THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
by Paul Conder with Jake Bryant and Laurie Meek. Erin McMonigal, Editor
A COLLECTION OF SHORT ARTICLES FROM LENATI’S CX PRACTICE
(C) 2014 Lenati LLC
PREFACE There was a time - not that long ago - when customer experience was simply the thing that happened at the end of an industrial production system. Factories made products that were purchased by customers through uncomplicated, linear networks of distribution. Services were delivered on a strictly person-to-person level. And the difference between products and services was completely clear.
Every layer of that system has shifted in less than one generation. Distribution has repositioned its center around the customer rather than the factory. Channels have fragmented and recombined into intersecting digital, physical and hybrid networks. The lines between product and service have been blurred.
Real time visualization of major internet nodes by PeerOne Hosting iPhone app. peer1.com
When changes happen this fast, it’s easy to get a little apprehensive. At a recent retail convention, the most common theme for keynote speeches was “Is Retail Dead?” How much has been written about the death of the music or film industries as their products become digital? Or about the “death of privacy” as more transactions go online or disappear from view completely?
Controlled demolition of the abandoned Woodwards department store, prior to redevelopment.
Vancouver Canada 2006. Photo by Tannoy.
We tend to be more optimistic. When photography was invented, many in the art world forecasted the “death of painting.” - and within a few generations we saw Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Pollock and Rothko. Those who can evolve will thrive.
photo (C)2014 Rebecca Robertson.
CONTENTS
1. What’s An Experience Worth? CX, Commerce and Culture. by Paul Conder
2. Ten Key CX Principles Building a Customer-Centric Business. by Paul Conder
3. The Art & Science Of Engineering Experiences Design inking and CX. by Paul Conder 4. The New CX Toolbox Six Methods for Building a Better Customer Experience. by Paul Conder
5. Let’s Get Phygital Ten Ways to Connect with Customers in an OmniChannel Universe. by Paul Conder
6. The CX Loyalty Connection Bridging the gap between loyalty and Experience by Laurie Meek and Paul Conder
7. CX : B2B Understanding the Commercial Customer’s Experience by Jake Bryant and Paul Conder
At Lenati, we help clients create stronger connections with their customers.
This is a collection of articles about what we’ve learned through our practice,
developing customer experiences.
We define customer experience as the aggregate of a person's perceptions, feelings, memories and associations around their engagement with a brand. All competitive businesses are somehow dependent on their customer’s experience to drive their growth and prosperity. I can’t think of any exceptions, past or present. Even businesses that are focused on a basic need - for example healthcare or grocery retailing - use experiential drivers in some way to set themselves apart. Some monopolies are known for neglecting customer experience - but once they are forced into competitive environments they tend to smarten up quickly. Telecommunications companies have made this shift, some better than others.
At the top level, treating your customer well just seems like the right thing to do - for altruistic reasons if for nothing else. e interactions that happen every time a business makes a connection with a customer add up to affect much more than the individual transaction. It has been shown that loyalty, brand perception, spending, likelihood to recommend and overall satisfaction are all affected by CX - but I believe that there is a much bigger story. At the top level, customer experience is really about making personal connections with people - treating them with respect, with consistency, with dignity, with foresight and with style. But to make the business case, there needs to be a clear way to measure the financial impact of improving customer experience. So the question shifts from “why do we make experiences better for people?” - to “how much is an experience actually worth?”
For a question this big it’s important to get a lot of opinions - so we have scrubbed recent research and combined it with our own findings to give a top-level view of real-world business impacts from different industries...
WHAT’S AN EXPERIENCE
WORTH?by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. 2014
A CEI survey found that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for an improved experience, but only 1% feel they are having their expectations met by vendors. (Source: Forbes “CX: the Chicken or the Egg”)
The Harvard Business Review found that focusing business activities on a holistic customer’s journey (as opposed to developing individual touchpoints separately) is 30-40% more strongly correlated with
customer satisfaction - and 20-30% more strongly correlated with business outcomes such as revenue, repeat purchase, reduced customer churn and positive word of mouth. (Alex Rawson, Ewan Duncan, and Conor Jones, HBR, Sept. 2013)
Lenati CX engagements have resulted in over $1 Billion dollars in new business for their clients, and have connected with over 100 Million customers worldwide. (2014)
CapGemini discovered that over 50% of customers of financial
institutions are at risk of switching banks based on customer experience. (CapGemini 2013 World Retail Banking Report)
Oracle found that businesses can lose 20% of revenue from poor customer experiences yet many are stuck in an execution chasm, unable to implement new CX strategies. (Oracle CX Survey, 2014)
86% of leaders interviewed by Forrester Research place customer experience as their top strategic priority. In another study, Forrester found that better CX can deliver more that $1Billion in revenue growth to large businesses. (“Differentiating on Customer Experience” Forrester, 2012. and “Make the Business Case” 2014)
Peppers and Rogers found that CX has emerged as the single most important aspect in achieving success for companies across all
industries - both B2B and B2C. (“Return on Customer” Don Peppers, Martha Rogers 2006)
Deloitte found in its research on cross-channel selling that the use of mobile devices in retail influences 36% of sales, or approximately 1.1 trillion dollars of revenue. (Deloite “the New Digital Divide, 2014)
Tesco chairman Sir Richard Broadbent was quoted as saying "customer experience is more important than our products" (Sunday Times, Nov. 2013)
87% of companies in the process of implementing a CX strategy who were surveyed by the Temkin Group in late 2013 saw positive
business results in the first year. In a separate study, Temkin found that nearly 60% of large companies have ambitions to be industry leaders in CX within three years. (Temkin Group Research 2013)
What’s An Experience Worth? by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014
Images by Paul Conder, except as noted.
Customer Experience is a personal thing, and is not something that can be “created” by a company. It is the aggregate of a person's perceptions, feelings, memories and associations around their engagement with a brand. Each customer brings their life’s memories and associations to each interaction, and so it is inappropriate to say that we create specific experiences for each customer. We can only afford the customer the chance to engage. CX is similar to branding in this way. Companies put a lot of effort into creating their brand - but people's perceptions of a company are personal, and belong to people not the company.
Engagement and understanding between people and businesses is becoming deeper - but in ways that are more complex and less predictable. When channel models were more monolithic and uni-directional, companies were able to separate their customer face from their operations with an opaque curtain between the two. e explosion in digital communication channels means that people can see the totality of the company including behind the curtain. Every facet of the company needs to be understood from the customer's point of view - it’s all on display. is goes far beyond service interactions with staff or engagement with a product. Customers have expectations that need to be met around a company’s ethics, values and where and how it conducts its business.
Building a Customer Centric Businessby Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. 2014
1.
2.KEY CXPRINCIPLESTEN
Lenati LLCUnit 100 1300 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA1 800-848-1449 lenati.com
A “Customer Journey” is the framework of customers’ interactions and experiences while engaging with a brand. It’s not just a physical journey. It also includes all the interactions with digital media, social interactions, word of mouth, service interactions – the works. Mapping the Customer Journey across available channels (omnichannel analysis, in retail terms) is the key to understanding how the experiences can be enabled, communicated and focused.
Touchpoints are only physical or digital enablers in the Customer’s Journey. Touchpoints afford the customer the opportunity to carry out a certain pattern of interactions. (In the field of design, they are called “affordances”) Every touchpoint designed into a website, app, retail interior, hospital, office, store fixture, airport, smartphone or table setting is put there to enable certain interactions, carry certain messages, and pattern certain behaviors. Many companies focus on their touchpoints when they speak about customer experience because the touchpoints are the items that the company produces in the end - and there is a lot of thought, effort and money put into building things like websites, sales networks and retail spaces. When the focus is placed too strongly on the touchpoint, the bias is towards the operational aspects of the company – not what the customer is actually thinking, feeling, saying, doing or spending.
3.
4.
Any point in the customer’s journey has the potential to drive the customer away from a company. We have seen companies insist that long service wait times allow customers the opportunity to “explore” and “engage.” - When in reality about half of them were leaving within a few moments of entry. e operational obstacles were enough to blind the company’s leadership to the real impact this experience was having on their business. is is an extreme example - but we have seen many companies suffer from similar blockages in connecting with their customers.
e customer’s experience can be directly linked to the customer’s spending. We wrote about this in the previous article we published called “What’s an Experience Worth?” Companies are seeing an enormous upside in revenue and loyalty by framing their products, services and systems around the customer’s experience.
5.
6.
ere is no such thing as an offline customer. Whatever industry you are in, you can be sure that your customer can be present in several channels, sometimes at once - comparing you to your competition, and learning about what others say about you. For the companies that see every aspect of their business as customer-facing, this is their best opportunity to make a connection.
e value in aligning the customer’s experience to sales performance can be massive. In our projects, we have seen sales increases, improved brand perception, more positive reviews, increased loyalty and retention AND simplified operations by taking a customer-centric view, generating billions of dollars in new business.
7.
8.
Customer Experience is not about projecting a made-up theme for your company’s brand. Many companies jump to the idea that the customer should be delighted or surprised at each step - but attempting to make this happen in the real world is often cumbersome and contrived, creating a brand perception that is fake, insincere and inauthentic. For the customer it can feel like the company is trying too hard. Like that kid in school who wanted so desperately to be friends and seemed to stick to you like glue. eatre was often used metaphorically as an approach to “staging customer experiences.” Much of the most famous writing about CX, for example “e Experience Economy” by Pine and Gilmore, caught on so well that the language in it permeated business and creative culture in North America - but sometimes the original context was missing. For many, the first taste of CX strategy demonstrated the artifice and superficiality of a Broadway theatre production - and often in complete misalignment to the brand or the product. e same authors later wrote a follow-up book called “Authenticity” which was aimed at reigning in this trend.
9.
ere are three key areas for measuring CX:Customer input helps us understand what the customer is thinking and feeling - capturing perceptions, opinions, preferences, feelings, associations and reactions. is can also include input on subjects like their likelihood to recommend the company, brand cohesion, or their general satisfaction. is first area is extremely useful, but can be prone to errors that are typical for surveys - for example coverage, (size and quality of the sample) response, (problems related to the way questions are asked) and non-response (customers providing erroneous responses - sometimes because they are being asked about a subject that isn’t of any consequence to them.)
Observational research helps us understand what the customer is doing. It includes everything from field observations, online analytics, traffic and browsing patterns, social listening data, dwell times - anything that can be observed with a minimum of affect to the customer’s behavior. While this might seem more objective, it leaves out the more personal aspects to the experience - favoring behavioral data.
Financial data helps us understand how the customer is spending. It can be correlated to the first two areas, creating performance or value-based models.
For a deep dive on CX research methods, see “e New CX Toolbox” - available at Lenati.com/cx
10.
SUMMARY:
Customer experience is not about
layering themed touchpoints into the
customer’s journey. Nor is it really
about surprising and delighting your
customer at every step.
For the most part, CX is about making
a personal, meaningful and relevant
connection with a customer.
Other times it’s about simply getting
out of their way, and letting your
relationship evolve naturally.
Photo: Muns, Creative Commons.
Ten Key CX Principles by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014
Images by Paul Conder, except as noted.
THE ART AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SCIENCE OF
ENGINEERING ENGINEERING EXPERIENCESEXPERIENCES
ere has been a great deal written about “design thinking” in the past few years. Much focus has been placed on its value in helping define business strategy, with design firms around the world claiming that they have evolved beyond their role as developers of products into a new role as business visionaries. It seems nearly every firm with a design practice has a “proprietary and unique” problem-solving process that will unlock the magic combination of Customer Experience, Brand Vision and Strategy - transforming any company into the next Apple.
is is only half true.
Design is a process that helps people develop systems that other people will use. is process can be applied to software, buildings, space-shuttles, tea kettles and organizational structures. CX design is about applying design’s problem solving capacity to align a business to face its customers. It needs to work across channels, touchpoints and media - making it different from other fields. Software designers make software. Automotive designers make cars. CX designers enable experiences.
But no one owns this process. Its origins are ancient. Its effects are ubiquitous in the modern world and permeate every facet of our lives.
is is the story of how this process came to be, how it works, and how it can be leveraged to build a better connection between a business and its customers.
