cx art and science

8/12/2019 CX Art and Science

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THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

by Paul Conder. Erin McMonigal, Editor

A COLLECTION OF SHORT ARTICLES FROM LENATIS CX PRACTICE

(C) 2014 Lenati LLC

Cover Image PRAIRIE CITY TILT-O-WHIRLPaul Conder 2010


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There was a time - not that long

ago - when customer experiencewas simply the thing that

happened at the end of an

industrial production system.

Factories made products that were

purchased by customers throughuncomplicated, linear networks of

distribution. Services were

delivered on a strictly person-to-

person level. And the difference

between products and services

was completely clear.

PREFACE


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Every layer of that system hasshifted in less than one

generation. Distribution has

repositioned its center around

the customer rather than the

factory. Channels havefragmented 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


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When changes happen this fast, itseasy 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 ofthe 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.


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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 sawVan Gogh, Picasso, Matisse,

Monet, Pollock and Rothko.

Those who can evolve will thrive.

photo (C)2014 Rebecca Robertson.


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We define customer experience as the aggregate of a person'sperceptions, feelings, memories and associations around theirengagement with a brand.All competitive businesses are somehowdependent on their customers experience to drive their growth andprosperity. I cant think of any exceptions, past or present. Even

businesses that are focused on a basic need - for example healthcareor grocery retailing - use experiential drivers in some way to setthemselves apart. Some monopolies are known for neglectingcustomer experience - but once they are forced into competitiveenvironments they tend to smarten up quickly. Telecommunicationscompanies have made this shift, some better than others.

At the top level, treating your customer well just seems like the rightthing to do - for altruistic reasons if for nothing else. einteractions that happen every time a business makes a connection

with a customer add up to affect much more than the individualtransaction. It has been shown that loyalty, brand perception,spending, likelihood to recommend and overall satisfaction are allaffected by CX - but I believe that there is a much bigger story. Atthe top level, customer experience is really about making personalconnections with people - treating them with respect, withconsistency, with dignity, with foresight and with style. But to makethe business case, there need to be a c lear way to measure thefinancial impact of improving customer experience. So the questionshifts from why do we make experiences better for people? - to

how much is an experience actually worth?

For a question this big its important to get a lot of opinions - so wehave scrubbed recent research and combined it with our ownfindings to give a top-level view of real-world business impacts fromdifferent industries...

WHATS ANEXPERIENCE

WORTHby Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. 2014


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A CEIsurvey 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 Reviewfound thatfocusing business activities on

a holistic customers 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)

CapGeminidiscovered that over 50% of customers of financial

institutions are at risk of switching banks based on customer experience.(CapGemini 2013 World Retail Banking Report)

Oraclefound 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 ForresterResearch 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 Rogersfound 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)

Deloittefound 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)

Tescochairman 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 Groupin late 2013 saw positive business

results in the first year. They also found in a separate study that nearly

60% of large companies have ambitions to be industry leaders in CX

within three years.(Temkin Group Research 2013)


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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 lifes memories and associations to eachinteraction, 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 andbusinesses 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 - its all on display. is goes far

beyond service interactions with staffor engagement with a

product. Customers have expectations that need to be met

around a companys ethics, values and where and how it

conducts its business.

Building a Customer Centric Business

by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. 2014

1.

2.

KEY XPRIN IPLESEN


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A Customer Journey is the framework of customers

interactions and experiences while engaging with a brand.

Its not just a physical journey. It also includes all the

interactions with digital media, social interactions, word of

mouth, service interactions the works. Mapping theCustomer 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

Customers Journey.Touchpoints affordthe customer the

opportunity to carry out a certain pattern of interactions. (In

the field of design, they are called affordances) Everytouchpoint 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, salesnetworks 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.


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Any point in the customers journey has the potential todrive 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

companys 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 blockagesin connecting with their customers.

e customers experience can be directly linked to the

customers 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 customers experience.

5.

6.


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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 customers 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.


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Customer Experience is not about projecting a made-up

theme for your companys brand. Many companies jump tothe 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.


