How Experienced are You? 

  “At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation and                         prejudice.”  — Gore Vidal  The Strategy Department here at Mentally Friendly has become curiously concerned by                       the misinformation and confusion that surrounds the de�nition and purpose of The                       Customer Experience.    This �ve-part thought piece sets out to explore this pervasive but oft-misrepresented                       concept - Customer Experience (CX) - explaining what it actually is and what the bene�ts                             of doing it right will bring to your business and your customers.  At the risk of sounding blindingly obvious, we are all in the business of delivering an                               experience to a customer, but who is best equipped in the digital landscape to augment                             the Customer Experience? Which skills are necessary for its delivery? Why should digital                         companies be your lead partner in executing it?   This series goes on a journey from the origins and principles of CX, the responsibilities                             for delivering it, the skills and people who are required to make it work, and �nally                               landing on how to create a collaborative environment that encourages positive CX                       design.   It was conceived, de�ned, discussed, written and edited collaboratively by Anna                     Goddard, Alexandra McIntosh, Brian Dargan, Tadas Lukosevicius and Vicki Wilson.   We hope you �nd it educational, informative, and enlightening. We would appreciate                       your thoughts and feedback.   Brian Dargan 

Strategy Director  brian@mentallyfriendy.com www.mentallyfriendly.com         

 

 

The Story: How Experienced are You? 

 

1.The History of Experience: Accident or Design  

Product folk built products that worked. Marketing folk told stories about it and service                           

people dealt with customers’ feedback and issues. The resulting experience was the                       

sum of these uncoordinated parts. Naturally this did not work seamlessly, until one                         

focused and driven organisation lead by a particularly far sighted individual saw a way                           

to make the sum more meaningful than their constituent parts.  

2.The Principles of Experience: Rules and Engagement  

In a world that is seemingly starved of spare time and cluttered with products and                             

choice, people have learned to be discerning. People don’t (and won’t) care about your                           

product or service unless it makes their lives easier. We yearn for things that create                             

convenience, a sense of delight or both. It’s why our Paleolithic predecessors invented                         

stone tools. It’s why Apple designed the iPhone. And it’s why people are hailing Ubers, in                               

Boston, Bombay, and Brisbane.  

3.The Owner of the Experience: Nobody Knows Anything    

There is a di�erence between knowledge and expertise and for a discipline as new as                             

Customer Experience it’s di�cult to separate the fakers from the makers. Many                       

businesses are talking about CX. Advertising agencies will say they can do this.                         

Consultancies will say they can do this. Design practices will say they can do this.                             

Behavioural economists will say they can do this. Can they all? Equally well?  

4. The Skills to Construct the Experience: Survival of the Fittest   

Pinch, tap, swipe, zoom. Right here, right now in the palm of your hand is where the                                 

experience begins. As the evolution of experience gains momentum, the structure of                       

our teams needs to evolve with it. But who comes out on top in this game of survival of                                     

the �ttest?  

5.The Creation of the Experience: Good Teams Play Nice   

Competitive advantage lies in creating a complete end to end customer experience.                       

What are the opportunities and challenges to achieving this for agencies (and their                         

partners), clients and customers ? And how much damage could the thinking enthusiast                         

practitioner vs the knowing expert do to the development of the discipline as it matures.                             

How do we enable the creation of a constructive and collaborative environment that                         

encourages the creation of positive CX?  

 

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1.The History of Experience: Accident or Design 

 Product folk built products that worked. Marketing folk told stories about it and service                           people dealt with customers’ feedback and issues. The resulting experience was the                       sum of these uncoordinated parts. Naturally this did not work seamlessly, until one                         focused and driven organisation lead by a particularly far sighted individual saw a way                           to make the sum more meaningful than their constituent parts.  