DESIGN THINKING AND CXby Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. 2014
Lenati LLCUnit 100 1300 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA1 800-848-1449 lenati.com
“Explore - researchCreation - concept design
Reflection - prototypeImplementation”
- Jakob Schneider, Marc Stickdorn from This is Service Design Thinking
e design process turns up in some form in several disciplines. Ign al-Haytham was an eleventh century Persian Scientist who debunked theories on optics developed by such scientific heavy-weights as Ptolemy, Euclid and Aristotle. But just as importantly, he articulated the process behind his work. - Empirical evidence drove his ideas, which were tested using an iterative process of experimentation, continuing until he knew his ideas worked in the real world. is was one of the first well-documented examples of the scientific method - and while he wasn’t the only one to work this way, his successes in the field combined with his well-known intellectual rigor helped spread the word. Some version of this process can be seen in fields as diverse as mechanical engineering, physics, visual art - and customer experience design. e basic principles are:
1. Learning as much as you can about a problem or opportunity - We will call this area of focus Discovery 2. Asking questions, developing hypotheses, creating concepts to test - We will call this area of focus Ideation 3. Testing those ideas to learn from them - feeding learnings back to step 1 - We will call this area of focus Testing
A version of this is taught in virtually every design, art, engineering and science school in the first year. e process itself is renamed from field to field, but the components remain basically the same. - In science it’s called “the scientific method” - in engineering it’s usually referred to as a “problem solving process” and in design it’s usually called “design thinking” or “the design process.” No one owns this process - but the perspective that each person or team brings to it is what makes it unique.
"The seeker after truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency.
- Ign al-Haytham
"The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments... I would construct and work along various lines until I found them untenable. When one theory was discarded, I developed another at once. I realized very early that this was the only possible way for me to work out all the problems.
- Thomas Edison, paraphrased by by George S. Bryan 1926
ORIGINS
“Design projects must ultimately pass through three spaces... We label these “inspiration,” for the circumstances (be they a problem, an opportunity, or both) that motivate the search for solutions; “ideation,” for the process of generating, developing, and testing ideas that may lead to solutions; and “implementation,” for the charting of a path to market.”
- Tim Brown, IDEO, Harvard Business Review.
“Children are born true scientists. They spontaneously experiment and experience and reexperience again. They select, combine, and test, seeking to find order in their experiences – “which is the mostest? which is the leastest?” They smell, taste, bite, and touch-test for hardness, softness, springiness, roughness, smoothness, coldness, warmness: they heft, shake, punch, squeeze, push, crush, rub, and try to pull things apart.”
- Buckminster Fuller
Despite its ancient history and diverse origins, today the design process is usually associated with the field of industrial design, consumer product development and with the broader field of invention. e focus here is on developing manufactured products. But there was always an understanding that those products have to work for people. At each phase of the process questions around how people value, purchase, use, store, maintain and eventually dispose of a product would sit side to side with how the product actually worked to satisfy those needs. e question “would the user like it?” would have the same weight as “does it work?” For this reason, designers became schooled in how to understand users needs, market trends and cultural frameworks.
As design went beyond the focus on the product to focus on the person, each phase in the process was affected. Discovery centered around research into user’s needs, perceptions and wants. Ideation employed techniques like role-play, use-cycle-analysis and participatory-design (bringing users into the creative sessions.) And testing involved taking mock-ups of the product concepts to the users to see how they would interact with it and to capture their thoughts on its value. Each area of focus started to employ techniques from the social sciences to help connect people’s preferences and perceptions to the product.
“Identify the Problem.. and Constraints Brainstorm Possible Solutions and Generate Ideas Explore Possibilities and Select an Approach Build and test a Prototype and Refine the Design”
- NASA engineering process
FROM PRODUCTS TO EXPERIENCES
photo: Nic Redhead,
photo: Raneko
photo NASA
e design process was later adopted by people who were designing software. As they worked to make new technologies usable and valuable to a larger audience, they grabbed hold of the tools that had long been employed by industrial designers and applied them to non-physical products.
One of the most important tools that was adopted by this new group was the “journey framework.” is set up a visual representation of each step of the user’s experience. e product wasn’t the primary focus here - it was about mapping the interactions, experiences and perceptions of a user in the real world, and predicting how a product should intervene in those interactions - patterning the behavior of the user and delivering some kind of value to them. Larger maps could be constructed that showed the systems that supported the product, the lifecycle of the relationship between the user and the product, multiple users interacting through the product’s features, cyclical patterns and repeated interactions etc. is tool (often resembling a kind of storyboard or process diagram) helped systematize the design process. Ideas could be worked out as part of a larger system of interactions. It’s hard to imagine the development of today’s software or interactive products without this tool, and without the larger process to enable it. is technique is the origin of customer journey mapping which is a key process for anyone in the field of customer experience.
“Principles for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses- especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”
- Leonardo da Vinci
Any system that sees aesthetics as irrelevant, that separates the artist from his product, that fragments the work of the individual, or creates by committee, or makes mincemeat of the creative process will, in the long run, diminish not only the product but the maker as well.
- Paul Rand
photo: Richard Huppertz
RICHARD JAMES
BACK COUNTRY SKIING
BACK COUNTRY SKIING
LOCAL ECOLOGY
WILDLIFE CORRIDOR
WILDLIFE CORRIDOR
DOWNHILL CYCLING
SHOPPING
SPORTS CLUBS
BIRDING
SWIMING LOCATIONS
RUNNING GROUPS
DOWNHILL SKIING
CROSSCOUNTRY SKIING
SENIORS ACTIVITIES
DEVELOPER CREDIBILITY
LOCAL GEOGRAPHY
BARS & NIGHTLIFETRANSPORT
NEARBY AMENITIES
SPA
ROAD BIKE
SCHOOLS
CAMPING
LOCAL MATERIALS
HIKING
GOLF
HUNTING
FISHING
FISHING
LOCAL VEGETARIAN ORGANIC
LOCAL VEGETARIAN ORGANIC LOCAL ECOLOGYCREATE ATTRACTIONENTRY FROM MAIN ST. VISIBLE BUT UNWELCOMINGCLOSED IN AND DARK
BASECAMP TO ROCKIES: ENTRYSTRONG EXTERIOR SIGNAGE PROGRAMREINVENT DARK EXTERIOR - OPEN UP TO OUTSIDEACTIVE CAFE / BAR ENVIRONMENTSTRONG DIRECTIONAL LIGHT FEATURE
FOSTER DIALOGUENOT SALES AGESTS IN CAFEGUIDE ACTS CONNECTS VISITORTO WHAT THE AREA HAS TO OFFERSTARTS CONVERSATIONS TOGENERATE PROFILEALTERNATE TOUCHSCREEN INTERFACEFOR DIRECT INPUT FROM VISITOR
WILDLIFE EXHIBIT OVER STEEL FIREPLACELONG BAR, CAGED ROCK, RECYCLED WOODINTIMATE, WARM, DISARMING
EAST WEST PARTNERSTHREE SISTERS MOUNTAIN VILLAGEDISCOVERY CENTERCANMORE ALBERTA
IPHONE INTERFACE CONTROLWIRELESS CONNECTIONS TO
MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM
08.174
1. ENTRY - CREATE ATTRACTION 2. CAFE - FOSTER DIALOGUE 3. PERSONALIZE - GENERATE GUEST PROFILE 4. EXHIBIT - ORIENTATION AND BIG PICTURE STORIES 5. MODEL SPACE - PERSONALIZED PRESENTATION 6. INTERACTIVE - PERSONALIZED PRESENTATION
DOWNHILL CYCLING
LOCAL ART
LOCAL MUSIC
RAIL LINE HISTORY
PLANT LIFE
FESTIVALS
LOCAL TRAILS ORIENTATION LOCAL HERBS, VEGIES SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY
LOCAL PRIORITIES
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
HORTICULTURE
FARMING
MICRO FARMING
WILDLIFE CORRIDOR
GUIDE RESOURCES NAVIGATION ORGANIC FARMS
DIFFICULTY LEVELS TRAILS LOCAL SPECIALTIES
IMAGES SPECIES ABORIGINAL DISHES
LOCAL EQUIP. SOURCES HISTORY LOCAL RESTAURANTS
GUIDED TRIPS GUIDE RESOURCES RECIPES
LESSONS & CLINICS CHEF PROFILES
TOUR RESERVATIONS
TRIP RESERVATIONS
RESTAURANT GUIDE
RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS
GENERATE GUEST PROFILE FOR NAVIGATION OF EXHIBIT, TOUR, OUTPUT
INTRODUCE STORYBIG PICTURE - GEOGRAPHY, CULTURE, HISTORY
PERSONALIZED PRESENTATIONINTEGRATED MODEL & MULTIMEDIA
IPHONE SYNCHRONIZESWITH BASE STATION UPONVISITOR AND GUIDE’S RETURN TODISCOVERY CENTRE.
COFFEE, SNACKS, WINEOFFER OF SETTING UP RESERVATIONSFOR FURTHER ACTIVITIES - RESTAURANTSBARS, SPORTS CLINICS ETC.
PHONE DOWNLOADS DATA FOR PRINTEDOUTPUT - COMPUTER AUTOMATICALLYCREATES DOCUMENT OF JOURNEY
PHOTOS OF SITETOUR STORED IN IPHONE FOR DOWNLOAD UPON RETURN TO CENTRE
CUSTOM DOCUMENT:INFORMATION FROM PROFILEPDF VERSIONS OF DIGITAL PRESENTATION, KEY IMAGES FROM EXHIBITS, RESERVATIONS FOR RESTAURANT, TOURS ETC.MAP OF SITE TOUR, PHOTOS TAKEN ON TOUR, LOCALRELEVANT BUSINESS GUIDERELEVANT REAL ESTATE OFFERINGSSUITED TO VISITOR.
9. PRODUCT SPECIFIC INFORMATION7. EXIT TO GUIDED TOUR - COMMUNITY STORIES 8. PERSONALIZED GUIDED TOUR
SITE INFO
TOUR MAP
PERSONAL PROFILE
KEY AREAS OF INTEREST
GPS CO ORDINATES - SITES
VISIT RECORDER
8. RETURN TO CENTRE -
CLO
SE
CAFE EXHIBITFOUR MICRO-STORIES AROUND LOCAL DIFFERENTIATORS:FISHING, ART GALLERY, RESTAURANT, HORTICULTURE
TOUR SITES GUIDED BY GPS ENABLED IPHONE APP.CUSTOMIZED STORY LINE FROM GUEST PROFILE, TOUR GUIDE
PERSONAL PHOTOS OF SITE VISIT
This is an example of a Journey Framework, where
a customer’s experience is visualized using a
combination of storyboarding and process
mapping. - In this case, the project involved a
series of orientation, customer service and sales
interactions at a mountain resort. Rather than
focus on the touchpoints themselves, the
framework focuses on how the customer’s
experience is fostered by the physical, digital
and mobile environment - all from the
customer’s point of view. This was used later to
develop the physical and digital infrastructure of
the resort, and to ensure each touchpoint
supported a positive customer experience.
Within a few years, the process that used to be known for designing tea-kettles was used for designing interactive systems and experiences - even businesses. Its business applications connected marketing and customer insights with operations and distribution - helping entire companies to become more customer-centric. e process is making things work for people - but now, the things were fast dissolving into services, environments, software and media - the people were becoming more and more diverse and inter-connected - and the channels through which people connected were fragmenting and overlapping. Who could possibly be an expert in all of these fields at once?
e simplest answer is “no one.”
Bill Buxton has developed the idea of a “Renaissance Team.” - In essence, he said that the design challenges of today are too complex and involve too many disciplines to be solvable by a single expert. e Renaissance Team takes over from the notion of the Renaissance Man. e collective knowledge of a diverse group trumps the lone genius.
e process, the teams who applied it, and the types of problems it was aimed at solving, all evolved simultaneously. It became a unifying force for innovation behind extremely diverse teams and businesses. Where it used to focus on physical products, it became a powerful methodology for developing complex, people-centric systems of any kind. It shifted the conversation away from the supply chain and towards the customer.
“It’s not a renaissance man or woman that we need to be cultivating, but the renaissance team. In today’s world of specialization, the problems are such as to require a great deal of depth in each of a range of disciplines. We have already mentioned a few: business, design, engineering, marketing, manufacturing and science. No individual can possess all these skills at the level that is required to execute in a competitive way..”
