
(SOURCE: www.failblog.org)
Start with the Customer
Approaches that work
> Interviews with key business stakeholders
> Strategy and planning workshops
> Iterative website optimisation
> Customer satisfaction surveys (e.g. NetPromoter, CxPi)
> A/B and multivariate testing, eye tracking studies
> Structured ‘user centred design’ (UCD) processes– Functional specifications– Wireframes– Task flow diagrams and user journeys
> Process, culture, change management
> Immersion exercises
39
Start with the Customer
Make the executives do stuff
40
Article source: Forrester Research, Craig Menzies, May 2008 “Case Study: How Credit Suisse Made Customer Experience Matter”
Start with the Customer
Make the executives do stuff
41
Article source: Forrester Research, Craig Menzies, May 2008 “Case Study: How Credit Suisse Made Customer Experience Matter”
Start with the Customer
Agenda
>Why should we care about Customer Experience?
>Customer Experience tactics and techniques
>Websites and the wider World
>How can we start moving in the right direction?
42
< Websites don’t exist in a vacuum >
43
Start with the Customer
How we used to see the web
44
Customers (with £££)
That website thing that we keep hearing about
Some positive results (e.g. £££)
Start with the Customer
The reality today – welcome to the network
45
Start with the Customer
Agenda
>Why should we care about Customer Experience?
>Customer Experience tactics and techniques
>Websites and the wider World
>How can we start moving in the right direction?
46
Engaged }A new framework
Visible EngagedUseful, usable,
desirable
Natural search
Social outreach / online
PR
On-site content
REQUIREMENT
SOLUTION
KPIs
Paid search Off-site content
User response on-site
User response off-site
TrafficUnique visitorsInbound links
SERPSReach (eyeballs/OTS)Friend/fan networks
Page impressionsConversions
Phone callsEmail enquiries
Blog comments/postsFacebook fans / interactions
Twitter fans / interactionsRSS subscribers
Sentiment of response
Can user goals be completed?Is the right content in the right place?
Does the site provide a memorable experience?Is the site participatory? Does it encourage
dialogue?Does the site provide reasons for people to come
back?
Start with the Customer
Recommendations
>If you don’t already, make user experience research a mandatory part of every digital project, like you would project management
>Adopt a view that encompasses the entire digital world (search, social, brand sites, campaigns, etc.) – think ‘connected’
>Even when it’s hard, follow a structured design process – it works and ultimately saves time and money
>Reap the benefits of knowing your customers better – those unpredictable ideas that come from an outside perspective
48
Questions?
49
THANK YOU!
50
Email: [email protected]: +44 (0)1273 828 671Website: www.icrossing.co.ukBlog: http://connect.icrossing.co.ukTwitter: @craigmenzies