C A S E S T U D I E S

D E S I G N I N G F O R C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E

T H R O U G H S E R V I C E D E S I G N : S O P H I E T O B I N

A N I N T R O D U C T I O N

My name is Sophie Tobin and I am a Strategic Designer. What does that really mean, you may ask? I am a formally trained designer who is dedicated to designing valuable solutions for people in the form of services and/or products.

I have a passion for learning and am always eager to meet new people and learn from them. Over the past years, to fuel this passion, I have studied and worked in a number of places around the globe, ensuring my designs are well informed and culturally inclusive when necessary.

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With a Bachelor of Industrial Design and a Masters of Strategic Design, I hold a design thinking skill set that confidently serves throughout the design process, from research to implementation. Types of tools and methods include the following :

R e s e a r c hshadowing & observationuser interviewsdesign probesworkshop facilitationdiary studies

S Y N T H E S I Scustomer journey mappingpersonassystem mappingstoryboardingvalue network mappingtheatrical methods

D E S I G Nconceptualisation & sketching scenario buildingprototypinguser testing

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P R O J E C T S

In accordance to the saying, “Designers tend to whisper, ad agencies tend to shout”, I thought it would only be appropriate to compile this small book to quietly exhibit some of my work.

The following four projects illustrate 3+ month projects undertaken during 2010-2013. With an array of complex business problems, the following four projects take alternative design approaches which successfully develop solutions to offer value for both the end customer and the organisation.

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v i r g i n m o b i l e a u s t r a l i a2013 : service experience design : project lead

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N E W S L I M I T E D 2013 : service experience design : design lead

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E N D O T A D A Y S P A2013 : service experience design : design lead

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B A R I L L A2011 : product-service design : co designer

By undertaking immersive research within the Virgin Mobile retail stores and spending extensive time with retail staff and customers, a deep understanding of the current situation was gained. Through the research, it became evident that the current training materials; in addition to some of the organisation’s processes and internal communications were obstructing frontline staff from providing an exceptional service experience for customers.

I lead and managed the team who developed a series of actionable service initiatives to provide retail staff with the right tools and training so they could effectively deliver a service experience beyond a customer’s expectation.

V i r g i n M o b i l e A u s t r a l i a

w e r e l o o k i n g t o m o v e f r o m a

c u s t o m e r a c q u i s i t i o n s t r a t e g y

t o a c u s t o m e r r e t e n t i o n m o d e l

a n d s o u g h t t o u n d e r s t a n d

h o w t h i s c o u l d b e e f f e c t i v e l y

i m p l e m e n t e d a c r o s s t h e i r

b r i c k & m o r t a r s e r v i c e

c h a n n e l s .

V I R G I N M O B I L E A U S T R A L I A

I d e a l r e t a i le x p e r i e n c e f l o w

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C U R R E N T C U S T O M E r E X P E R I E N C E M A PA visual representation of what the current retail experience feels

like for both the customer and the Virgin Mobile Representative. From extensive research the map clearly articulated rich insights

and furthermore areas of opportunity, which were deemed invaluable to the organisation for future growth.

I d e a l r e t a i l e x p e r i e n c e s t a f f t r a i n i n g v i d e o s

I d e a l r e t a i le x p e r i e n c e f l o w

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CUSTOMER CORRIDOR

KEY TOUCHPOINTS

KEY

DESKTOP

COMMUNICATIONS

CUSTOMER SERVICE

TABLET

SMARTPHONE

PRODUCT OFFER

CURRENT CUSTOMER JOURNEY PERFORMANCE

V. POSITIVEPOSITIVENEUTRALNEGATIVEV. NEGATIVE

POST JUN 2013

MARCH-JUN 2013

FOR MARCH 2013

IDEAS FOR SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS

CASUAL

SOURCES

LEVEL OF FRUSTRATIONOPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT

IDEAS FOR SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS

KEY FEELING

INSIGHTS

I browse online and catch up on current news.