  “Any company that wants to improve its customer experience should be thinking of                         this as a multiple decade initiative”   —  Kerry Bodine       

2 / 22 

 

If an organisation wants to understand the importance of its customers, journey                       mapping is a good starting point because it helps us understand where they are coming                             from and where they are going when they interact with your brand. If we were to                               journey map experience design we would see that it has come from a variety of                             di�erent start points. Its interaction components are not always as interdependent as                       they could be or its experience as consistent as the customer might like.  A lot of this can be put down to the di�erent interpretations of the relationship between                               CX and UX as it’s that interpretation that determines what Customer Experience Design                         (CXD) is actually delivered. What it should be is rather elegantly described below by the                             O�ce of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, in the UK. 

  But as elegant as this solution is, how did we get to a position where there are such a                                     variety of misinterpretations around what Experience Design actually is?  You can actually trace the origins of UX back to 500 BC and the ancient science of                                 Ergonomics (ἔργον, meaning “work”, and νόμος, meaning “natural laws”) — which was                     Ancient Greek society's attempt to establish a set of principles that were making work                           more convenient and e�cient (e.g. Hippocrates provided a description of an optimal                       surgeon’s workplace).  Then things went quiet for about 2,000 years as mankind had other more pressing                           issues to attend to. In 1995, Industrial Designer (the parent profession of the modern                           day design thinker) Henry Dreyfuss wrote the book ‘ Designing For People’ in which he                           stressed the connection between people, their experience and the successful design of                       a product. These principles, which include today’s oft-invoked concept of delight, have                       only grown more relevant as the points of contact between product and person                         proliferate.  The human element was augmented with technology in the 1970’s when Xerox’s famous                         research arm, PARC, gave form and function to the design of computers for human use.                             Bob Taylor, a trained psychologist and engineer, led his team in building some of the                             most important and enduring tools of human-computer interaction, including the                   graphical user interface (GUI) and the mouse.     

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“I don't believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. There are no                           accidents.”   — Pablo Picasso  These tools then bubbled up to the perimeter of the mainstream (and into all design                             thinkers’ consciousness) in 1984 when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched the                       Apple Macintosh. And from these tools - the mac, the mouse and the Apple OS - digital                                 UX as an experience and a discipline, was born.  From its birth, it took another 11 years before it had an o�cial name at which point an                                   electrical engineer and cognitive scientist by trade, Don Norman joined Apple to help                         with the research and design of its upcoming line of human-centered products. He                         asked to be called a "User Experience Architect," marking the �rst use of the term in a                                 job title. By this time he had also written his classic book, ‘ The Design of Everyday Things, ’                                 which championed design for usability and functionality rather than aesthetics. So he                       kinda had the right to insist on the title.  Apple then kinda then had the right to claim to be the �rst business to deliver the �rst                                   CX to compliment a digital user experience when they opened Apple's �rst physical                         store at the Tysons Corner Center mall in Fairfax County (incidentally then the richest                           county in the US) Virginia on May 15, 2001. This was the beginning of the building of a                                   truly unique retail empire through the vertical integration of their product, their retail                         and their customer experiences. And a philosophy which is more in tune (and in debt)                             to The Ritz-Carlton: Steps of Service, the gold standard in analogue CX, than any set of                               retail sales modules.  But this story is not linear or just about companies and technologies. It’s also about                             content and its impact on experiences. This impact broke out in 2005 through personal                            blogs, social networks, online communities and discussion boards, product reviews,                   wikis, news sites, travel sites, video, and photo-sharing sites, and anything else that was                           begat by User Generated Content, which as well as becoming Time magazine's 2006                         Person of the Year fundamentally changed digital and retail experiences for consumers                       for good and forever.  "Innovate as a last resort"   — Charles Eames  All these elements really only became interdependent and really only started to evolve                         in unison in 2007. Perhaps Apple did not know at the time, but they probably had a                                 strong hunch that one device was going to radically escalate and innovate the practices                           of UX and CX for businesses and consumers alike. And as history is written by the                               victors we can use this story as a reference and version of the truth that we can agree                                   on.      