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ere are three key areas for measuring CX:

1. 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, butcan 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 isnt of any consequence to them.)

2. Observational research helps us understand what thecustomer 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

customers behavior. While this might seem more

objective, it leaves out the more personal aspects to the

experience - favoring behavioral data.

3. 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.


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SUMMARY:

Customer experience is not about

layering themed touchpoints into the

customers 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 its about simply getting out

of their way, and letting your

relationship evolve naturally.

Photo: Muns


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THE ART ANDHE RT NDSCIENCE OFCIENCE OF

ENGINEERINGNGINEERINGEXPERIENCESXPERIENCES

ere has been a great deal written about design thinking in the pastfew 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 roleas business visionaries. It seems nearly every firm with a design practice

has a proprietary and unique problem-solving process that will unlockthe 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 aboutapplying designs 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 howit can be leveraged to build a better connection between a business andits customers.

DESIGN THINKING AND CX

by Paul Conder, Lenati LLC. 2014


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e design process, a term thats used almost interchangeably with designthinking, 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 hiswork. - Empirical evidence drove his ideas, which were tested using aniterative 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 wasnt the only one towork this way, his successes in the field combined with his well-known

intellectual rigor helped spread the word. Some version of this process canbe 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 Discovery2. Asking questions, developing hypotheses, creating concepts to test - We will call this area of focus Ideation3. Testing those ideas to learn from them - feeding learnings back to step 1 - We will call this area of focusTesting

A version of this is taught in virtually every design, art, engineering andscience 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 calledthe scientific method - in engineering it s usually referred to a problemsolving process and in design its usually called design thinking or thedesign process. No one owns this process - but the perspective that eachperson or team brings to it is what makes it unique.

ORIGINS
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Despite its ancient history and diverse origins, today the design processis 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 anunderstanding 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 itwork? For this reason, designers became schooled in how to understandusers 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. Discoverycentered aroundresearch into users needs, perceptions and wants. Ideationemployed

techniques like role-play, use-cycle-analysis and participatory-design(bringing users into the creative sessions.) And testinginvolved 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 offocus started to employ techniques from the social sciences to help

connect peoples preferences and perceptions to the product.

FROM PRODUCTSTO EXPERIENCES

photo: Nic Redhead,

photo: Raneko

photo NASA


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e design process was later adopted by people who were designingsoftware. As they worked to make new technologies usable and valuable

to a larger audience, they grabbed hold of the tools that had long beenemployed by industrial designers and applied them to non-physicalproducts.

One of the most important tools that was adopted by this new group was

the journey f ramework. is set up a visual representation of each step

of the users experience. e product wasnt the primary focus here - itwas 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 somekind of value to them. Larger maps could be constructed that showed the

systems that supported the product, the lifecycle of the relationshipbetween the user and the product, multiple users interacting through the

products features, cyclical patterns and repeated interactions etc. istool (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. Its hard to imagine the development oftodays software or interactive products without this tool, and without the

larger process to enable it. is technique is the origin of customer

journey mappingwhich is a key process for anyone in the field ofcustomer experience.

photo: Richard Huppertz
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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 tobecome more customer-centric. e process is making things work for

people - but now, the thingswere fast dissolving into services,environments, software and media - thepeoplewere becoming more and

more diverse and inter-connected - and the channelsthrough which

people connected were fragmenting and overlapping. Who couldpossibly 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. - Inessence, he said that the design challenges of today are too complex and

involve too many disciplines to be solvable by a single expert. eRenaissance Team takes over f rom 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 forcefor innovation behind extremely diverse teams and businesses. Where it

used to focus on physical products, it became a powerful methodologyfor developing complex, people-centric systems of any kind. It shiftedthe conversation away from the supply chain and towards the customer.

photo: Eddao,

photo Cory Doctorow

photo by SparkCBC


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e design process is usually modeled as a linear sequence. But fromour experience, thats not how it works in the real world. In this model,

the structure of process - made up of the basic building blocks of

discovery, ideationand testing- becomes less and less rigid. Its notabout following three steps in sequence as much as shifting focus f rom

place to place, depending on the needs of the team and the types ofquestions 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 isnt static. Different people - the

client, analysts, researchers, stakeholders, and sometimes the customers

themselves - come into the process to offer their perspective when it srelevant to the problem.