- Bill Buxton, from “Sketching User Experiences.”
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
- Thomas Edison.
“Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.”
- Bruce Mau, From “The Incomplete Manifesto for Growth”
photo: Eddao,
photo Cory Doctorow
photo by SparkCBC
e design process is usually modeled as a linear sequence. But from our experience, that’s not how it works in the real world. In this model, the structure of process - made up of the basic building blocks of discovery, ideation and testing - becomes less and less rigid. It’s not about following three steps in sequence as much as shifting focus from place to place, depending on the needs of the team and the types of questions they are asking. (Others have pointed this out too, for example, Tim Brown from IDEO.)
Making the process work has a lot more to do with the diverse capacities and perspectives of the team than about a formalized step-by-step process. Even the team itself isn’t static. Different people - the client, analysts, researchers, stakeholders, and sometimes the customers themselves - come into the process to offer their perspective when it’s relevant to the problem.
You usually enter here.If you do, it’s good to have a clear problem or opportunity identified first. However, these will likely shift as you go through the process.
You should probably exit here.
DISCOVE
RY
Research the problem,
opportunity, c
ontext, culture,
stakeholder a
nd customer
patterns. U
se whatev
er
research
tools m
ake sense
for your co
ntext.
IDEATION
Develop con
ceptual solution
s
to the problem, ap
proaches
to realize
the opportu
nity,
better ways
to do so
mething,
methods to foste
r a bette
r
experience.
TESTING
Test you
r ideas on paper, i
n
the lab and in the re
al world
.
Learn as m
uch as you can
from the te
st. Feed it b
ack
into the sy
stem.
Sometimes you enter here - for example when a great idea comes your way and needs some research and testing to prove it out - most literature on the design process tries to play this down because it is difficult to predict when you will have a great idea.
DISCOVERY.Research the opportunity, problem, context, culture,
stakeholder and customer patterns. Use whatever
research tools make sense for your context.
In much of the literature on customer experience design, there is an emphasis on problem solving. But there is a lot more to customer experience than solving for existing problems. In order to foster a great experience, a good first step would be to identify and eliminate known painpoints - but that in itself will not be enough to compete against other companies who focus on moving towards opportunities in the market, cultural or technological shifts, or to better satisfy a customer need. Worse still, it can be very difficult for companies and teams to align on (or sometimes even notice) real problems without substantial evidence being compiled first - leading to a chicken-and-egg question - you can’t start the research without identifying a problem, and you can’t settle on a problem area without research.
Our team uses a wide set of research tools, from ethnography and “voice of the customer” to online analytics and e-commerce performance statistics to build a deep understanding of the customer in the real world - identifying better opportunities to engage, but also building knowledge of the terrain. Our next article, titled “e New CX Toolbox” will feature a deep dive into our customer experience research methodology.
DISCOVE
RY
Research the problem,
opportunity, c
ontext, culture,
stakeholder a
nd customer
patterns. U
se whatev
er
research
tools m
ake sense
for your co
ntext.
IDEATION
Develop con
ceptual solution
s
to the problem, ap
proaches
to realize
the opportu
nity,
better ways
to do so
mething,
methods to foste
r a bette
r
experience.
TESTING
Test you
r ideas on paper, i
n
the lab and in the re
al world
.
Learn as m
uch as you can
from the te
st. Feed it b
ack
into the sy
stem.
RICHARD JAMES
BACK COUNTRY SKIING
LOCAL ECOLOGY
WILDLIFE CORRIDORDOWNHILL CYCLING
SHOPPING
SPORTS CLUBS
LOCAL HISTORY
BIRDING
SWIMING LOCATIONS
RUNNING GROUPS
DOWNHILL SKIING
CROSSCOUNTRY SKIING
SENIORS ACTIVITIES
DEVELOPER CREDIBILITY
LOCAL GEOGRAPHY
BARS & NIGHTLIFETRANSPORT
NEARBY AMENITIES
SPA
SCHOOLS
CAMPING
LOCAL MATERIALS
HIKING
GOLF
HUNTING
FISHING
FISHING
LOCAL VEGETARIAN ORGANIC
IPHONE INTERFACE CONTROLWIRELESS CONNECTIONS TO
MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM
DOWNHILL CYCLING
LOCAL ART
LOCAL MUSIC
RAIL LINE HISTORY
PLANT LIFE
FESTIVALS
GENERATE GUEST PROFILE NAVIGATION OF EXHIBIT, TOUR, OUTPUT
INTRODUCE STORYBIG PICTURE - GEOGRAPHY, CULTURE, HISTORY
PERSONALIZED PRESENTATIONINTEGRATED MODEL & MULTIMEDIA
IDEATION.
Develop conceptual approaches to realize the
opportunity, to solve the problem, build better
ways to do something, and foster a better
experience for the customer.
Ideation has always been a sort of “black box” - the moment when the magic happens, out of sight of the client - when a new concept comes out of all that knowledge. ere has been a lot written about creative tools that can help spur this along - rapid visualization, generative approaches, free-association, lateral and visual thinking, oblique strategies, brainstorming - techniques to get a group to work up new, more diverse ideas faster. ese techniques help to frame up new questions about the customer and their context - or to gain a different perspective on an opportunity. I would like to say that these tools will be effective in the hands of anyone who has access to them - but unfortunately, that’s not the case. e success of all this comes down to the creative capacity of the team and its individual members in the end. I don’t believe that creativity is something that “some people have and others don’t” - I feel strongly that it’s something that is learned. And it comes in a lot of forms - many confuse drawing ability with creativity - a mis-conception that has kept many important points of view out of the conversation. Success here comes from being inspired by the group around you, the richness of the knowledge at hand and what you have taken from the people you have worked with in the past. e best approach is to build a team that makes up for each other’s blind spots - the more diverse the better - and let the group learn their way to a solution together.
DISCOVE
RY
Research the problem,
opportunity, c
ontext, culture,
stakeholder a
nd customer
patterns. U
se whatev
er
research
tools m
ake sense
for your co
ntext.
IDEATION
Develop con
ceptual solution
s
to the problem, ap
proaches
to realize
the opportu
nity,
better ways
to do so
mething,
methods to foste
r a bette
r
experience.
TESTING
Test you
r ideas on paper, i
n
the lab and in the re
al world
.
Learn as m
uch as you can
from the te
st. Feed it b
ack
into the sy
stem.
Testing breakout.
TESTING.Test your ideas on paper, in the lab and in the real
world. Learn as much as you can from the test.
Feed it back into the system.
e importance testing as a part of the process cannot be overstated. In a perfect world, this is where the team should be spending the majority of their time. It is the only opportunity to make a mistake, learn from it, and improve on tactics without exposing them to the entire customer base. Still, it’s amazing how many companies fail in this critical step. So much emphasis is placed on research and creative - often this part gets downplayed - or worse yet, overlooked completely.
e key to getting this activity right is to prototype initial concepts quickly - using simple, inexpensive means - and to let them fail. en, feed the learnings back into ideation and discovery quickly to get new concepts. is is why the process isn’t linear - it needs to not only feedback on itself, it needs to do so unpredictably. In a recent project, we developed a simple set of prototypes that could be tested and modified very easily. e models were reworked on the fly based on customer input and observation, and quickly evolved into designs that delighted customers at a fraction of the cost of the original concept. - But they were nothing like what we imagined in the first place. Testing, ideation and research were layered on top of each other, not in sequence, to get a better result that we couldn’t have anticipated.
For a deep dive into testing and prototyping methods, see our next article “e New CX Toolbox.”
DISCOVE
RY
Research the problem,
opportunity, c
ontext, culture,
stakeholder a
nd customer
patterns. U
se whatev
er
research
tools m
ake sense
for your co
ntext.
IDEATION
Develop con
ceptual solution
s
to the problem, ap
proaches
to realize
the opportu
nity,
better ways
to do so
mething,
methods to foste
r a bette
r
experience.
TESTING
Test you
r ideas on paper, i
n
the lab and in the re
al world
.
Learn as m
uch as you can
from the te
st. Feed it b
ack
into the sy
stem.
SUMMARY:CX DESIGN IS A PROCESS THAT HELPS TEAMS SHIFT FOCUS FROM PRODUCTS TO PEOPLE.e design process puts a different spin on the scientific method. It is a self-correcting system, where hypotheses and new ideas come in, and tested, validated research comes out - to be fed back in to inform the next round of new ideas. A CX designer’s role is one of keeping focus on how people, products and systems interact - using the process to explore new ideas before they are brought to market. ose ideas become the building blocks of brands because they will be the main touchpoints for customers. For that reason they can have a great deal of value to both the customer and the business.
e difference between CX design and all the other types of design (architecture, graphic design, service design, industrial etc.) is that a CX designer is not tied to a single medium. Architects work in construction, graphic designers work in 2D media, service designers create service systems, industrial designers work in manufacturing. But a CX designer works hand in hand with all of these professions (and several others) to create a holistic experience for a customer across all media and channels. is design thinking needs to be combined with analytical horsepower and fluency in business management in order to understand the financial impact of the work. It also needs to be mixed with a deep understanding of research methods to build an understanding of the customer, their preferences and patterns.
In our next article, “e New CX Toolbox”, we will discuss these research and analytical methods in greater detail.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Sketching User ExperiencesBill Buxton, Morgan Kaufmann
Change by DesignTim Brown, Harper Collins
is is Service Design inking.Stickdorn and Schneider. Wiley Press
LifestyleBruce Mau, Phaidon.
nasa.orgBuckminster Fuller Institute - bfi.orgartcenter.org
The Art and Science of Customer Experience: Design Thinking and CX
by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014. Images by Paul Conder, except as noted.
Six Research Toolsets for Building a Better Customer Connection
by Paul Conder. Lenati. 2014.
BETTER RESEARCH MAKES BETTER BUSINESSFor any customer experience initiative to be successful, the project team needs to be very well informed about the customer’s preferences, opinions and behaviors. is is fostered by a complex network of channels, environments, touchpoints and media. at’s a lot of moving parts, and a lot of different interests to keep in check.
It never ceases to amaze us how much there is to discover when we embark on a new CX project. Many ideas that seemed to be “givens” dissolve the moment we get into the field and start talking to people. Over the years, we have developed a working set of tools that help us get a better understanding of the customer. It’s unlikely that you would ever use them all on a single project, so knowing how each tool can extend your capabilities to understand the customer is key to framing up a project.
Before getting into the toolbox, we need to start by asking what aspects of the customer’s experience we want to examine, and what the scope of the project will be.....
THE NEWCX TOOLBOX
Lenati LLCUnit 100 1300 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA1 800-848-1449 lenati.com
PERSONAL
PRACTICAL
CULTURAL
PROFITABLE
From what we’ve seen there are four conditions that need to be satisfied to foster a customer experience that is mutually beneficial to the customer and the company.
Personal. e customer will be giving their time and their money in exchange for a product, service and experience - they deserve to be engaged in a way that is relevant and valuable to them.
Practical. e company needs to be able to effectively operationalize the approach in the real world.
Profitable. e balance between operations costs and sales conversions needs to be positive and worthwhile.
Cultural. For the customer, the experience needs to be appropriate for their cultural framework and how they see themselves in it. From the company’s point of view, the aggregate of all these experiences makes up the building blocks of their brand and it’s place in the world.
FOUR CONDITIONS.
PERSONAL
PRACTICAL
CULTURALSO
CIAL
MED
IA
MOB
ILE
INTERIOR SPACEAR
CHIT
ECTU
REPR
ODUC
TSE
RVIC
E
MESSAGING
WORD OF MOUTH
ADVERTISING
MERCHANDISING
WEB DESIGN
OPERATIONS COSTSBUSINESS GOALS
CAPITAL COSTS
R+D COSTS
SALES METRICS
OPS
FRAM
EWOR
K
DIST
RIBU
TION
LEAD
TIM
ES
MANUF
ACTU
RING
CONSTRUCTIO
N
SERVICE FRAMEWORK
BRAND
SOCIETAL
DEMOGRAPHIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
LIFECYCLE
TECHNOGRAPHIC
PROFITABLE
ECONOMIC
When a customer interacts with a brand, each aspect of the customer experience is modified through different media and channels. Each of these can be extremely complex in themselves, can overlap each other, and are generally managed by large diverse groups within a company. ese groups are often siloed into isolated management structures, with a lack of communication between each other. When a single tactic, aimed at fostering a positive customer experience requires a holistic approach to be successful, many management teams are unable to get a complete view of the terrain.