4 / 22 

 

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone at MacWorld 2007, calling it a "leapfrog product" that                           

promised to be far easier to use than any other smartphone on the market. Not only did                                 

it deliver on its promise, but it changed the landscape of digital devices forever,                           

catapulting Apple into its position as one of the world’s most successful companies. The                           

genius of the original iPhone, arguably, lay in its fusion of superior hardware and                           

software to provide connectivity through a hybrid of inputs - voice, gesture and touch                           

making the physical keyboard obsolete. 

 

Through the iPhone, Apple had created a UX far superior to that of any other                             

contemporary device. This inadvertently led to the current business focus on CX. If                         

Apple’s emphasis on delivering great experiences was winning them market success                     

and critical accolades, others wanted in on it too. The benchmark was set. 

 

Through the Apple Store, Apple has created a retail experience far superior to that of                             

any contemporary retailer. The experience powered by the Apple Store Triple                     

Convergence (ASTC) creates a retail atmosphere that enables customers to properly                     

experience Apple products and to be assimilated into the Apple community. It has also                           

turned Apple stores into the most pro�table retail stores on the planet.  

 

 

 

Through both of these, Apple has created an experience design where both the iPhone                           

and the Store, powered by their shared platform and iOS, o�er the consumer a                           

seamless, consistent, frictionless experience in either or both channels. An experience                     

that was �rst born in 2007 and has yet to be bettered, by Apple or anyone else. 

  

    

5 / 22 

 

2.The Principles of Experience: Rules and Engagement  In a world that is seemingly starved of spare time and cluttered with products and                             choice, people have learned to be discerning. People don’t (and won’t) care about your                           product or service unless it makes their lives easier. We yearn for things that create                             convenience, a sense of delight or both. It’s why our Paleolithic predecessors invented                         stone tools. It’s why Apple designed the iPhone. And it’s why people are hailing Ubers, in                               Boston, Bombay, and Brisbane.  “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be                                 

beautiful”  — William Morris  In his book, The Design of Everyday Things , Don Norman stated that when things are                             designed well “the results are brilliant, pleasurable products. When done badly, the                       

products are unusable, leading to great frustration and irritation”. As the recognition                       that a product’s convenience and usability hinges on the end-users’ capabilities and                       needs dawns on businesses, so do the concepts of User Experience (UX) and                         Human-Centered Design (HCD). But what do these things mean, and what separates                       HCD from Regular-Old Design? Pay attention now, because these are the six principles                         of HCD, and why they matter.  Know  Designing something that creates convenience begins with a thorough comprehension                   of the customer’s behaviours, pain points, wants, and needs. In plain terms: know your                           customer . It’s Business 101, right?   It also makes perfect sense that a Human-Centered approach to design puts the                         customer, their behaviours, paint points, wants and needs at the center of the product                           concept and design. With that said, let’s move onto the second principle of HCD.  Involve  The best way to know what someone wants is to ask. Similarly, the most e�cient way to                                 understand what one needs is to observe their behaviour, identify what’s missing, or                         what’s not quite right, and then talk to them about it.   From concept development, through prototyping, and into development, The                 International Usability Standard calls for users to be involved throughout every step of                         the design process.   So that we’re clear; this does not mean asking people what they want and just giving it                                 to them ( Endsley, (2004) Designing for Situation Awareness ) Users are not design thinkers.                         But they are paying customers, and a product’s success relies on their ability to use it,                               no matter what form it takes.  

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 “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” - Henry                               

Ford 

 Listen  Not when someone gives their two cents about what colour they like best. But when                             they stumble across an element of the design solution that creates (or does not remove)                             an inconvenience. When they express that the product’s behaviour does not match their                         expectations. When they struggle to get from A to B. Or to get A to do B.   A Human-Centered approach to design requires end-customers to drive and re�ne the                       design through continuous evaluation of the product’s e�ectiveness and e�ciency                   (Marcus, A. (2013). Design, User Experience, and Usability: Web, Mobile, and Product Design ) ,                         when used by real people, in real life scenarios.  Iterate  Solving anything - a puzzle, an argument, a problem - doesn’t happen without a bit of                               going back and forth. To reach the best solution (note: the best solution), we need to                               consult (involve), try (test), evaluate (listen), re�ne and repeat ( Zimmerman, E. (2003). Play                         