I go to The Australian website to access further news and current a� airs.

I scan the headlines to see if there is anything that interests me.

I click through to stories I am interested in.

On my third story, a registration window appears o� ering me the opportunity to

register and continue reading.

3. Browse Headlines2. Visit “The Australian” Website 1. Browsing Online 4. Click Through Di� erent Stories 5. Registration Window*

I click into a story that I � nd interesting and then click into a related story which seems interesting too.

After choosing a third story the story is greyed out and a registration window pops up.

It shows that I need to register to see 5 stories per day, including pictures and video.I haven’t come across this before.

I follow up to directly to the news website after seeing some interesting snippets seen on Facebook and Twitter.

From my smart phone I scroll through today’s headlines.

I browse social media on my phone to read the headlines.

I use a collection of news sites to check what is happening locally and around the world.

I scan the website for headlines.

I get my news and commentary from the likes of the ABC, The Guardian, New York Times, The Age and others.

My LinkedIn contacts also point me to the most up-to-date industry relevant news in my area.

I never really read The Australian. It sometimes comes up in my Google Alerts with some news items.

I go directly to The Australian from my desktop.

It saves that drive around trying to � nd it in the shops especially in the country towns where it

often doesn’t get there until the next day.

Change the format. For old buggers like me and not the younger generation then give me an option to read it my way

(or the way you have trained me for 50 years.)

I clicked on a Facebook link to view an article once... it wasn’t a simple process just to read an article

someone posted a link to. I don’t know if its free or not.

I am sick of pages refreshing while reading articles. News is old but title of article may

change with a newer date just to get interest.

Great content but pay per view leaves me cold.

I enjoy being able to read the paper on my IPhone as it is much easier to navigate the mobile version than to � ick through the large broadsheet.

I would absolutely recommend following The Australian on Twitter.

I’m a bit of an old-schooler but I am really enjoying digital books, I love my iPad and the idea of a digital

paper appeals to me, it’s a convenient, rich and in-depth experience, you can cross reference things

you come across straight away on Google.

I follow the Twitter feed and assess content that way.

I try to share the article amongst friends and/or colleagues.

As a culture vulture Twitter and Facebook user in a circle of other culture vultures and news sharers this

doesn’t meet my needs at all...I can’t tweet or Facebook or highlight any of your stories to my followers.

I have always liked The Australian as an investigative newspaper that focuses on truly national issues.

I close the window and hope to continue reading. The value of registering is not made clear to me.

It is great to be able to read the headlines without going right into the story at times.

I tend to use The Australian online to look at headlines then read articles elsewhere.

The pictures use up a lot of internet capacity. I need something that gives me the info but is not

so heavy on internet usage.

I use it on my iPhone and � nd it very user friendly. I mainly use the “Breaking News” page.

The Australian captures the main points and items of interest for news both in Australia and globally -

which no other paper compares with.

I look to other news for quick facts fast throughout the day. If it interests me, I can then

look elsewhere for more information.

I read the paper � rst thing every morning. I turn to The Australian because it is high quality

and really there is not much competition for something of the same quality of writing.

I feel The Australian could be more visual in its layout. I think this would create a more exciting experience.

In the saturated digital age, consumers are kept informed in real-time and from a multiple number of sources.

Going directly to a news website such as The Australian, often assures a consumer of credibility and o� ers con� dence in the story.

Consumers � nd the bite-size nature of headlines easily digestible and often su� cient in information.

Consumers expect that their time and interest invested in a story to be rewarded with quality content.

Consumers are desensitised by the purpose interruptions when online.

Sources NEWS LTD Internal Docs, NPSSources: NEWS LTD Internal Docs, Call Jacking, NPS, Customer InterviewsSources: NEWS LTD Internal Docs, Call Jacking, NPS, Customer InterviewsSources: NEWS LTD Internal Docs, Immersion, NPS, Customer Interviews Sources: NEWS LTD Internal Docs, Call Jacking, NPS, Customer Interviews

• Irritated• Informed• Interested• Curious• Inquisitive

Registration/Subscription pop up windows provide education insights into the bene� ts and costs of Casual/Registered/Subscribed.