To define a research approach - and to define the tools needed to follow it through - it’s important to ask some questions about the current state customer experience, for example: • What do we know about the current customer
journey and their profile?• Where are the problem areas or opportunities that
we can identify now?• What do we know about customers perceptions,
preferences and behavior patterns?• How does customer perception drive spend?• What and how do we need to test? What are our
priorities in research areas?
PERSONAL
PRACTICAL
CULTURAL
SOCI
AL M
EDIA
MOB
ILE
INTERIOR SPACE
ARCH
ITEC
TURE
PROD
UCT
SERV
ICE
MESSAGING
WORD OF MOUTH
ADVERTISING
MERCHANDISING
WEB DESIGN
OPERATIONS COSTS
BUSINESS GOALS
CAPITAL COSTS
R+D COSTS
SALES METRICS
OPS
FRAM
EWOR
K
DIST
RIBU
TION
LEAD
TIM
ES
MANUF
ACTU
RING
CONSTRUCTIO
N
SERVICE FRAMEWORK
BRAND
SOCIETAL
DEMOGRAPHIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
LIFECYCLE
TECHNOGRAPHIC
PERFORMANCE DATA INTEGRATION
EXIS
TING
RES
EARC
H
ONLI
NE A
NALY
TICS
SOCI
AL A
NALY
TICS
BEAC
ON D
ATA
MOB
ILE
ANAL
YTIC
S
VOIC
E OF T
HE CUST
OMER
VOIC
E OF
THE
OPE
RATO
R
DESIGN PROVOCATION
CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING
TOUC
HPOI
NT O
VERL
AY
OPERATIONS OVERLAY
OPER
ATIO
NS O
VERL
AY
LIFECYCLE MAPPING
LIFECYCLE MAPPING
FOCU
S GR
OUP
PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS
PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS
OPERATIONS AND PROCESS ANALYSIS
FIEL
D SAFA
RI
FIELD OBSERVATIO
N - APP ENABLED
PHOTO / VIDEO ETHNOGRAPHY
AUTOMATED ETHNOGRAPHY
CUSTOMER DIARY
SECRET CUSTOMER
SECRET CUSTOMER
LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP
CULTURAL PROBES
BRAND ANALYSIS
TECHNOGRAPHIC SURVEY
PROFITABLE
ECONOMIC
e CX Toolbox - the components of which are shown here in the outer ring - is a set of processes and research tools to aid in the Discovery and Testing phases of a CX project. e toolbox is aimed at giving a company a better understanding of how it connects with its customers in the real world, the experiences that customers are having as a result, and how all of this relates to business goals and profit for the company.
In the Ideation phase of a project there are many creative tools - for example brainstorming, visual thinking, oblique strategies etc. - that we will cover in a future article.
EXISTING INTELLIGENCESTAKEHOLDER WORKSHOPLIVE DATA INTEGRATIONEXISTING RESEARCH INTEGRATIONBRAND AUDITSEGMENTS, PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS
CUSTOMER INPUTVOICE OF THE CUSTOMER VOICE OF THE OPERATORFOCUS GROUPWEB FORUMCUSTOMER DIARIES OR PROBES (MOBILE AND ANALOG)PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCE DESIGN
OBSERVATIONAL DATA AND FIELD RESEARCHETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCHPHOTO / VIDEO ETHNOGRAPHYFIELD SAFARISECRET CUSTOMER FIELD OBSERVATION - MOBILE ENABLED
ANALYTIC INPUTONLINE ANALYTICSSOCIAL ANALYTICSBEACON DATAAUTOMATED ETHNOGRAPHY AND ANALYTICSMOBILE ANALYTICS
VISUALIZATIONCUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPINGPERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OVERLAYTOUCHPOINT / AFFORDANCES OVERLAYOPERATIONS OVERLAY (STAKEHOLDER MAP)LIFECYCLE MAPPINGCUSTOM DATA VIZOPERATIONS AND PROCESS ANALYSIS
DESIGN RESEARCHLAB SIMULATIONROLEPLAYPROTOTYPE INTERVENTIONSOFT PROTOTYPINGPAPER PROTOTYPINGMECHANICAL TURK PROTOTYPINGFIELD PROTOTYPINGALPHA AND BETA TESTING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The CX Toolbox splits nicely into six toolsets - each one with a different area of focus. These are not necessarily used in a linear sequence - for example customer input could be obtained at several points in a project as concepts are developed.
Photo: Mark O’Rourke
TOOLSTAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP
DATA INTEGRATION
EXISTING RESEARCH
INTEGRATION
BRAND AUDIT
SEGMENTATION AUDIT
PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS
THE EXISTING INTELLIGENCE TOOLSET helps integrate the knowledge that is already embedded in the company into the Discovery Phase of a CX research project. Every company has a set of prior learnings, colloquial knowledge, existing research and financial data that can provide context and key insights for understanding how the company currently connects with it’s customers. ese tools can also be used to bring stakeholders into the conversation who otherwise would not be heard. Additionally, these tools can be used to help the company understand any gaps in it’s understanding of their customer, to better grasp the company’s brand and corporate culture, and to help build consensus amongst the key stakeholders.
USES• To draw out existing knowledge from
leadership and key stakeholders.• To build dialogue and directional consensus
within the project team.
• To integrate current transactional data, purchasing patterns, loyalty program data and other available metrics into the research.
• To continuously update CX outcomes.
• To leverage work already done by the company around customer patterns and behaviors, service and operational systems.
• To understand past successes and challenges
• To understand how the company is perceived in-market, and how leadership sees it evolving.
• To understand gaps between brand vision and the actual perceptions in-market and in-house.
• To understand how the company views and groups it’s customers, their needs and drivers - providing insight on how to reach out to new customers, and better engage existing ones.
• To build iconic profiles that are representative of customer groups or segments - providing a set of criteria that define who the customer is, aligned with their wants, needs and motivators.
APPROACHDevelop and facilitate a set of workshop activities aimed at fostering a conversation between diverse stakeholder groups on key topic areas and project questions. Document and share results across the project team.
Review existing data availability at the start of the project, to ascertain reliability and depth of information to aid understanding of real-world patterns. Inventory and integrate useful data sources, translating as needed.
Inventory past research into customer patterns, segmentation, marketing and sales strategy. Critique and filter by current relevance and alignment with project direction. Integrate findings to guide new research.
Build a view of how the company is perceived inside and out - this can vary enormously with required scope. It could start with simple stakeholder input, but scale up to focus groups, social listening and secondary research.
Assess current customer segmentation, and how useful it is in building a model to acquire or engage customers. If needed, research customer base to offer insights on how to build a more accurate and useful model.
Using research about customer segments and behaviors gathered through ethnography, surveys and other means, compile representative profiles of typical customers that describe each group. Answer the question “who is this?”
LIMITATIONSCan be more useful for building a cultural understanding of the company than generating new findings or ideas.
Non-compatible and outdated data systems can require investment to translate or lead to limited results.
Existing research can be based on out-of-date customer needs, technographic or cultural criteria.
Relying on a company-centric view can lead to an idealized version of the brand, far removed from actual customer perceptions.
Existing segmentation models, if built for another purpose, might not provide a useful framework for improving customer engagement.
Many companies have built personas without deep research to support them, leading to highly idealized, erroneous profiles being put in use.
1.
TOOLVOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
VOICE OF THE OPERATOR
FOCUS GROUP
WEB FORUM
CUSTOMER DIARIES
OR PROBES
PARTICIPATORY
CX DESIGN
THE CUSTOMER INPUT TOOLSET incorporates the customer’s point of view into the Discovery Phase of a CX design project. For all tools show below, it is critical to work with a sample of customers that is as representative as possible of your actual customer base. As with any survey design, the answers will only be as good as the questions - the quality of the data will be dependent on the sensitivity of the researcher not just to the experience of the customer generally, but also their experience of the survey.
USES• To draw out customer opinions and perceptions
about a company, it’s products and services.
• To build an understanding of the employee’s experience, with the pretext that a staff member can only deliver high-quality service if they are empowered and enabled to do so.
• To collect input from a group of either staff or customers to understand their perceptions of a product or service before it is launched.
• Similar in some ways to a focus group, but conducted in an online environment - constraints of time, cost and location can be greatly reduced.
• To build a detailed personal view of the customer’s experience and a document of a continuous customer’s journey.
• To bring the customer’s own insights into the creative process directly.
APPROACHrough a combination of surveys (either in person, via direct intercept or online) and / or facilitated group workshops - record, tabulate and analyze a sample group of customer’s answers to questions about the company.
Similar in approach to Voice of the Customer, above - except with a representative sample of staff instead of customers. Use the opportunity to draw out both insights about the customer’s experience and that of the staff itself.
Assemble a group of representative customers or potential target customers and work through a series of activities aimed at drawing out the group’s opinion around their experiences engaging with a product or service.
Bring a representative group of customers together in an online setting, either by video or simple chat, to engage in an open conversation about their experiences.
Distribute either paper or digital (app-based, including photo, video and sound) diary tools to a sample group - have them record their experiences in their own words as they engage with a product or service.
Bring a group of customers into the actual design process through the discovery and creative phases. Encourage their input, especially into new concepts. is usually works best with “expert customers” who are passionate about the end result.
2.
LIMITATIONSMany topics in CX are too subtle to be summed up consciously by a customer in an interview, and need to be discovered in other ways.
ere can be an implicit urge for staff to impress their superiors or please the researcher, resulting in some problems being downplayed.
Many customers have difficulty imagining a future state, and so will be better at giving feedback based on existing paradigms only.
Communication, cross-pollination of ideas and empathy between participants in an online environment is limited.
ere can be a tendency for inconsistent documentation from person to person - creating a data set that is skewed.
Choose your participants wisely! An example of a well constructed group was for the development of Lego Mindstorms - see the case study here: archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.html
TOOLETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
PHOTO/VIDEO
ETHNOGRAPHY
FIELD SAFARI
SECRET CUSTOMER
FIELD OBSERVATION
(TABLET ENABLED)
THE FIELD RESEARCH TOOLSET is used to build a rich set of observations about customer behavior for use in the Discovery Phase of a CX project. Most of these techniques are derived from anthropology or sociology. e term “ethnography” comes from the late 19th century, when Western researchers interested in the cultures of indigenous peoples found that they could only understand their subjects if they made observations up close - observing behavior and interaction in the real world rather than basing their research on hearsay or conjecture. is thinking has been adopted into the field of Customer Experience - with teams of researchers being dispatched to watch customers in the field, hopefully without significantly altering the terrain as they make their observations. While these techniques were originally developed for the physical environment, they have been adapted to call centers, online and other service areas.
USES• To build a deep understanding of customer
behavior patterns in the real world.
• Similar to the above, but using photo and video to extend the reach of the study and document findings in real time.
• To draw out the insights from a group of customers, the first time they engage directly with a brand - recording both behaviors and personal input.
• To document the customer’s journey first hand, with the benefit of a researcher’s POV.
• To minimize the effect of the presence of the observer on the outcomes of the study itself.
• Similar to ethnography, above - but using the recording capacity and speed of a digital handheld or tablet device to record high volumes of observational data in real time.
APPROACHDeploy observers into a representative sample of field locations to observe customer behavior in the context of the service environment, without disrupting the customer or context. Record observations for later analysis.
Use photo and video techniques to create a more extensive document of customer behavior patterns at several locations at once. is can be augmented with automated systems to show density and velocity of customer traffic.
Bring a target group of customers into a service environment for the first time - record ethnographic observations during the engagement AND customer feedback afterwards to get a clear idea of first impressions.
Deploy a group of researchers into the service environment, disguised as real customers, and prepared with an observational framework and scenario to engage with the service. Record observations for later analysis.
Using a tablet, handheld or similar device, build a custom framework that records ethnographic data, allowing the researcher to record more data with less encumbrance in the field. Lenati has developed a proprietary tablet-based system that can be customized based on client needs.
3.