as Research: The Iterative Design Process ). All the while, making compromises along the                         way.   The iterative nature of successful problem solving is a key feature of the HCD process,                             as it is what keeps the design on the path to meet the customer’s needs. In turn, this                                   keeps the design on the path to becoming a successful product - a solution that works                               for everybody.  Consider  Just because something is usable and can get things done, doesn’t mean it is a good                               product. People will force themselves to learn to work with a terrible product or service                             experience, because it does what they need it to do and they don’t have another option.                               But they won’t be happy about it. And they’ll jump on a competitor as soon as they get                                   the chance (we’re talking to you, taxi industry). Because people want - no - they demand                               more than just a good product. It’s about great  experience .  The philosophy of HCD knows this (just like Uber did), and prides itself on considering                             the whole Customer Experience. This ensures that a) people can use the thing to do the                               thing they need to do and b) they �nd the experience of doing so positive, enjoyable                               (Norman, D. (2008) The Design of Everyday Things ).   If we’re not just talking about use, usability, and users, but rather talking about                           products, services, customers, and experiences - who is responsible for designing the                       best solution? 

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 Diversify  The conclusive principle of UCD is that it is a team sport. Design in itself is a complex                                   activity (Norman, D), made even more so when it’s process is grounded in foreign wants                             and needs. The only way it can come together successfully is if a multidisciplinary team                             puts their heads together to �ght for the greater good.   Creating great products that provide convenient, delightful experiences relies wholly on                     getting everyone involved from day dot. ‘Everyone’ includes real customers with real life                         problems and needs, brave businesses willing and ready to provide a solution, and                         product teams made up of diverse skills and expertise ready to design and create a                             solution. Without involving all the right people at every step of the process to test, listen,                               iterate and re�ne, the end product won’t be good. It probably won’t be usable. And it                               de�nitely won’t be convenient or enjoyable. After all, how much UCD went into creating                           the taxi driver’s license?      

8 / 22 

 

3.The Owner of the Experience: Nobody Knows Anything  

 There is a di�erence between knowledge and expertise and for a discipline as new as                             Customer Experience (CX) it’s di�cult to separate the fakers from the makers. Many                         businesses are talking about CX. Advertising agencies will say they can do this.                         Consultancies will say they can do this. Design practices say they can do this.                           Behavioural economists say they can do this. Can they all? Equally well?  We all know that the customer is always right, but who’s asking the right questions of the                                 customer?  Are you willing to jump down the rabbit hole? 

 Good CX puts the customer at the centre of the problem. Not design, not a clever                               strategy, not a beautiful interface and certainly not the priorities of the head honchos in                             the big boardroom. The best CX comes from someone willing to roll up their sleeves                             and step into the world of their customer. Someone with empathy, who can take an                             agile approach to research, testing and someone who is brave enough and empowered                         enough to ask tough questions and disrupt the status quo.  How far are you willing to go? The closer the better. It’s not about titles, but about how                                   intimately and respectfully you can solve problems for both your client and their                         customer. If you’re within an organisation that’s willing and able to do this then power                             to you. But for most, hierarchy, expectations and diplomacy within organisations make                       it di�cult for individuals to drive revolutionary CX from the inside without help.   A beautiful mind, with its hands tied  

 

You need to invest for success. And you certainly need to understand your customer,                           but moreover, something needs to be produced for them. And it is in this production                             that some self-proclaimed CX ‘experts’ could be said to fall short.  Consultantcies consult. Was that not groundbreaking? Okay let’s try that again -                       Traditional and behavioral consultancies are great problem solvers, incredible                 researchers and generally wonderful people (the ones I’ve met anyway), but their output                         is more often a strategy, an analysis of the situation and a suggested plan to execute                               rather than practical solutions and tangible customer facing output.   The same could be said for behavioural economists. Yes, they present incredible                       �ndings and suggest solutions, but often these are removed from the business world -                           too ethereal to have a strong and quick impact on the bottom line.  Both of these consultancy types, as a rule, don’t build. Which means that once the plan                               is set, the knowledge then needs to be passed along to another party for execution,                             which often results in loss of knowledge �delity, and potentially leaving clients                       orphaned to execute on their own. 