Improve The Australian for the mobile online screen - the navigation does not � t on the screen with an Android Samsung Galaxy.

I visit The Australian website a few times a month just to scan the headlines, a bit of a key issues grab.

The journalistic coverage is good but I am locked out of too much content.

CONSUMER COMMITMENT

W i t h p l a n s t o a lt e r t h e i r b u s i n e s s m o d e l

o f o n l i n e n e w s a c r o s s a n u m b e r o f d i g i t a l

p r o d u c t s , N e w s L i m i t e d w a n t e d t o l e a r n h o w

t h e y c o u l d m a k e t h e i r p a i d n e w s s u b s c r i p t i o n

v a l u a b l e f o r c o n s u m e r s o f t h e i r n a t i o n a l

m a s t h e a d , T h e A u s t r a l i a n .

N E W S L I M I T E D

C U R R E N T C U S T O M E r E X P E R I E N C E M A PThe current customer journey map illustrated what the “future current

experience” would feel like for a consumer of The Australian. The map highlighted the emotion journey for a consumer who starts out being a casual

reader and progresses through to being a a paid subscriber and onto an upgrading subscriber.

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In order to design a valuable service experience for digital news consumers, it was vital to truly understand how online news content is perceived by consumers. Through extensive consumer research, the deeper emotional concerns and expectations of consumers were mapped. It was defined that the ultimate outcome of the project was to map the ‘future current experience’ and by using a matter of research proxies, this was successfully achieved. Once extablishing the core emotional drivers of digital news consumers, key service initiatives were developed to ensure every touchpoint offered value for a paying subscriber.

As the Design Lead, I was engaged throughout the qualitative research phase and lead the team in forming the synthesis into meaningful design outputs for the client.

S E R V I C e I M P R O V E M E N T I N I T I A T I V E SA collection of service initiatives were develop from the opportunity areas

highlighted in the customer journey map. The initiatives were delivered to the client in the form of A3 cards, where the service ideas where visuliased and articulated.

A u s t r a l i a - s l e a d i n g d ay s p a , E n d o t a , w a n t e d

t o u n d e r s t a n d h o w t h e y c o u l d d e l i v e r a n

e n r i c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e f o r t h e i r c l i e n t s b e y o n d

t h e t r e a t m e n t r o o m .

E N D O T A D A Y S P A

With the opportunity areas already defined, this project phase focussed on prototyping, refining and implementing a fixed set of service initiatives. With live prototyping and iteration in the spa centres, we collaborated with senior management, middle management and spa therapists. We designed a set of tools and guidelines that help aid therapist and spa managers in successfully training staff to deliver an enriching experience for their clients from the moment they walk in the door.

As the Design Lead, I guided the team in developing and testing the service prototypes, in a number of spas and effectively building in learnings to strengthen the final set of design deliverables.

C U S T O M E r E X P E R I E N C E T r a i n i n g g a m e sA series of games were created for spa managers and spa owners. The games were

designed to be easily printed within the spas and games to be facilitated by spa managers during weekly meetings and training sessions.

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I d e a l c u s t o m e r e x p e r i e n c e s t a f f t r a i n i n g v i d e o s

key metricswhat are the key metrics that will measure change?

cost factorswhat are the costs associated with this change?what is the estimated time taken to make this change?

currently

ideal experience:

Human resources management costs:StaffingTraining (SD/HQ)

Time taken is unknown

Redesign and distribution of Client Card

environment & peoplewhere does this take place and what people are involved?

Spa

Client

Receptionist

Therapist

Client satisfaction indicators around meeting the needs which matter most to client.

Level of completion of client card.

Julie invites me to follow her to the lounge to fill out my client card and points out key areas to fill in and why. She asks if I would like some tea and lets me know that my therapist will be with me shortly. I fill out my client card. Part of the card is already filled out for me and I only have to fill in a few things about my treatment today.