LIMITATIONSis approach can yield a very high quality view of the customer’s behavior - but can be expensive to implement across a broad sample.
e collection of video is the least expensive part of this process - reviewing and analyzing it involves significant time and resources.
Similar to customer voice techniques, customers can only give feedback on things they engage with on a conscious level.
e acting ability of the researcher can limit the test. Staff can react negatively to being observed if the test is discovered.
Cost of developing the recording app might not be justified by the potential benefits of having more data. (Lenati’s system gets around this challenge by being pre-built)
TOOLONLINE ANALYTICS
SOCIAL LISTENING
BEACON DATA
AUTOMATED
ETHNOGRAPHY
MOBILE ANALYTICS
APP ANALYTICS
THE ANALYTICS TOOLSET analyses information collected from digital sources and ethnographic research during the Discovery Phase of a project - identifying correlations in the data to help guide business initiatives. For example, links can be found between touchpoint design characteristics, customer behaviors and revenue. Or relationships between online and offline behaviors can be linked with spending across channels. e amount of data that can come from studies like this can be massive, so having the analytical chops to find real patterns in the data is key to a project’s success. For a deeper dive in this area, see our article “e Phygital Customer” available from lenati.com/cx.
USES• To build an understanding of your customer’s
behavior online, particularly in the context of e-commerce.
• To listen in on public channels of social media to learn what your customers say about you.
• To respond in real time in the customer’s medium of choice.
• To use low energy bluetooth signals from a mobile device to track the near-exact location of customers in a physical environment.
• To use surveillance systems, either through wifi positioning or video, coupled with real time image processing, to capture movements and dwell times of customers in a physical space.
• To understand patterns of customer interaction through mobile channels.
• To draw out purchase patterns, browsing behaviors, loyalty data and other behavioral metrics while using a proprietary app that a customer has installed on their mobile device.
APPROACHIntegrate search engine analytics, website data, click-through data from online advertising, cookie data and other online sources to understand patterns of interaction around your online brand.
Use readily available platforms to make real-time observations of public social media channels - searching for mentions of your company, services, promotions or products. Many companies (for example Burberry) are able to respond in a few seconds to comments/complaints.
Install a network of beacons into the environment, capable of tracking the position of opted-in smart phones. Use the data to understand customer patterns and to push relevant offers and messaging based on customer location.
ere are several services available (for example Nomi, Swarm, RetailNext and Euclid) that offer customer traffic analytics integrated with sales data. For more information, see our article “In-Store Analytics Solutions” at lenati.com/cx. Data from these systems can be integrated directly into CX research projects, or used to create live dashboards of customer patterns.
ere are three areas of study to integrate - anonymous mobile usage data purchased from telcos, mobile website analytics and wi-fi usage in the service environment.
Develop and promote the use of an app that provides a clear benefit to the customer (past purchases, assisted browsing, loyalty programs, special offers etc.) and collects key usage and purchasing data from those who opt in.
4.
LIMITATIONSBlocked cookies, ad filtering and privacy networks can block or misrepresent data for some users, resulting in some skewed results.
Not all social channels are able to be scanned, and each network skews to a different demographic and user profile. You probably aren’t listening to your entire customer base here.
Beacons can only track users that have opted in, and are on the network. Many customers are hesitant to be tracked.
While this technique can give a lot of useful data, it is not a replacement for field observation, which can capture a much deeper set of behavioral information - right the way down to emotional cues and social interactions.
Many customers feel that even anonymous tracking via mobile is an invasion of their privacy.
Tracking app usage patterns only works for those who have opted in, and this is typically a very limited and skewed sample.
TOOLCUSTOMER JOURNEY
MAPPING
PERCEPTIONS AND
EXPECTATIONS
OVERLAY
TOUCHPOINT +
AFFORDANCES
OVERLAY
OPERATIONS +
PROCESSES
OVERLAY
LIFECYCLE MAPPING
CUSTOM DATA VIZ
THE VISUALIZATION TOOLSET helps CX research teams during the Discovery and Ideation Phases find patterns in customer behavior by creating images from the research data - related to the physical, digital and service environment. For a deeper dive into customer journey mapping and related techniques, visit lenati.com/cx.
USES• To build a clear picture of how groups of
customers interact with your company and your brand, calling out moments of engagement, challenges and opportunities to make a better connection along the way.
• To visualize the customer’s journey from their point of view, layering customer voice data into the journey map to anticipate expectations and brand perceptions at each step.
• To tie the customer journey to the digital and physical touchpoints that customer encounter
• To correlate painpoints, softspots and opportunities with digital and physical space.
• To map the operational framework behind the customer journey, accounting for service interactions, the staff journey, operations and capital costs, workflow. Digital and physical.
• To extend the understanding of the customer journey to include the entire relationship with the brand - from first contact to maturity.
• To enhance the view of specific aspects of the customer’s journey - using data visualization techniques to find previously undiscovered patterns in customer behaviour.
APPROACHMap the experiences the customer engages in along their journey, as observed in the research. Base this on real-world findings, not on imaginary personas. Keep your focus on the customer’s POV and use language that emphasizes the subjective, the active and the personal.
Incorporate data from customer voice research around customer perceptions and expectations at each point. Answer the question “What are the customer’s needs and wants here? How are we meeting them?”
Map the digital and physical touchpoints - from large scale (e.g. architecture) to small and personal (e.g. mobile app) into the framework. How are these items helping to enable the customer experience? If they aren’t why are they in the customer’s space?
Repeat the above process to match the service and operational framework to customer journey. How can this be streamlined to improve service and provide a better customer connection?
Zoom out to show the framework of acquisition and engagement pathways for each segment. is is likely such a large scale that it shouldn’t be incorporated into the Journey framework discussed above.
is technique should only be used to solve for very specific problems or opportunities to seek out patterns in the data - and it is very dependent on data analysis tools that are available. Jump 3 pages ahead to see an example.
5.
LIMITATIONSis is a fairly abstract view of aggregate data which can confuse some viewers - for a more granular approach, consider storyboarding.
is layer (and others) will only be as good as the data from previous VoC research - but VoC can be very subjective and difficult to obtain.
Overemphasizing this part of the customer journey map can lead to an operational bias in how it is viewed, shifting focus away from actual customer patterns
Focus needs to be placed on the operator’s journey and associated support systems - not a complete view of every back of house system.
Capturing data for a map of this scale - often spanning years of engagement - can be a challenge.
ere can be a tendency to create beautiful visualization from all this data - that might not carry much relevant information.
Data Visualization Of Customer Patterns In A Physical Environment. Using Lenati’s Tablet-based ethnographic research tool, (T-BERT) an extensive dataset was collected, including customer browsing patterns, pathing, emotional cues, group pattern behavior, and service interactions. This was the mapped to sales data to create a performance-based model of the environment. Using a proprietary visualization system, the data was mapped into an image of the store to reveal density of customer activity and spending. The same technology can be applied to other industries that involve complex customer pathing - for example healthcare, banking, food & beverage and transportation.
SOCIAL SOCIAL SOCIAL
MOBILEMOBILE
IN STORE FOLLOW UPONLINE
ORIENTING
LOCATING
SEARCHING
DISCOVERING/SELECTING
TRYING
PURCHASING
SELECTING PURCHASING
CUSTOMER PATHING
PRODUCT ENGAGEMENT
ACTIVATION PRODUCT RETIREMENT
OPERATIONAL ZONES
PRODUCT and SERVICE OFFERINGS
TOUCHPOINTS AND AFFORDANCES
BRAND CUES AND MESSAGING
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES
PHYSICAL
DIGITAL
Customer Journey Mapping A customer journey map is a visualization of customer experiences, aligned to a sequence or process chart. They can take many forms - the one pictured here is a simple sketch created by a leadership team of an omnichannel retailer. The map starts with the customer experiences laid out in the center - enabled through both physical (orange) and digital (blue) media. Connections are made along likely paths made by different customer groups. The product and service offerings, operational zones, service interactions, physical and digital touchpoints and messaging are layered into the map - bringing focus to bottlenecks, painpoints and softspots in the process. Similar to the data viz technique on the previous page, Customer Journey mapping has been adapted to several industries that deal with complex customer interactions and processes.
TOOLSOFT AND PAPER
PROTOTYPING
LAB PROTOTYPING
MECHANICAL
TURK
WORKING PROTOTYPE
INTERVENTION
FIELD PROTOTYPING
THE DESIGN RESEARCH TOOLSET provides techniques for informing a test of CX concepts during the Prototype / Testing phase of a CX project. In the process of creating a new CX strategy, this stage is often downplayed due to the high cost of crating a functional prototype - but many lower-cost options are available to get the bugs worked out and inform the research and design teams. e toolset below is arranged in order of cost, from the lowest to the highest. is is usually the same order in which these tools are employed - testing more ideas faster and cheaper at the beginning - and testing the more refined ideas using more accurate methods later in the process after the first ideas were weeded out. In fact, the first few tools are commonly used in the previous Ideation Phase of a project to inform the team about their ideas as they work.
USES• Using extremely simple and inexpensive means
to test basic concepts for customer interaction.
• Testing a concept in a controlled environment without affecting the perceptions of the general market.
• Testing an interactive system without having to go to the expense of building out the AI or database portions - replacing them with an operator who is out of sight of the subject.
• Testing a fully functional prototype in a real-world environment, intervening in a customer journey with a realistic model of a concept.
• More extensive testing in multiple locations, testing for variations by market, geography, etc.
APPROACHDevise the simplest and the least expensive ways to test an idea - for example model an app using a pad of paper and marker to represent the interface, or create cardboard and acrylic mockups for physical objects or environments. Modify the models quickly as the concepts are assessed. ese models should be seen as “sketches” of ideas - disposable, inexpensive and quick. Move on to more definitive prototypes when the best path is chosen.
In a studio or workshop environment, work through test scenarios like service interactions, mock-up environments, digital interfaces etc. Run subjects through the scenarios, using similar methods as described for the discovery phase of the project.
Build a mock-up of a digital interface on an appropriate hardware platform - but allow the role of the computer to be played by a member of the research team through the back-end of the interface, connected through a network. Collect data on test subject’s preferences and behavior for use in further developing the interface.
Build implement and test an accurate working model of the concept in the actual environment - this could be an environment, a physical touchpoint, digital interface, website or app. Use previous toolsets as applicable to gain insights on customer patterns and business impact.
Repeat the working prototype test, but at multiple locations, sampled to be representative of the company’s reach and future target markets.
6.
LIMITATIONSSoft models can be easily misinterpreted by those who aren’t accustomed to mock-ups produced by inexpensive means. is can lead to misunderstandings around the purpose of the test. Also, many features cannot be tested effectively using simple media.
e controlled environment can produce findings that do not replicate in the real world due to unforeseen environmental interactions.
Without clear guidelines, it is easy for the operator to overstep the abilities of an actual digital interface, giving a false sense of “do-ability” for a concept.
e cost of building fully-functioning prototypes can seem very high for many types of touchpoints. However, these last two tools represent the last opportunities to eliminate any potential mis-steps before they intersect with the customer. Plan for the cost and timing of a real-world test.
AFTERWORD:PEOPLE > TOOLSWhile these toolsets can be extremely powerful in the hands of an experienced research and design team, it’s important to remember that they are only a means to an end. eir value lies in how much they help build an understanding of the customer. ere has been a lot of attention paid to “big data” as customer insights have become more and more data-heavy. Our analytical capacity has exploded in the last few years. It has a lot of potential upside for business, and in turn that has had a lot of press. With all that attention, we need to guard against the allure and the power of the tools themselves overwhelming our industry and relegating something as broad-reaching as “Customer Experience” to some kind of digitally-enabled game of numbers.
But overall my concern is outweighed by my optimism, fueled by the potential I’ve seen in these tools to foster better design, better business practices, and stronger connections with people.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGe research methods discussed in this article are in use across the fields of CX, design, customer insights and marketing. However, the language used to describe these methods is often not consistent from firm to firm. Research for this article included:
is is Service Design inking.Stickdorn and Schneider. Wiley Press Design ResearchBrenda Laurel, Editor. MIT Press.
Visualizing Complexity.Manuel Lima, Princeton Architectural Press.
Massive Change.Bruce Mau & Institute Without Boundaries, Phaidon.