9 / 22 

 

You’re just the pretty one 

 

Creative agencies are wondrous, mystical beasts that produce, impactful and creative                     

messages. But can a message alone truly change perception and forge bonds with                         

customers? Or is it merely the wrapping that beauti�es a business from the outside in?  

 

Arguably, the di�culty with trying to solve CX problems as a creative agency (other than                             

not having CX specialists) is that clients simply don't expect or want you to get your                               

hands dirty. They’ve done their research, de�ned their audience, produced the product,                       

and closed that door.  

 

For this reason, unfortunately even the most quali�ed creative agency could struggle to                         

deliver strong CX, simply because of where they are in the food chain. Perhaps, if                             

creative agencies really do want to play in the CX space (and why shouldn't they?), then                               

it’s a battle they need to �ght on two fronts - to get up front in the process so that they                                         

are in a position to guide true change, and to ensure that when they do get a seat at the                                       

table, they truly have CX entrenched within their organisation (and that doesn’t mean 2                           

UX specialists and an interest in CRM).  

 

Nowhere to Hide 

 

Solid CX needs a supporting business culture that ‘gets it’. A model that understands                           

that the process isn’t one neat, linear master solution, but about iterative learning and                           

agile problem solving.  

 

When you are truly working with the customer at the centre of your project, you will feel                                 

a bit uneasy. This is because you will be working on the coal face of the project, face to                                     

face and hopefully in the same room as other project members both agency and client                             

side. Many disparate parts will be coming together at rapid speed, you will be trialing                             

your concept with *gasp* real people . This forces the project to leave the safe shores of                               

assumption and theory, and sailing into the less predictable waters of fact and                         

objectivity.  

 

For someone who works in an agency doing CX and agile well - it’s a massive change.                                 

One that cannot be committed to half heartedly. Both client and third party need to be                               

prepared to work di�erently, and that starts on day one when your agency could ask                             

“what are your customers demanding from you?” 

 

A Star is Born 

 

Ultimately CX is multi faceted, still evolving and we are all still learning. Like professions                             

that have had the time to mature and strengthen, we need to be looking over our                               

shoulders to best in class examples and analysing what made those great, rather than                           

claiming to be experts. We need to be more critical of what we’re doing, because                             

ultimately CX is rising into position and prominence, and worth protecting and                       

respecting in its formation. 

10 / 22 

 

4.The Skills to Construct the Experience: Survival Of The Fittest  

 

Pinch, tap, swipe, zoom. Right here, right now in the palm of your hand is where the                                 

experience begins. As the evolution of experience gains momentum, the structure of                       

our teams needs to evolve with it. But who comes out on top in this game of survival of                                     

the �ttest? 

 

The need to adapt 

 

Historically, every time a new and innovative way to access information succeeds in                         

capturing our attention, content creators jump on the bandwagon before �guring out                       

the right approach.  

 

“They read books on the radio at the beginning of radio; in the beginning of cinema,                               they shot plays”   -  Chris Milk, Clio interactive award winner. 

 

For several decades we’ve been pressing a button to skip an ad on TV and today we are                                   

expected to click and voluntarily see the same content online?! With the rise of graphic                             

user interface, digital sensors and interconnectivity - the way we are willing to engage                           

with information and the way we are able to comprehend it, has changed radically. To                             

design experiences that harness the new variables that digital has brought, we need                         

people who understand it. 

 

The landscape of evolution 

 

“Everything is so complex and getting less clear, not more clear; Some of the most                             talented people around don’t conform to any departmental description that we                     recognize.”  —   Carl Johnson founding partner and global CEO of Anomaly. 