You usually enter here.If you do, its good to have aclear problem or opportunityidentified first. However,these will likely shift as yougo through the process.

You shouldprobably exit here.

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Sometimes you enter here - forexample when a great idea comes your

way and needs some research andtesting to prove it out - most literatureon the design process tries to play thisdown because it is difficult to predict

when you will have a great idea.


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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 isan 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 identifyand eliminate known painpoints - but that in itself will not be

enough to compete against other companies who focus onmoving towards opportunities in the market, cultural or

technological shifts, or to better satisfy a customer need. Worsestill, 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-eggquestion - you cant start the research without identifying a

problem, and you cant 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 thecustomer in the real world - identifying better opportunities to

engage, but also building knowledge of the terrain. Our nextarticle, titled e New CX Toolbox will feature a deep dive into

our customer experience research methodology.

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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 momentwhen 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 - rapidvisualization, generative approaches, free-association, lateral and

visual thinking, oblique strategies, brainstorming - techniques toget 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 effectivein the hands of anyone who has access to them - butunfortunately, thats 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 dont believe that creativity is somethingthat some people have and others dont - I feel strongly that it s

something that is learned. And it comes in a lot of forms - manyconfuse drawing abilitywith 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 havetaken from the people you have worked with in the past. ebest approach is to build a team that makes up for each others

blind spots - the more diverse the better - and let the group learn

their way to a solution together.

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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 beoverstated. In a perfect world, this is where the team should be

spending the majority of their time. It is the only opportunity tomake a mistake, learn from it, and improve on tactics without

exposing them to the entire customer base. Still, its amazing

how many companies fail in this critical step. So much emphasisis placed on research and creative - often this part gets

downplayed - or worse yet, overlooked completely.

e key to getting this activity r ight is to prototype initial

concepts quickly - using simple, inexpensive means - and to letthem fail. en, feed the learnings back into ideation and

discovery quickly to get new concepts. is is why the processisnt 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. emodels were reworked on the fly based on customer input and

observation, and quickly evolved into designs that delightedcustomers 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 couldnt have

anticipated.

For a deep dive into testing and prototyping methods, see our

next article e New CX Toolbox.

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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, andtested, validated research comes out - to be fed back in to inform the next

round of new ideas. A CX designers role is one of keeping focus on howpeople, products and systems interact - using the process to explore new

ideas before they are brought to market. ose ideas become the buildingblocks 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 servicesystems, industrial designers work in manufacturing. But a CX designer

works hand in hand with all of these professions (and several others) tocreate 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 financialimpact of the work. It also needs to be mixed with a deep understanding

of research methods to build an understanding of the customer, theirpreferences and patterns.

In our next article, e New CX Toolbox, we will discuss theseresearch and analytical methods in greater detail.


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Six Research Toolsets for Building

a Better Customer Connection

by Paul Conder.

Lenati LLC. 2014.

BETTER RESEARCH

MAKES BETTER BUSINESS

For any customer experience initiative to be successful, theproject team needs to be very well informed about the

customers preferences, opinions and behaviors. is is

fostered by a complex network of channels, environments,touchpoints and media. ats 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 thatseemed 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. Its unlikely that you would

ever use them all on a single project, so knowing how eachtool 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 whataspects of the customers experience we want to examine, and

what the scope of the project will be.....

THE NEWCX TOOL OX

Network Image by peer1.com


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PERSONAL

PRACTICAL

CULTURAL

PROFITABLE

From what weve seen there are four conditions that need to be

satisfied to foster a customer experience that is mutuallybeneficial 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.

Profitable. e balance between operations costs and sales

conversions needs to be positive and worthwhile in the long term.

Practical. e company needs to be able to effectively

operationalize the approach in the real world.

Cultural. For the customer, the experience needs to be appropriate

for their cultural framework and how they see themselves in it.