Why We Buy - e Science of Shopping.Paco Underhill, Simon and Schuster.
The New CX Toolbox by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014
Images by Paul Conder, except as noted.
THE NEW PATHS TO PURCHASECustomers aren’t connecting with companies the way they did even a few years ago. It’s difficult to overstate the enormity of the change as companies adapt to new channels, and try to meet their customers on their own ground. And this change is only going to accelerate as new channels come into being and recombine to face the customer. All we know for sure is that most companies (over three quarters of them according to Forrester Research, 2013) are working hard to evolve their approach - and that the approach will probably be partially obsolete by the time it is crystallized into sales and marketing tactics on the ground.
Older models, which are still taught in some form today, often visualized the customer’s path to purchase as an inverted pyramid or funnel, with customers following a simple linear path. Every point of contact was about moving the customer to the next step, and then driving the sale. A few years ago this was a reasonable way to look at the process.
We could see this changing as early as the mid 1990s as the web was adopted into business and everyday life - but the seismic shift in customer patterns didn’t peak until the online world became simultaneously social and mobile. at’s when e-commerce came off the desktop and collided head-on with other, more mature channels. e physical overlapped with the digital. Now, an entire generation has been raised in a “phygital” culture where anything is accessible, from several sources, through any channel, at any time.
TEN WAYS TO CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS IN AN
OMNICHANNEL UNIVERSE
by Paul ConderLenati LLC
2014
LET’S GETPHYGITAL
1. OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING ink of all the ways your customer connects with your company. How many different moving parts are involved in fostering that connection? Everything from customer service to interior design to social media channels to web interactions to traditional media all come into play. You even need to consider the operations and infrastructure that supports all these connections - where are your products manufactured? how much energy do you use? how do you support a customer after-purchase? - and how all of these operations can become visible to your customer, especially when things to wrong.
e key to creating a holistic view of your customer’s journey is to build a map of each of their interactions over time, and across channels, from their point of view. As channel models become more complex, newer models of customer journey mapping have been developed.
Consider two paths to purchase. - One typical of a customer a few years ago, and one now. e first case might look like this:• Awareness was built through traditional media and word of mouth• Interest was reinforced with possible contact with a sales touchpoint • Consideration usually involved person-to-person consultation.• Purchase was also in person at a physical location. • Follow-through was usually spotty, if it happened at all. A bill would
be sent in the mail, most one-time purchases had no follow-through, large purchases warranted a phone-call.
AWARENESS
INTEREST
CONSIDERATION
PURCHASE
FOLLOW THROUGH
OLD MODEL
photo: Garry Knight
In our second case the customer’s journey might look more like this:• e customer becomes aware of a brand through
social media.• She becomes more interested through repeated
contact through multiple channels. She may simply purchase online at this point - or....
• She may need first-hand contact with the product or service - in which case she reserves it online, and visits a physical location.
• During the visit, she uses her smartphone to connect with social media. She looks at competitor’s pricing on the web. She uses the company’s app to access a promotion. She compares online pricing.
• e customer decides to purchase. During the process, a second off-site product has caught the customer’s interest. - No problem. - It will be ordered and shipped to her directly from the e-commerce site.
• During the process, she has opted in for sharing her information with the company. is is used to follow up with her in a personalized way.
e first customer’s journey could be visualized on a simple linear path. e second model requires another dimension that tracks options through various channels, many of which are in play simultaneously. As always, it is important to visualize this journey from the point of view of the customer themselves. Painpoints and softspots in the journey should be considered as you go, developing a clear brief for creative. ere are many ways to visualize this - the one pictured here is only one example.
For a deep dive on customer journey mapping, see our articles “e New CX Toolbox” and “Customer Journey Mapping” - both available from lenati.com.
AWARENESS
website
blog
blogINTEREST
website
PURCHASE?
CONSIDERATION
website
app
PURCHASE
e-commercesite
e-commercesite FOLLOW UP
app
social customersupport
loyalty (app)
DIGITAL
MOBILE
PHYSICAL
WEBSOC
IAL
IN-PERS
ON
APP
NEW MODEL
According to Google’s Mobile In-Store Research (2013) Shoppers who use mobile more, spend more in-store:Frequent mobile shoppers spend 25% more in-store than people who only occasionally use a mobile phone to help with shopping. And 1 in 3 prefer to use their phone for self help in store, rather than asking staff.
2. ALIGNING MANAGEMENT ACROSS CHANNELSMany companies - and the agencies and consultancies that work for them - took a siloed approach to building out their companies as channel options started to grow. is probably made some sense at the time - making separate business units for each channel allowed for rapid growth in the short term. But that didn’t help the customer. Let the fun begin:
A conversation a customer was having in one channel didn’t carry over to another. “I was on the website - I put all my information in, and then your site crashed my browser - now I’ve been on hold for an hour and you need all my info again!!?? $%*@!”
Prices and promotions don’t align. “It costs how much if I buy it from you? your own website has it for half that!”
After a wonderful, personal experience learning about a service, the experience at purchase is lengthy and horrible. “Why do you need my address from five years ago for me to get a new phone?”
Usually these problems stem from how the company is organized and managed. Each channel is operated separately by people who aren’t co-ordinating with each other around the customer’s journey and the company’s brand. None of them are empowered to work across channels to make a better experience - and the company’s operations and supply chain take precedent over building connections with customers. We’ve seen some companies where each VP is somehow visible in the design of their website or store interior. e result is clutter and disorganization.
In the long term, there is only one way to combat this problem - from the top down. e top leadership of the company needs to have a clear vision for how the brand manifests itself across all channels, and then bring the silos into alignment.
CX integration = integration of services = co ordination of teams.
Photo: Lauren Manning.
3. REDUCING EFFORT vs SURPRISE & DELIGHTere are two competing approaches to cross-channel customer experience - and they are both valid depending on the customer’s context. ere seems to be some confusion around which approach best suits each channel.
First is the premise that customers should be surprised and delighted at every step of their journey. Customer service, website, app, and especially in-person interactions should be of the highest quality, personalized, compelling and memorable. I believe that this approach stems from older service models, where the industry benchmark was high-service, one-to-one interactions. ink of the kind of service you would expect from a high-end tailor. - In-person channels can demand personal service.
e second approach relates to how much effort is required on the part of the customer. In his book “e Effortless Experience” Matthew Dixon explains that expensive initiatives on the part of brands to stage compelling experiences often lead to no improvement in loyalty - or worse. According to his research, a customer service interaction is four times more likely to foster disloyalty than loyalty. He found that 57% of inbound calls to call centers come from people who were on the website and couldn’t find what they wanted. If you are booking an airline ticket online or paying a parking fine, the last thing you want is to take the time and effort to be delighted and surprised by call center staff.
Sculpture by Yayoi Kusama, Photographed at Naoshima Japan..
In CX design, the approach you take should be dependent on the channels in question, the characteristics of brand, and on the expectations of your customer. Most transactions or queries - especially those in digital channels - improve with increased simplicity and ease of use. e less information the customer needs to provide, the lower the wait times, the less keystrokes, the better. But this isn’t always the case for in-person experiences. A luxury purchase guided by the personal touch of a well-trained sales associate, the brief conversation with a barista, or the extra moment spent with a family doctor can all be worth that extra bit of time and effort. ere is a tendency for designers to aim to make every experience this compelling - which unfortunately can lead to a lot of misplaced investment - but sometimes this connection is the essence of the brand.
In architecture, there is a saying “if you can’t hide it, make it a feature” - in other words, anything that is visible to the visitor needs to be meaningful, and everything else needs to disappear completely. e same can be said for CX - reduce the customer’s effort where you can. Everywhere else, align the experience to brand.
REDUCE EFFORT WHERE YOU CAN. IF NOT, ALIGN EXPERIENCE TO BRAND.
4. CREATING CONSISTENT EXPERIENCES ACROSS CHANNELSe explosion of communication channels has altered how we interact with brands and with each other on a fundamental level. We can be present in multiple channels at once. We can bring competitors into once-private conversations. We can be extremely well informed. We are in social relationships with hundreds of people around the world. We have a different system of values than we did a few years ago. We have very high expectationsAnd we are extremely fickle.
People tend to consciously notice the channel they are using only when something goes wrong - a website crashes, there is a long wait in the emergency room, or the call-center drops a call. Once a channel has been adopted and the novelty of it wears off, its use becomes second nature. All of the customer characteristics mentioned above are usually only noticeable from the outside - for example from the point of view of a company that is trying to do business in these channels and needs to build systems to allow people to do what now comes “naturally.” Our customers are way ahead in understanding how this should all work. It’s our job to catch up.
Older communications channels (TV, radio, print) effectively broadcast the same message to a large group - and newer channels (web, social, mobile) enable more of a conversation between companies and people. So aligning experiences across channels starts with being ready to have a consistent conversation wherever the customer is present.
e next points are all hinge on that principle.
Real time visualization of major internet nodes by PeerOne Hosting iPhone app. peer1.com
5. MESSAGINGYou can assume that the customer has access to an enormous amount of information about you and your company. - So at all points and all channels, you need to be ready with a consistent message about:
•product•service•pricing
is is usually the first place companies fall down in an omnichannel space. Getting this right is the “low hanging fruit.” While top-down approaches are not as in-favor as they used to be, they have their advantages here - a strong customer-centric vision from the top management needs to be disseminated through every facet of the company for this to work.
•fulfilment and delivery•follow-up•operations
6. TRANSPARENCYWith all the information about your company that is online and with many customers (especially younger ones) becoming more conscious about who they do business with, the way your company does business is every bit as important as what you are selling. Your brand, your ethics and values, where and how you operate your business are all on display. Window-dressing and a veneer of social responsibility don’t cut it. Your company needs to be everything it claims.
Real time visualization of major internet nodes by PeerOne Hosting iPhone app. peer1.com
7. DATA COLLECTION ere has been an explosion in the amount of data that can be collected about your customer’s patterns and preferences. Insights can be collected and collated across channels - from behaviors, pathing, emotional cues and dwell-times in a physical environment (hospital, retail space, airport) to online browsing and social media patterns, there is no shortage of information available about how your customer is connecting with you. In response, customers expectations are shifting in two opposite ways:
•Concerns about privacy around how the data is used and collected.•Higher expectations of service now that the data is available.
ere is no one-size-fits-all method that will tell you what kind of data your customer expects you to collect and how they will expect you to use it. Some industries - for example finance and healthcare - need to be extremely sensitive and cognizant of privacy - but the potential upside to the customer could be enormous (even life-saving) if all the right service providers can get access to the right information about the customer at the right time. is balance needs to be carefully considered for each business, and co ordinated throughout the organization.
Real time visualization of major internet nodes by PeerOne Hosting iPhone app. peer1.com
8. CHANNEL OPTIONSIn the simpler path to purchase model illustrated earlier, customers had much less choice in which channels they used. - It was easy to confuse this limitation with the idea that the company controlled the choice of channel itself. Now with the proliferation of channels it has become evident to even the most backward company that the customer is actually the one in control.
is doesn’t mean that you need to be present in every single possible channel. Much of the shift towards digital has been driven by potential cost savings as older, physical or more labor intensive channels become repurposed or obsolete - while still resulting in a much-improved customer experience, combining digital and physical channels.
Some examples of omnichannel thinking:• Uber implemented an app-based system to hail and pay for
limousine service - bypassing many of the hassles typical in the customer’s experience of a taxi, while greatly cutting costs.
• American Airlines used social media to alert the public about shut-downs during super-storm Sandy- getting word out quicker and to more people at less cost. It is now one of the airline’s key communication channels.
• Royal Bank of Canada has been questioning the role of their physical locations as more services go online. e response is a digitally-enabled streamlined service framework in banks that offers highly personalized service, with many transactions being accomplished cheaper and easier online.
photo of Tibesti Mountains and Tributaries, Chad, by Juan Ramon Rodriguez Sosa, Creative Commons
9. THE POWER OF THE PERSONAL PROFILENotwithstanding the previous point about the balance between privacy and service expectations - customers seem to be less and less tolerant of companies that are unwilling to create a personalized experience. For this to work across channels, a secure and robust profile about the customer’s history, preferences, and interactions with the company needs to be constructed - with the customer’s permission. It also means that it needs to be shared - very carefully - on an as needed basis - with all services that come into contact with the customer. is can mean:
• Reducing service/wait times by using profile data to pre-enable a transaction.