 

The number of opportunities that opened up for people who create experiences is                         

making it more challenging to pick the right path, maximise audience engagement, and                         

e�ectiveness in reaching business goals. 

 

New possibilities have distracted customers, who now see no limit to what they can                           

potentially experience. Human nature declares that increased complexity demands                 

clarity. To achieve a clear, seamless experience across multiple touch-points we need to                         

add a new set of skills throughout the team, and each step of the process.  

11 / 22 

 

Who will survive?  To identify the set of skills that could bring a competitive advantage to create digital                             experiences, we need to list the core aspects of the digital experience design process. In                             a nutshell, customer experience is a journey from A (their ‘current state’) to B (their                             ‘desired’ state).    

  In our discerning and somewhat greedy society, for this journey to exist, there need to                             be a set of forces present.   

  To align with the forces mentioned above, the experience has to meet a certain criteria.  

    

12 / 22 

 

Understand the existing need  While it may change from project to project, in order to really nail the desired state we                                 

need someone who can:  

 

● Understand the spaces the audience functions in 

● Decipher their behavioural patterns within those spaces, and the reasons behind                     

them 

● Identify the internal and external forces that a�ect this ecosystem  

● Predict the trend of how the ecosystem will change 

 

Unbiased perspective and analytical thinking are crucial at this point of the process.                         

While looking at the required skills you probably think ‘strategist’, I think there is a trait                               

that de�nes an evolved strategist . It is the skill to harness new technology and adapt as                               

the landscape of experience evolves and new opportunities sprout, in order to prove a                           

hypothesis. Agile thinking and iterative learnings from ‘mini experiences’ that can be                       

delivered to market more frequently than the actual products equip the team with the                           

knowledge required to succeed. 

 

Rooting for the business goal  If digital has taught us anything, it’s that it is not always about the money (at the                                 

beginning). It’s the potential to keep an audience engaged that is the golden ticket. This                             

potential can take many di�erent forms - data, for instance, or online tra�c, even plain                             

and simple trust. To harness these options we need someone who can: 

 

● Open up and also narrow down the opportunities 

● Choose the right ‘currency’ 

● Set the right expectations 

● Relate everything to the business’ SWOT 

 

A deep understanding of the business, with the ability to see everything from a new                             

perspective, combined with a deep comprehension of technology, are crucial qualities                     

to have. Does it sound like a product manager?  

 

The evolved product manager is the one who is able to team up with the core                               

stakeholders of the business. Now, before we all raise our hands saying we know one,                             

I’d like to clarify that by ‘team up’, I mean the type of collaboration that is constant and                                   

consistent. I’m talking about going no more than 16 working hours without sharing                         

knowledge, decisions and progress with stakeholders. 

      

13 / 22 

 

Designing a usable experience  

It is important to involve end-customers in the process of creating customer-centric                       

experiences. This task requires a special skill because “People don’t know what they                         want until you show it to them”  Steve Jobs.  To do it well we need someone who: 

 

● Has a vision 

● Can think strategically 

● Is capable of clearly articulating solutions using technology 

● Last but not least, we need someone who is be able to not only listen to a                                 

feedback but also to hear it 

 

The skillset can be associated to a UX specialist. This role is relatively fresh to market,                               

and these people are already respected for their input. However, the evolved UX                         specialist is someone who can facilitate the team to work in parallel as opposed to the                               

‘waterfall’ method where one task has to be complete by a certain team member before                             

another one can start. 

 

Creating delightful, rewarding experiences  

When the customer completes their journey from A to B, and repeats the whole                           

experience, they are supposed to be driven by their need. However, throughout this                         

journey there is another exchange of information happening. The business needs to                       

meet their goals, which are often sel�sh and do not really add value to the customer.                               