From the companys point of view, the aggregate of all these

experiences makes up the building blocks of their brand and its

place in the world.

FOUR CONDITIONS.

MEDIA

TURE


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PERSONAL

PRACTICAL

CULTURAL

SOCIAL

MOBILE

INTERIORSPACE

ARCHITECT

PRODUCT

SERV

ICE

MESS

AGING

WORDOF

MOUTH

ADVERT

ISING

MERCHANDISI

NG

WEB DESIGN

OPERATIONSCOSTS

BUSINESSGOA

LS

CAPITA

LCOS

TS

R+D

COSTS

SALESMETRICS

OPSFRAMEWO

RK

DISTRIBU

TION

LEA

DT

IMES

MAN

UFACTU

RING

CONS

TRUC

TION

SERVIC

EFRAM

EWOR

K

BRAND

SOCIETAL

DEMOGRAPHIC

ENVIRONMENTAL

LIFECYCLE

TECHNOGR

APHIC

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. esegroups 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 - its 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?

ANALYTIC

S

NALYTI

CS

GROUP


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PERSONAL

PRACTICAL

CULTURAL

SOCIALMEDIA

MOBILE

INTERIORSPACE

ARCHITECTURE

PRODUCT

SERVICE

MESS

AGING

WORD

OFMOUTH

ADVERT

ISING

MERCHANDISIN

G

WEB DESIGN

OPERATIONSCOSTS

BUSINESSGOALS

CAPITA

LCOSTS

R+DCOSTS

SALESMETRICS

OPSFRAMEWORK

DISTRIBUTION

LEAD

TIMES

MAN

UFACTU

RING

CONS

TRUC

TION

SERVIC

EFRA

MEWO

RK

BRAND

SOCIETAL

DEMOGRAPHIC

ENVIRONMENTAL

LIFECYCLE

TECHNOGRAPHI

C

PERFORMANCE

DATAINTEGRATION

EXISTINGR

ESEARCH

ONLINE

SOCIALAN

ALYTIC

S

BEACON

DATA

MOBILEAN

VOICEO

FTH

ECU

STOM

ER

VOICEOFTHEOPER

ATOR

DESIG

NPRO

VOCATIO

N

CUSTOM

ERJOURNEY

MAPPIN

G

TOUCHPOINTOVER

LAY

OPERATIONSOVERLAY

OPERA

TIONS

OVE

RLAY

LIFECYCLE

MAPPING

LIFECYCLEMAPPING

FOCUS

G

PERSONASANDSCENARIOS

PERSONASANDSCENARIOS

OPERATIONS

ANDPROCESSANALYSIS

FIELDSAFARI

FIELD

OBSERV

ATION

-APP

ENABLED

PHOTO/VIDEOETHNOGRAPHY

AUTOMATEDETHNOGRAPHY

CUSTOMERDIARY

SECRETCUSTOMER

SECRET

CUSTO

MER

LEAD

ERSHIP

WORKSHOP

CULTURALPROBES

BRANDANALYSIS

TECHNOGRAPHICSURVEY

PROFITABLE

ECON

OMIC

e CX Toolbox- the components of which are

shown here in the outer ring - is a set of processes

and researchtools 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 goalsand profit for the company.

In the Ideation phase of a project there are many

creativetools - for example brainstorming, visual

thinking, oblique strategies etc. - that we will cover

in a future article.

EXISTING INTELLIGENCE


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EXISTING INTELLIGENCESTAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP

LIVE DATA INTEGRATIONEXISTING RESEARCH INTEGRATION

BRAND AUDIT

SEGMENTS, PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS

CUSTOMER INPUTVOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

VOICE OF THE OPERATOR

FOCUS GROUP

WEB FORUMCUSTOMER DIARIES OR PROBES (MOBILE AND ANALOG)PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCE DESIGN

OBSERVATIONAL DATA AND FIELD RESEARCHETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