After a couple of minutes, my therapist Helen arrives and introduces herself to me. We go through my client card together and Helen acknowledges some of the key information I provided. She then asks me if there is any particular areas I would like her to focus on today.

Then Helen and I talk a little about my treatment. She confidently explains to me what will be involved and how it will help me.

customer feelingswaiting just for you

“It’s so calm and serene in here” “I know I will be in good hands” “Wow, she’s actually reading it” “I am confident that she’ll do a great job”

I enter endota. I am greeted by the receptionist. She welcomes me by name. She then confirms my appointment by looking into the system.

proposed actionsprovide further details about the ideal experience and how would it be best implemented?

Redesign of the client card which focuses on the customer and their expectations/needs.

Ensure that the “extra touches” are extra simple and remove them if they are not “extra simple” to execute (e.g. if offering the tea inconveniences the receptionist/ therapist, then consider not offering it or offering it in a more efficient way).

Implement a client acknowledgement and information transfer system which ensures the customer feels welcomed upon arrival. Ensure that other staff, who the customer will be in contact with, will be fully briefed with the personal information provided.

Redesign of the staffing schedule around the forecasted tasks for the day.

anything to add/change...

anything to add/change...

anything to add/change...

anything to add/change...

anything to add/change...

anything to add/change...

anything to add/change...

what is the problem?

Clients not immediately greeted upon their arrival.

how does it affect clients?

Clients do not feel warmly welcomed and feel that their custom is taken for granted

why is this happening?

Staff are commonly mulit-tasking and can be challenged to give a client their undivided attention.

1.

what is the problem?

The client card is not made to feel like a tailored and personal experience

how does it effect clients?

Clients feel like the client card is a clinical process and is a diagnostic tool.

why is this happening?

The client card is filled with many questions and time is not always taken to explain the importance of the card to the client.

2.

a delightful touch

what is the problem?

There is a lack of acknowledgement around the time and effort clients take to fill in the client card.

how does it effect clients?

Client feels confused as to why they fill in the client card if it is not openly being read and acknowledged by the therapist.

why is this happening?

Staff are often tightly scheduled and can be challenged to have time to spend a few extra moments with a client.

3.

key: unsure quietly confident confident

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I d e a l C U S T O M E r c a n v a s m o d e lThis canvas was used with head office to illustrate what an ideal

experience could look and feel like through a sketched storyboard. The Canvas Model was successful in allowing to asses the feasibility

and viability of the service improvement before implementation.

W i t h t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f f o o d i n t h e I n d i a n

c u lt u r e , B a r i l l a w a n t e d t o k n o w h o w t h e y

c o u l d s u c c e s s f u l l y e d u c a t e , e n t e r t a i n

a n d e n t i c e I n d i a n s w i t h M e d i t e r r a n e a n

c u i s i n e .

B A R I L L A

With the growth in urban population in India and the increase of disposable income amongst professionals and dual-income families, a boom in the gifting industry was noted. A culture-specific product was designed as a concept of gifting Italian cuisine in the Indian market. The semi-packed parcel invites the purchaser to choose an appropriate greeting card and recipe for their loved one and pack the parcel with fresh fruit and vegetables in accordance with the recipe.

I collaborated with a team of designers and marketers to develop the concept to present to Barilla as they look to expand their market share across the emerging economies.

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I n i t i a l s t o r y b o a r d o f d e s i g n c o n c e p t To present the initial product-system to Barilla a heavy consumer research document

alongside a number of storyboard were produced. The storyboard illustrated how the product would be purchased, gifted and used by both gift purchasers and receivers.

C u r r e n t c o n s u m e r r e s e a r c h i n c o n t e x t

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G o o d D e s i g n i s O b v i o u s . G r e a t d e s i g n i s T r a n s p a r e n t .

- Joe Sparano

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s o p h i e t o b i n : s o p h t o b i n @ g m a i l . c o m