So, we need to dress it up, make it interesting and at least seemingly rewarding. To                               

succeed with this, the following skills are required: 

 

● Be able to educate customers 

● Make education stimulating (not too much, not too little, but just the right                         

amount) 

● Give the right information at the right time throughout the journey 

● Add perceived value to the e�ort required to progress throughout 

● Find the appropriate way and entertain 

 

The above suggests both the role of a content strategist and a visual designer who apply                               

the form to the function. The evolved content strategist and the evolved visual designer are                             

team members who can shape the experience so it meets expectations of value and                           

exceeds expectations of e�ort required to get to the value. Both are perceptive and                           

sometimes splitting the same amount of e�ort into smaller steps can be the magic                           

touch delivering competitive advantage 

 

The evolutionary experience team is not just a combination of an existing roles. It                           

requires a set of evolved skills, adapted to suit the technological landscape, and applied                           

throughout the whole process - from �nding purpose for the journey, through to                         

designing and creating it.    

14 / 22 

 

5.The Creation of the Experience: Good Teams Play Nice  When it comes to nailing customer experience (CX), it all comes down to collaboration.                           As Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From puts it “Chance favors the                             connected mind.”  Why is collaboration so important? Well, without collaboration, where is the input that                         allows for iteration coming from? (surely not one executive's opinion?). Iteration is                       essential to developing satisfying CX, because as put humbly by Gaby Brink, Founder of                           strategic design �rm Tomorrow Partners “we iterate because we know that we won’t get                           it right the �rst time” ’  And iteration is a direct byproduct of collaboration.   

  Clients and product teams alike involved in the cycle of collaboration and iteration for                           the �rst time may feel uncomfortable. This will be especially true if you’re accustomed                           to a concisely written brief inspiring a neatly packaged slide deck which outlines the                           �nal solution. Not knowing the end solution before starting design can be frustrating,                         but as this perceptive motivational quote points out, being uncomfortable is necessary                       to innovate.   

      

15 / 22 

 

“We may not know what that answer is, but we know that we have to give ourselves                                 permission to explore.”   — Patrice Martin, Creative Director at IDEO 

 

So, if you don’t plan or expect to iterate then a few red �ags need to be raised. Why?                                     

You’ve made a few big assumptions:  

 

1. Your customer experience strategy can be created from an initial brie�ng -                       

If an agency can con�dently feel that a client has transferred their year's’ worth                           

of experience and insights in just a couple of hours (or on a piece of paper), I’d be                                   

sceptical. 

 

2. The CX plan can be executed - While it might feel structured and neat,                           

organisational coach Doug Sundheim points out that “Strategy and execution is                     a false dichotomy, unnaturally sheared apart in order to divide labor in                       increasingly complex organizations” It may look good in theory, what about in                       

practice? If strategists aren’t talking to clients, external partners, or even                     

co-workers throughout the process they aren’t asking themselves ‘how will this                     

actually work?’ 

 

3. CX is static - Customer's expectations and behaviours changes. Often quickly.                     

And if you’re not talking to them, you won't know why...  

 

Another blind spot…  Aside from no plan to iterate, what else does a lack of collaboration point to? 

 

Without collaboration, the importance of empathy in designing experiences is being                     

ignored. And I’m not just talking about stepping into the customer's world, that’s a                           

given. Empathy includes understanding the problems, motivations, and dependencies                 

of your clients, external partners and people within your agency’s teams. 

 

And if you aren’t set up to play nice with the stakeholders, and all who have a part to                                     

play in shaping the CX, then I’m afraid it’s likely to turn out a bit of a mess (aka. there will                                         

be tears before bedtime).   

    

16 / 22 

 

So how should agencies collaborate?  

1. With clients   

○ Why? What’s briefed in at the beginning are the ‘knowns’ - what is                         believed to be useful information to solving the problem. But what about                       the ‘unknowns’? These vital pieces of information tend to surface later on                       from various members on the client's side. And if you’re not in close                         contact they are likely to be missed. 

 ○ How? Daily communication, weekly in-person checkins, working on site                 

together. And not just with the Marketing Manager. Working alongside                   the sales team, customer service team, technical and design team is key                       to shaping a cohesive CX. 