PHOTO / VIDEO ETHNOGRAPHYFIELD SAFARI

SECRET CUSTOMERFIELD OBSERVATION - MOBILE ENABLED

ANALYTIC INPUTONLINE ANALYTICS

SOCIAL ANALYTICS

BEACON DATAAUTOMATED ETHNOGRAPHY AND ANALYTICSMOBILE ANALYTICS

VISUALIZATIONCUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING

PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OVERLAYTOUCHPOINT / AFFORDANCES OVERLAY

OPERATIONS OVERLAY (STAKEHOLDER MAP)

LIFECYCLE MAPPINGCUSTOM DATA VIZ

OPERATIONS AND PROCESS ANALYSIS

DESIGN RESEARCH

LAB SIMULATIONROLEPLAY

PROTOTYPE INTERVENTIONSOFT PROTOTYPING

PAPER PROTOTYPINGMECHANICAL TURK PROTOTYPING

FIELD PROTOTYPING

ALPHA 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 ORourke

THE EXISTING INTELLIGENCE TOOLSET h l i h1


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TOOLSTAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP

BUSINESS DATA

INTEGRATION

EXISTING RESEARCH

INTEGRATION

BRAND AUDIT

SEGMENTATION AUDIT

PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS

THE EXISTING INTELLIGENCE TOOLSEThelps integrate theknowledge that is already embedded in the company into the Discovery Phase ofa CX research project. Every company has a set of prior learnings, colloquialknowledge, existing research and financial data that can provide context and keyinsights for understanding how the company currently connects with itscustomers. ese tools can also be used to bring stakeholders into theconversation who otherwise would not be heard. Additionally, these tools can beused to help the company identify gaps in its customer knowledge, to better graspthe companys brand and corporate culture, and to help build consensus amongst

the key stakeholders.

USESTo 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

its 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 t eam.

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.

THE CUSTOMER INPUT TOOLSET i t th t i t2


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TOOLVOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

VOICE OF THE OPERATOR

FOCUS GROUP

WEB FORUM

CUSTOMER DIARIES

OR PROBES

PARTICIPATORY

CX DESIGN

THE CUSTOMER INPUT TOOLSETincorporates the customers pointof view into the Discovery Phaseof a CX design project. For all tools showbelow, it is critical to work with a sample of customers that is as representative aspossible of your actual customer base. As with any research design, the answers

will only be as good as the questions - the quality of the data will be dependenton the sensitivity of the researcher not just to the experience of the customergenerally, but also their experience of the survey.

USESTo draw out customer opinions and perceptions

about a company, its products and services.

To build an understanding of the employees

experience, with the pretext that a staffmember

can only deliver high-quality service if they are

empowered and enabled to do so.

To collect input from a group of either staffor

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 c an be greatly reduced.

To build a detailed personal view of the customers

experience and a document of a continuous

customers journey.

To bring the customers 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 customers answers to questions about the company.

Similar in approach to Voice of the Customer, above -

except with a representative sample of staffinstead of

customers. Use the opportunity to draw out both insights

about the customers 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 groups 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 inter view, and need

to be discovered in other ways.

ere can be an implicit urge for

staffto 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
http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.htmlhttp://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.htmlhttp://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.htmlhttp://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.htmlhttp://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.htmlhttp://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/lego.html


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THE ANALYTICS TOOLSETanalyses observational data collected from4.


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TOOLONLINE ANALYTICS

SOCIAL LISTENING

BEACON DATA

AUTOMATED

ETHNOGRAPHY

MOBILE ANALYTICS

APP ANALYTICS

ydigital sources to inform the Discovery Phase of a project. It can also be used tocreate a cross-channel model, integrating data from other sources including fieldresearch and financial data. For example, links can be found between touchpointdesign characteristics, customer behaviors and revenue. Or relationships betweenonline and offline behaviors can be linked with spending across channels. eamount of data that can come from studies like this can be massive, so having theanalytical chops to find real patterns in the data is key to a projects success. For adeeper dive in this area, see our article e Phygital Customer available fromlenati.com/cx.

USESTo build an understanding of your customers

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 customers 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 locat ion.

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 f rom 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.

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 arent 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 observat ion,

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.