• Curating and recommending choices for the customer based on previous purchases or social input.
• Increasing sales motion by opening up more channels for a customer to connect. (e.g. order from mobile, pick up immediately at a location of their choice, make a recommendation when they arrive, follow up by email.)
• Eliminating the need to provide information repeatedly when switching between channels.
• Providing incentives or rewards to increase loyalty.
gel electrophoresis of DNA, photo by MNolf.
10. OPT-INMany data collection methods may look great from a company’s point of view, but can be intrusive (or downright creepy) from the point of view of the customer. Wifi can allow you to track the movements of people in a physical space through their phones, cookies can track people online, cameras can be installed almost anywhere - but for every new technology there is an example of a company that has gotten into a public-relations nightmare by implementing them without the customer’s consent.
e safest approach in almost every case, at least until another cultural shift comes our way, is to ask customers to opt-in to the program. Be completely transparent about how the data is being collected and used, and stick to your own rules without exception. It may be appropriate and helpful to provide incentives or loyalty/rewards to the customer who opts-in, in exchange for the information that is collected.
While this seems like a fairly new area of focus, it has actually been in common practice in several industries. For decades, financial institutions, airlines and charities have been designing programs where the customer knowingly exchanges information for rewards.
photo: Maximilian Schönherr
“I am enthusiastic over humanity’s extraordinary and sometimes very timely ingenuity. If you are in a shipwreck and all the boats are gone, a piano top buoyant enough to keep you afloat that comes along makes a fortuitous life preserver. But this is not to say that the best way to design a life preserver is in the form of a piano top. I think that we are clinging to a great many piano tops in accepting yesterday’s fortuitous contrivings as constituting the only means for solving a given problem.”
― Buckminster Fuller
AFTERWORD:LET THE CUSTOMER DRIVE THE CHANGETaking an omnichannel approach to your business must be driven by the customer’s needs and expectations, followed by a search for better opportunities to meet them. Technology can play a role in this, but for each of the points raised in this article, the most important aspect is how the business faces the customer, not the technology to make it happen.
e unfortunate tendency is for technology to drive change. According to a study by Altimeter Research called “Digital Transformation”, as corporate budgets for digital marketing, automation, mobile and social media increase, many companies are letting the technology drive the change rather than customer preferences. is can result in a patchwork of technology, which is misaligned to the customer’s expectations and patterns. In the field of technology, it’s easy to be blinded by the novelty of a new trend without understanding what its significance or meaning will be once that novelty has worn off.
e key to avoiding this is to start with a deep understanding of what your customer’s patterns and needs, and where they will likely be in the coming years. Designing new ways to meet them is a form of intervention in the customer’s life - you are placing a new bridge along their path to allow a connection that wasn’t there before. Map their journey and establish the value proposition to the customer before committing to rolling it out. Constructing the bridge can be a lot of work, but it’s work that’s wasted if it has no value for the customer.
photo of geodesic structure by Michael Day
Let’s Get Phygital by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014
Images by Paul Conder, except as noted.
Lenati LLCUnit 100 1300 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA1 800-848-1449 lenati.com
As the battle for customers escalates, companies have turned to traditional marketing tactics such as special offers and promotions to lure customers away from the competition. However, acquiring customers is only the first step in a hopefully long and lucrative relationship; the real challenge is not merely to acquire a customer, but to sustain that customer over their lifetime. Many companies rely on their loyalty programs to drive this customer lifetime value, as evidenced by a 26.7% increase in the number of US programs from 2010 to 2012. However, customers are fickle in the loyalty arena as well. If a loyalty program isn’t tailored to a customer’s specific wants and needs, and achievement of benefits is not timely, customers quickly become inactive members. In this day and age of fierce competition, loyalty alone is not enough.
A key strategy companies are increasingly pursuing as a source of sustainable competitive advantage is the customer experience (CX). Harvard Business review defines customer experience as the internal and subjective response customers have to any direct or indirect contact with a company. At its core, CX is more than just a set of singular touchpoints in a customer journey – it is creating “human moments” throughout the end-to-end experience. And this directly impacts the bottom line, as evidenced by a Forrester study which states that a better CX can deliver more than $1B in revenue growth for large businesses.
THE CX LOYALTYCONNECTION
by Laurie Meek and Paul ConderLenati LLC. 2014
When properly executed, a positive customer experience engages customers on an emotional level, increasing their behavioral and emotional loyalty. According to Forrester’s report “e Business Impact of Customer Experience, 2013”, a positive CX drives customer loyalty. Forrester’s report reviews key loyalty measures, and calculates correlated financial benefits as demonstrated in the below table.
THE CX LOYALTY CONNECTION
LOYALTY MEASURE
Willingness to repurchase has a 0.71 correlation to CX, indicating a strong likelihood for repeat purchase when accompanied by a strong customer experience.
Likelihood to switch to competitor has a negative 0.42 correlation to CX, indicating that customers stay with their current company when accompanied by a strong customer experience.
Likelihood to recommend has a 0.64 correlation to CX, indicating likelihood for positive word of mouth when accompanied by a strong customer experience.
POTENTIAL FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Revenue benefit ranges from $39M in consumer electronics manufacturers to a maximum of $1.3B for wireless service providers.
Retained revenue (saved from churn) ranges from $30M for investment firms to a high of $1.7B for wireless service providers.
Incremental sales ranges from $2M for investment firms to $176M for airlines.
Traditionally, businesses are product-centric, and focus on promoting the value that specific products provide. However, in this digital era, it is critical that companies take a customer-centric approach and organize around customer needs. e Harvard Business Review found that focusing business activities on a holistic customer journey (as opposed to developing individual touchpoints separately) is 30-40% more strongly correlated with customer satisfaction - and 20-30% more strongly correlated with business outcomes such as revenue, repeat purchase, reduced customer churn and positive word of mouth. For many companies, this approach requires a drastic shift in business strategy and requires an integrated approach to both CX and loyalty.
It has been proven time and again how valuable loyal customers are in driving favorable business outcomes. For example, the present value of an Amazon Prime lifetime customer is 149% higher than the value of a non-Prime member. Starbucks attributes a 9% increase in same-store sales for 2013 Quarter 3 to its loyalty program and mobile capabilities. However, if not developed around a holistic customer experience, loyalty programs tend to fall flat. Lenati’s loyalty expert, Clay Walton-House, states that “Relying on traditional loyalty program tactics can result in low engagement rates and a sub-par lift in retention.” To capture long term customer loyalty, the program must offer a seamless customer experience, which manages the core product / service, brand touchpoints, and the CRM / loyalty experience across the customer lifecycle.
BUILDING THE CASEFOR AN INTEGRATED CX LOYALTY PROGRAM
CORE PRODUCT /SERVICE EXPERIENCE
BRAND TOUCHPOINTS
CRM / LOYALTYSTRATEGY
rough our combined work in CX and loyalty, we have uncovered three key steps to achieving a holistic CX loyalty strategy. Step 1: Align loyalty around the customer; then develop the strategy & roadmap. e first step to achieving a holistic strategy is to view the business from the customer’s perspective. Companies must understand not only the specific touchpoints, but the holistic end-to-end journey a customer follows. Additionally, companies must understand the unique needs and wants of customers in order to tailor specific experiences. Armed with data from CRM, Voice of the customer, observational research, sales stats and other sources, companies can formulate a CX strategy around the customer aligned to their patterns and expectations - and the company’s brand.
Step 2: Operationalize the strategy. Bridging the gap between theory and practice is critical. Developing the strategy is only half the battle. If a company fails to develop a feasible and actionable plan, then the customer experience will fall short. DHL provides a great example of a company that was able to successfully operationalize their CX strategy, thereby increasing customer loyalty and driving increased profit. DHL integrated formerly stand-alone business units, and developed services and solutions unique to each industry vertical to address specific customer concerns. Additionally, they created a new portal, MyDHL, to facilitate the customer experience, which helps its customers connect quickly and easily with international markets. With this strategy, they increased profit from operating activities in the first half of 2013 by 7.8%.
DESIGNING A HOLISTIC CX LOYALTY STRATEGY
Photo: Nalilord, Creative Commons
Step 3: Measure what matters. Finally, once the CX loyalty program is designed and implemented, the results must be measured. is is a critically important step, as measuring the incorrect factors can derail the business strategy. Metrics should focus on the customer as the focal point, and should incorporate these four components:
• Connected: Connection to the overall health of a business.• Actionable: Ability to control outcomes.• Predictive: Focused on measuring leading indicators.• Sustained: Leverage tools to keep these metrics front of
mind for faster identification of issues and resolution.
Following these steps, companies are able to connect with the customer in a meaningful manner, and deliver tailored experiences. is sets them up to capture long term customer loyalty, and optimizes their ability to reap financial benefits from increased willingness to repurchase, reduced churn, and increased likelihood to recommend.
photo: Glenn McKechnie
1. A loyalty alone is not enough for a sustained market advantage.
2. A superior CX drives customer retention, which in turn increases ability to achieve business objectives.
3. To develop a successful integrated CX loyalty program, companies must transform their organization to be customer-centric.
KEY TAKE-AWAYSREFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGCustomer Loyalty Programs Stats, Facts and Tips for 2014Sally Burnett, Customer Insights Group/
Understanding Customer Experience, Harvard Business ReviewBy Christopher Meyer and Andrew Schwager. February 2007.
Make the Business Case Maxie Schmidt-Subramanian, Forrester blog, 2014
e Business Impact of Customer ExperienceMaxie Schmidt-Subramanian, June 10, 2013
e Truth About Customer ExperienceAlex Rawson, Ewan Duncan, and Conor Jones, HBR, Sept. 2013.
Loyalty Program Design Methodology. Clay Walton-House, Lenati LLC, April 2014.
e Sales funnel is Dead. Ernan Roman, Ernan Roman Direct Marketing. September 17, 2013.
DHL Launches MyDHL to Enhance Customer Experience. Press Release, 07/04/2012. www.dhl.com/en/press/releases/
e Customer Experience EdgeBy Reza Soudagar, Vinay Iyer and Volker G. Hildebrand. 2012.
Photo: Nalilord, Creative Commons
The CX - Loyalty Connection by Laurie Meek and Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014
Image credits as noted.
e customer experience movement is in full bloom. Companies have awoken to the simple truth that the core driver of consumer behavior isn’t product features or price – its perception. As consumers, it is our experience – the sum of all the ways in which we encounter a company’s brand – that informs our perception of its value, and consequently, our choices about whether or not we incorporate it into our lives.
But what about the experiences of commercial customers? After all, when you pluck the consumer from the context of their personal buying habits and place them in the workforce, it turns out many of them transform into prospective clients for a host of B2B products and services. ere, in the course of their professional lives, they have encounters with commercial brands, develop perceptions about their associated value, and ultimately choose which products and services to procure on behalf of their organizations.
How odd, then, that the relatively new field of CX is disproportionately comprised of consumer applications. e success stories and marquee case studies are predominantly drawn from the B2C world. e widely acknowledged pioneers of CX are the likes of Apple, Amazon.com, Costco, Nordstrom, and Starbucks. According to a study that surveyed Customer Experience Management (CEM) leaders in 2013, all of the top 10 companies admired for their customer experience were B2C organizations.i
ere is a fascinating conversation circulating through the CX community as it collectively pauses to ask, “Where are we on customer experience in B2B?” - Why is it that commercial CX seems less visible in the industry literature than its consumer counterpart? Do consumers and commercial clients really make decisions so differently as to necessitate different approaches to CX? And, perhaps most perplexing of all, if the potential B2B returns on CX mirror those enjoyed by B2C companies, why does the CX industry place so much emphasis on B2C?
B2B.CXUNDERSTANDING THE COMMERCIAL
CUSTOMER’S EXPERIENCE
Lenati LLCUnit 100 1300 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA1 800-848-1449 lenati.com
by Jake Bryant and Paul ConderLenati LLC. 2014
But what is the equivalent in the commercial realm? Historically, “empowerment” has been in ample supply for B2B customers on account of their purchasing power and access to capital. If the mining company felt the freight charges from the railroad were too expensive, simply speaking up might result in a friendly downward adjustment, on account of the volume of business conducted between the two. Otherwise, through the magic of vertical integration, it could lay its own track and that would be that. Commercial clients, more often than consumers, enjoy the luxury of “make or buy” decisions. Is it possible that commercial CX is less visible because B2B customers simply can have more leverage?