 ○ Outcome: Important information that may lead a turning point is                   

surfaced early, before much time, e�ort and money is spent going down a                         non viable path.  

 

  

     

17 / 22 

 

2. With client’s customers   

○ Why? When you’re face to face with customers, you’re forced to question                       all the assumptions you’ve made about them and re�ne what what you’re                       planning to o�er. And as theory moves closer to reality, risks are removed                         as customer needs are validated. 

 ○ How? Talking to customers IRL throughout the design process. A                   

combination of talking (to gauge attitude) and doing (to observe                   behaviour) type research is required, as the two often are very di�erent. 

 ○ Outcome: customers aren’t left downloading an app, only to immediately                   

delete it thinking “Why would I want this thing?” (As i write this I’m                           picturing all the Create and Share  our brand  your look” type apps) 

 

     

18 / 22 

 

3. With your client’s external partners   

○ Why? It’s unlikely that you’ll be working alone. A client is likely to have                           multiple external partners working on a CX project to extend their                     in-house capabilities...and if you play nicely with them, they’ll extend                   yours too. 

 ○ How? Workshops, co-design sessions, usability testing, paper prototyping,               

reviewing the user �ow/systems diagrams with the whole team extending                   beyond the client to their technical, sales, marketing partners. 

 ○ Outcome: Instead of the client being the centre of the world, the                       

customer is, and all external partners are united around solving the                     problem, leading to a quicker, more cohesive solution.  

 

               

19 / 22 

 

4. Within your internal teams  

○ Why? If all team members are across what everyone is working toward                       and what dependencies exist, ideas are shared frequently and blocks are                     solved faster. 

 ○ How? Standups, retrospectives, war rooms, shared spaces with all                 

members of the team (PM, Strategy, UX, Content, Design, Development).  

○ Outcome: Less time is spent on handovers, and documentation, meaning                   more time (and resources) is actually spent solving the problem and                     working on a solution. 

 

       

20 / 22 

 

Are you hedging your bets?  When designing customer experiences, there are seven fateful sins that can (and will)                         

derail your success. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. 

 

1) Betting on only one side of the coin — CX takes into account communication                           

(email comms, social engagement, in store, on the phone) and interaction                     

(product/service design). Agencies claiming to do CX should o�er both. 

 

2) Strategy, not execution — It’s one thing for a consultant to do some research,                           

identify what needs and problems exist, and come up with a CX model. But it’s                             

still a theory, and theories are hard to disprove without putting them out into the                             

wild. 

 

3) The UX team doesn’t get out of the building — Your user experience team are                             

not simply your interface and visual designers. They are �eld researchers,                     

interviewers, workshop facilitators etc. They should be pressing for access to                     

people, statistics, research etc. If you don’t see them, be nervous. 

 

4) Send us a brief (and we’ll get back to you) — Probably enough said, but                             

claiming to be capable of working independently to come back with a ready to                           

market plan is not reality. 

 

5) They never ask to speak to other teams within your organisation — The                         

whole picture is not being thought about if you aren’t being pressing for access                           

to the sales, customer service, development or design teams. 

 

6) Customer research is limited to surveys — Surveys make all management feel                       

comfortable, normally con�rming the idea they were all already thinking. But                     

surveys remove real life interaction, collaboration with customers, and human                   

behaviour from the equation. 

 

7) You only ever see ‘suits’ — If the team isn't there when the important questions                             

are being asked, then a couple of problems arise.  

 

1. You’re relying on the account manager (one person) to correctly interpret                     

the information you’ve passed on to them.  

2. The appropriate people (aka. team members) are not going to have the                       

opportunity to add alternate perspectives from their area of expertise or                     

quickly respond to any blocks that arise.   

On an endnote, if you consider yourself more of a heartfelt person, and would like an                               

emotive reason for collaboration, I’ll park the rationale for a moment and leave you with                             

a moral from the book ‘Into the Wild’ (boy embarks on solo journey to live in the                                 

wilderness)  “Happiness is only real when shared.” 

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