THE VISUALIZATION TOOLSET helps CX research teams during the5.


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TOOLCUSTOMER JOURNEY

MAPPING

PERCEPTIONS AND

EXPECTATIONS

OVERLAY

TOUCHPOINT +

AFFORDANCES

OVERLAY

OPERATIONS +

PROCESSES

OVERLAY

LIFECYCLE MAPPING

CUSTOM DATA VIZ

THE VISUALIZATION TOOLSEThelps CX research teams during theDiscovery and Ideation Phasesfind patterns in customer behavior by creatingimages from the research data - related to the physical, digital and serviceenvironment. For a deeper dive into customer journey mapping and relatedtechniques, visit lenati.com/cx.

USESTo 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 customers 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 staffjourney, 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

customers 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 customers POV and use language that

emphasizes the subjective, the active and the personal.

Incorporate data f rom customer voice research around

customer perceptions and expectations at each point.

Answer the question What are the customers 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 arent why are they

in the customers 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 shouldnt 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

operators 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.


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THE DESIGN RESEARCH TOOLSETprovides techniques for informing6.


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TOOLSOFT AND PAPER

PROTOTYPING

LAB PROTOTYPING

MECHANICAL

TURK

WORKING PROTOTYPE

INTERVENTION

FIELD PROTOTYPING

a test of CX concepts during the Prototype / Testing phaseof a CX project. Inthe process of creating a new CX strategy, this stage is often downplayed due tothe high cost of creating a functional prototype - but many lower-cost options areavailable 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 moreideas faster and cheaper at the beginning - and testing the more refined ideasusing 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 IdeationPhaseof 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 s een 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 ser vice 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 subjects 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.

LIMITATIONSSoft models can be easily

misinterpreted by those who arent

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. P lan for the cost and

timing of a real-world test.


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AFTERWORD:

PEOPLE > TOOLSWhile these toolsets can be extremely powerful in the hands ofan experienced research and design team, its important toremember that they are only a means to an end. eir value liesin how much they help build an understanding of the customer.ere has been a lot of attention paid to big data as customerinsights have become more and more data-heavy. Our analyticalcapacity has exploded in the last few years. It has a lot of

potential upside for business, and that has had a lot of press.With all that attention, we need to guard against the allure andthe power of the tools themselves overwhelming our industry andrelegating something as broad-reaching as CustomerExperience to some kind of digitally-enabled game of numbers.

But overall my concern is outweighed by my optimism, fueled bythe potential Ive seen in these tools to foster better design, betterbusiness practices, and stronger connections with people.


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THE NEW PATHS TO PURCHASECustomers arent connecting with companies the way they did

even a few years ago. It s difficult to overstate the enormity of thechange as companies adapt to new channels, and try to meet their

customers on their own ground. And this change is only going toaccelerate as new channels come into being and recombine to facethe customer. All we know for sure is that most companies (over

three quarters of them according to Forrester Research, 2013) areworking 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, oftenvisualized the customers 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 shiftin customer patterns didnt peak until the online world became

simultaneously social and mobile. ats when e-commerce came

offthe desktop and collided head-on with other, more maturechannels. e physical overlapped with the digital. Now, an entire

generation has been raised in a phygital culture where anything isaccessible, from several sources, through any channel, at any time.

TEN WAYS TO CONNECT

WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS IN AN

OMNICHANNEL UNIVERSE

by Paul Conder

Lenati LLC2014

LETS GETPHYGIT L


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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 allcome into play. You even need to consider the operations and

infrastructure that supports all these connections - where are yourproducts manufactured? how much energy do you use? how do you

support a customer after-purchase? - and how all of these operationscan become visible to your customer, especially when things to wrong.

e key to creating a holistic view of your customers journey is tobuild a map of each of their interactions over time, and across

channels, from their point of view. As channel models become morecomplex, 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:

Awarenesswas built through traditional media and word of mouth

Interestwas reinforced with possible contact with a sales touchpoint

Considerationusually involved person-to-person consultation.

Purchasewas also in person at a physical location.