It’s not likely. e argument that B2B customers hold more leverage means that B2B companies are (or should be) even more attentive to customer experience, not less. e correlation between customer empowerment and the relevance of CX is direct – the further the balance of power swings in favor of the customer, the more scrutiny companies will devote to that customer’s experience as a means of effectively competing for their business and ensuring their perception of value does not erode. A strengthened consumer spawned the Age of CX, and most B2B organizations have been facing empowered customers all along.
Key Takeaway: While the CX community may be preoccupied with consumers at present, the leverage held by commercial clients suggests there is ample justification for a CX focus in the B2B realm. e Age of CX may have emerged predominantly in response to a shift in consumer empowerment, but rather than evidence for the absence of CX in B2B, this suggests that it in fact pre-dates its B2C counterpart.
ere was a time when consumer companies ruled the roost, able to dictate the customer’s experience and constrain the environment and channels surrounding their customer’s purchase decision. at day has passed. e empowered consumer has broken conventional “command and control” engagement strategies. High-pressure sales tactics, “limited time offers”, and inescapable service contracts (some of the more nefarious and anxiety-inducing engagement tactics of a bygone era) have been rendered ineffective if not laughable with the contemporary consumer.
Instead, consumers in the Age of CX are enjoying newfound leverage afforded by the on-demand information, opinions, and competing alternatives they now have in the palm of their hand. No help available in the plumbing aisle at the hardware store? Google Maps can find another one within minutes of your location. Not sure you’re getting the best price on that new TV? Scan the barcode and RedLaser will show you the best online prices that include shipping. is new Age of CX was ushered in by the fluidity of the information suddenly passing through consumer hands. ey use it to discern, decide, and influence one another in places and in ways that make it impossible for companies to dictate the customer experience.
In response, more and more B2C companies have embraced the idea that customers now own their experience. Rather than commandeering it, they are making investments to understand and engage in that experience in more meaningful, value-added ways. Ironically, the same platform, network, and social innovations that are empowering consumers have also created new, high-leverage opportunities for savvy brands to engage them.
CONSUMER LEVERAGE AND THE FLUIDITY OF INFORMATION
photo: ColpuJeremy. Creative Commons.
In the fields of sales and marketing, our propensity for segmentation means we are accustomed to drawing an indelible line between consumer and commercial audiences. But to assume their differences render CX tools “non-transferrable” is severely limiting. e CX toolbox contains methods borrowed from psychology, sociology and anthropology that have been long associated with consumer marketing, but are they any less relevant to commercial relationships? Do consumers and commercial customers really make decisions so differently to necessitate radically different approaches to CX?
Bryan Kramer summed it up nicely in his blog article earlier this year titled, “ere is no more B2B or B2C: It’s H2H (Human-to-Human).” He’s right. – Recall the empowered customer who makes commercial purchasing decisions by day and personal consumption choices by night. In both modes, he requires brands to be personally relevant before opting to engage.
Of course, we could recount all the ways in in which the commercial customer’s path typically deviates from the consumer’s path as justification that the CX toolbox has little relevance in B2B. While the typical consumer experience has a different complexion than the typical commercial experience, the sweeping generalizations regarding their dissimilarities are not always true, and almost never pertinent when it comes to tools we use in CX design:
FOUND IN TRANSLATION: THE FLEXIBLE CX TOOLBOX
Commercial clients respond to sales, marketing is effective with consumers. (en why does Accenture advertise during golf tournaments?)
Commercial clients make expensive long-term investments, while consumers tend to make small impulse purchases.
(Who is more likely to be impulsive? --1. e executive spending 0.1% of a $30M budget on software - or - 2. e young couple writing a $30,000 check to buy their first home?)
Commercial buyers behave rationally, consumers make emotional purchases (How many of us have encountered a client, at the end of their fiscal, saying:“if I don’t spend it, I lose it”?)
Commercial clients demand a higher degree of touch…Commercial clients make recurring purchases…Commercial clients are more risk averse…Commercial clients have multiple decision makers…
It is easy to see how misleading these generalizations can be. Reliance upon them is dangerous, and dismissing the existing CX toolbox on account of how different B2B customers are from consumers is missing the point on CX altogether. To do CX well requires a willingness to embrace the nuance and individuality of your customers, your brand, your unique value proposition, and the many ways they interact with one another in the context of your business. Declaring that a particular CX tool doesn’t have a commercial application is conceding it was probably ill-fit as a consumer CX tool to begin with, because it doesn’t adapt well to context.
Key Takeaway: Every customer journey is unique, so the best practices are patently flexible. When it comes to methodology, there is an enormous overlap between ‘CX for B2B’ and ‘CX for B2C’.
photo: JSJ1946. Creative Commons.
Even as the origins of consumer CX indicate an enormous practical relevance for B2B applications, commercial clients still seem to be under-represented in the CX literature. But that doesn’t mean that B2B organizations have less-developed CX capabilities than their B2C counterparts - they may just be using different terminology to describe it. B2B organizations may not refer to it as “CX” at all - but they still have sought to understand and optimize the customer experience in a myriad of ways. Many of these tactics pre-date the use of CX as a term in B2C. For example, consider how the notable business innovations, shown at the right, have impacted B2B customer experience over the years.
Does this diverse group of business methods and processes constitute an intentional and well-integrated practice of acknowledging and improving how customers form perceptions as they experience a commercial brand? No. But are they evidence that B2B knows a thing or two about CX? You bet!
Key Takeaway: Chances are that if yours is a commercial organization, it already engages in some form of CX strategy or design, even if you don’t have a CX “department”. is initiative may be every bit as sophisticated and powerful as any from a B2C venture. e good news for the soon-to-be B2B CX pioneers: there is no need to start from scratch. Resist the urge to avoid what looks like a new and foreign approach to customer engagement, and instead embrace and extend the efforts already underway to optimize how commercial clients experience your brand.
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: COMMERCIAL INNOVATIONS IN CX
Value Engineering (c. 1945)A 6-phase multidisciplinary methodology that utilizes an objective function to optimize the value of products and processes by balancing function and cost (Value = Function / Cost).ii
Consultative Sales or Solution Selling (1983)A sales approach that focuses on creating value for customers by solving their problems rather than simply compelling them to purchase a product or service on the basis of its features. iii
Account Planning & Account Strategy (1968)Originally employed by advertising agencies, the process of involving the customer in the vision for how a client-vendor relationship will evolve to accommodate shifting needs of the business. iv
Customer Advisory Boards (1997)Formal structure that convenes key customers with a vested interest in the future of a company in order to solicit feedback, share industry outlooks, and gain competitive intelligence. v
Customer Relationship Management (c. 1970)A system of tools, technologies, and procedures for facilitating, managing, and improving a variety of interactions with customers, prospects, and partners. vi
Sales Excellence (2006)An ongoing discipline that ensures a sales organization understands the customer’s business, advocates for customer needs, and assumes accountability for customer results. vii
photo: GWern. Creative Commons.
DIVIDED WE FALL SHORT:TAKING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO CX.e key to any successful CX strategy lies in taking a holistic view of how a company connects with it’s customers. e examples discussed in the previous section can be extremely powerful ways to improve a company’s bottom line - but in isolation they do not constitute a holistic customer-centric view. Often, these activities are managed by groups that are siloed in an organization, making integration around a CX practice difficult. If senior management need to get a clear view of the CX terrain, they will only be able to see smaller incremental metrics from each department - not a complete picture of the customer’s experience, or the business outcomes of making a stronger customer connection across channels and at every point in their journey. is applies to B2B organizations as much as B2C.
One important aspect of this holistic view is the ability to calculate a projected ROI from a CX strategy.x To make this happen, researchers are able to make projections of revenue and cost impacts at each stage in the customer’s journey - creating a picture of financial returns based around well-understood customer patterns and real-world research. is is a much more powerful (and accurate) way to model ROI than benchmarking based on previous cases from other companies because it responds to the context of the relationship between the company and the customer. e most profitable CX strategies acknowledge that customer experience starts long before, and extends far beyond, any purchase decision - taking into account awareness, engagement, adoption, purchase, use, advocacy, referral, re-purchase and beyond. Each stage can be assigned its own performance indicators connected to revenue events and cost centers - all of which can be optimized through mindful CX engagement. Not every CX initiative spans every stage of the customer lifecycle, but measuring customer lifetime value ensures we assess the full impact of each encounter as it ripples through the relationship.
Key Take-Away: Looking at ROI in relationship to the customer’s journey and lifecycle goes hand in hand with taking an integrated approach to CX. Disjointed, compartmentalized, or opportunistic CX initiatives have blind spots. ey are incapable of generating returns against the full complement of opportunities embedded in the customer experience. photo: Rick Harris
e art and science of customer experience is a complex undertaking, not a simple reconfiguration of an existing go-to-market approach. It involves not only a willingness to reexamine the aspects of a company’s offering that have been painstakingly planned and meticulously stewarded (e.g. product design, messaging, competitive positioning, distribution), but also a compulsion to charge bravely into the realm of the unknowable and uncontrollable (e.g. behavioral psychology, social power and influence, information ecosystems, preferential analysis).
And yet, the CX movement flourishes because the rewards for knowing, internalizing, and optimizing customer experiences are rich. And it’s also just the right thing to do – acknowledging that the customer has the right to own their experience, but opting to be accountable for it anyway. Consumer marketers are feverishly mapping customer journeys, building big data tools to gather touchpoint intelligence, and leveraging social media to extend and optimize every available moment of omnichannel engagement.
Where is B2B when it comes to CX? In many ways, it has been right next to B2C all along. Not far less developed, but not well-integrated either. ere is no good reason for the disassociation. Are commercial customer experiences different from consumer experiences? Absolutely – in the same way no two consumer experiences are exactly alike. Organizations serving both customer segments each strive for the same thing: a better understanding of customers, and more meaningful engagement in their journeys. B2B and B2C stand to benefit from the sharing of tools and approaches. In pursuit of closer customer connections and better ROI across the board, it’s time to integrate the segments and find out just what kind of CX innovation might result.
CX INTEGRATION:A WORTHWHILE JOURNEY FOR B2B AND B2C
2013 Global Customer Experience Management Survey, Beyond Philosophy.http://www.beyondphilosophy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Global-Customer-Experience-Management-Survey-2013.pdf
What is Value Engineering, SAVE International. http://www.value-eng.org/value_engineering.php
Solution Selling, Mike Bosworth Enterprises.http://www.mikebosworth.com/solution_selling.html
How to do account planning – a simple approach, Mark Pollard.http://www.markpollard.net/how-to-do-account-planning-a-simple-approach/
Customer Advisory Board Strategy Guide, CustomerAdvisoryBoard.org.http://www.customeradvisoryboard.org/
Davenport, T.H., Harris, J.G., Kohli, A.K. (2001), “How do they know their customers so well?” MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 42 No.2.
Stevens, Howard (2006), “Achieve Sales Excellence: e 7 Customer Rules for Becoming e New Sales Professional.” Platinum Press.
ere is no more B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human, #H2H, Bryan Kramer.http://www.bryankramer.com/there-is-no-more-b2b-or-b2c-its-human-to-human-h2h/
Jay Walker-Smith, Futures Company. As quoted in:Johnson, Caitlin (2006), “Cutting rough Advertising Clutter.” CBS.http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cutting-through-advertising-clutter/
What’s an Experience Worth? Paul Conder.http://www.lenati.com/blog/whats-experience-worth
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:i
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photo: Anon. Creative Commons.
B2B : CX by Jake Bryant and Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. (C) 2014
Image credits as noted.
LENATI LLC100. 1300 Dexter Ave N,
Seattle WA 98109 USA
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THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
by Paul Conder with Jake Bryant and Laurie Meek. Erin McMonigal, Ed. (C) 2014
All photos and illustrations by Paul Conder except as noted.
LENATI is a consulting firm focused on marketing,
sales, loyalty and customer experience strategy - helping
clients build a stronger connection with their customers.
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