Follow-throughwas usually spotty, if it happened at all. A billwould 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 customers journey might lookmore like this:


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more like this:

e customer becomesawareof a brand through

social media.

She becomes more interestedthrough repeated

contact through multiple channels. She may simplypurchaseonline at this point - or....

She may need first-hand contactwith the product or

service - in which case she reserves it online, andvisits a physical location.

During the visit, she uses her smartphone to connectwith social media. She looks at competitors pricing

on the web. She uses the companys app to access a

promotion. She compares online pricing.

e customer decides to purchase. During the

process, a second off-site product has caught thecustomers 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 herinformation with the company. is is used to follow

upwith her in a personalized way.

e first customers journey could be visualized on a simple linearpath. 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 journeyfrom the point of view of the customer themselves. Painpoints and

softspots in the journey should be considered as you go, developing aclear 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 availablefrom lenati.com.

AWARENESS

linkedin

website

twitter

blog

linkedin

blogINTEREST

website

PURCHASE?

CONSIDERATION

website

linkedin

app

PURCHASE

e-commercesite

e-commercesite

FOLLOW UP

app

socialcustomersupport

loyalty (app)

WEB

SOCIA

L

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2 ALIGNING MANAGEMENT ACROSS CHANNELS


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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 channeloptions started to grow. is probably made some sense at the time -making separate business units for each channel allowed for rapid growthin the short term. But that didnt help the customer. Let the fun begin:

A conversation a customer was having in one channel didnt carry over to

another. I was on the website - I put all my information in, and then your

site crashed my browser - now Ive been on hold for an hour and you need

all my info again!!?? $%*@!

Prices and promotions dont 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 andmanaged. Each channel is operated separately by people who arent co-ordinating with each other around the customers journey and thecompanys brand. None of them are empowered to work acrosschannels to make a better experience - and the companys operationsand supply chain take precedent over building connections withcustomers. Weve seen some companies where each VP is somehow

visible in the design of their website or store interior. e result isclutter and disorganization.

In the long term, there is only one way to combat this problem - f romthe top down. e top leadership of the company needs to have a clear

vision for how the brand manifests itself across all channels, and thenbring the silos into alignment.

CX integration = integration of services = co ordination of teams.

Photo: Lauren Manning.


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3. REDUCING EFFORT vs SURPRISE & DELIGHTere are two competing approaches to cross-channel customerexperience - and they are both valid depending on the customers

context. ere seems to be some confusion around which approach bestsuits each channel.

First is the premise that customers should be surprised and delighted atevery 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 approachstems from older service models, where the industry benchmark was

high-service, one-to-one interactions. ink of the kind of service youwould 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 MatthewDixon 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 fourtimes 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 couldnt find what they wanted. If you are booking an airline ticketonline 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. .


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In CX design, the approach you take should be dependent on the

channels in question, the characteristics of brand, and on theexpectations of your customer. Most transactions or queries -

especially those in digital channels - improve with increasedsimplicity and ease of use. e less information the customer needs

to provide, the lower the wait times, the less keystrokes, the better.But this isnt 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 momentspent with a family doctor can all be worth that extra bit of time and

eff

ort.

ere is a tendency for designers to aim to make everyexperience 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 cant hide it, make it afeature - 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 customers effort whereyou can. Everywhere else, align the experience to brand.

REDUCE EFFORT WHERE YOU CAN.IF NOT, ALIGN EXPERIENCE TO BRAND.

4. CREATING CONSISTENT EXPERIENCES


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ACROSS CHANNELSe explosion of communication channels has altered how we interactwith 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 expectations

And we are extremely fickle.

People tend to consciously notice the channel they are using only whensomething 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 usuallyonly noticeable from the outside - for example from the point of view ofa 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. Itsour 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.



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5. MESSAGINGYou can assume that the customer has access to an enormousamount of information about you and your company. - So at all

points and all channels, you need to be ready with a consistent

message about:

productservice

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


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6. TRANSPARENCY

With all the information about your company that is onlineand 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-dressingand a veneer of social responsibility dont cut it. Your company

needs to be everything it claims.



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7. DATA COLLECTION

ere has been an explosion in the amount of data that can becollected about your customers patterns and preferences.

Insights can be collected and collated across channels - frombehaviors, 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 informationavailable 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 andhealthcare - 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 theright time. is balance needs to be carefully considered foreach business, and co ordinated throughout the organization.


8. CHANNEL OPTIONS

I h i l h h d l ill d li


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In 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 doesnt 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 stillresulting in a much-improved customer experience, combining

digital and physical channels.

Some examples of omnichannel thinking:

Uberimplemented an app-based system to hail and pay forlimousine service - bypassing many of the hassles typical in the

customers experience of a taxi, while greatly cutting costs.

American Airlinesused 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

airlines key communication channels. Royal Bank of Canadahas 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 beingaccomplished cheaper and easier online.

photo of Tibesti Mountains and Tributaries, Chad, by Juan Ramon Rodriguez Sosa, Creative Commons


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9. THE POWER OF THE PERSONAL PROFILE

Notwithstanding the previous point about the balance between

privacy and service expectations - customers seem to be less andless tolerant of companies that are unwilling to create a

personalized experience. For this to work across channels, a secure

and robust profile about the customers history, preferences, and

interactions with the company needs to be constructed - with thecustomers 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 upimmediately at a location of their choice, make a

recommendation when they arrive, follow up by email.)

Eliminating the need to provide information repeatedly whenswitching between channels.

Providing incentives or rewards to increase loyalty.

gel electrophoresis of DNA, photo by MNolf.


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10. OPT-IN

Many data collection methods may look great from a companyspoint of view, but can be intrusive (or downright creepy) from the

point of view of the customer. Wifi can allow you to track themovements 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 acompany that has gotten into a public-relations nightmare by

implementing them without the customers 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 theprogram. 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 informationfor rewards.

photo: Maximilian Schnherr


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I am enthusiastic over humanitysextraordinary and sometimes very timelyingenuity. If you are in a shipwreck and allthe boats are gone, a piano top buoyantenough to keep you afloat that comes alongmakes a fortuitous life preserver. But this isnot to say that the best way to design a life

preserver is in the form of a piano top. Ithink that we are clinging to a great manypiano tops in accepting yesterdaysfortuitous contrivings as constituting theonly means for solving a given problem.!Buckminster Fuller

AFTERWORD:

LET THE CUSTOMER DRIVE THE CHANGETaking an omnichannel approach to your business needs to be driven bythe customers needs and expectations - followed by a search for better

opportunities to meet them. Technology can play a role in this, but foreach of the points raised in this article, the most important aspect is howthe business faces the customer. - not the technology and tools to makeit happen.

e unfortunate tendency is for technology to drive change. Accordingto a study by Altimeter Research called Digital Transformation, ascorporate budgets for digital marketing, automation, mobile and socialmedia increase, many companies are letting the technology drive thechange rather than customer preferences. is can result in a patchwork

of technology, which is misaligned to the customers expectations andpatterns. In the field of technology, its easy to be blinded by the noveltyof 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 whatyour customers patterns and needs, and where they will likely be in thecoming years. Designing new ways to meet them is a form ofintervention in the customers life - you are placing a new bridge alongtheir path to allow a connection that wasnt 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 ofwork, but its work thats wasted if it has no value for the customer.

photo of geodesic structure by Michael Day


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THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

ABOUT LENATI

Lenati is s sales, marketing and customer experience

strategy consulting firm, helping clients build a stronger

customer connection. Competitive advantage todaydepends on a companys ability to deliver a rich set of

interactions across the customer lifecycle, ultimately

creating value for the company and the customer. We

have assembled a deeply experienced group of

professionals, blending consulting, analytics, design

and industry backgrounds, delivering innovative

solutions to help your organization make an immediate

impact in the marketplace.

LENATI LLC

100. 1300 Dexter Ave N,

Seattle WA 98109 USA

1.800.848.1449

lenati.com

[email protected]

All articles written by Paul Conder, edited by Erin McMonigal

All photos and illustrations by Paul Co

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