aplo | designing experiences

getting to utter the words...

'Design Research'

Recently I've come across  articles and podcasts that either exalt the virtues of qualitative user research or lament the limitations of market research. These articles and podcasts are not UCD related but rather stories told by business and brand management experts. What I found surprising though is the fact that though they talk about the benefits of knowing customers, consumers, or users, they fail to use the words of the practice that makes that 'knowing' possible, namely qualitative user research or design research.

For example, in a recent Harvard Business IdeaCast on Consumer Psychology in a Downturn, the guest John Quelch, make the point that the segmentation scheme used prior to the current economic recession, one based on demographics,  is obsolete. He purports that 'most companies need to go out and re-talk top their customers and re-frame their segmentation approach'. He then goes on to describe four new segmentation groups he identified based on customer behaviour not demographics. He does not say how he uncovered those behaviours but qualitative user research would be the most appropriate approach.

More recently, Wally Olins, the branding guru, in edition 17 of  The Monocle Weekly  talks about the total customer experience while he dismisses research in favour of expertise and I guess intuition. He argues that clients need to trust his expertise, ' [Mr Client] you have to have the courage of my convictions'  and that research 'proves nothing at all except people do not now what they are talking about, they do not know what it is and they are not interested in it anyway'.

What Olins does not appear to recognise though is that the total customer experience can only be the result of implicitly understanding customer needs, and with regards the 'people do not know what they are talking about' comment, well stop running focus groups and get to know your clients' customers.

Domino's feel the wrath of user generated content

What happens when two staff at a pizza company decide to film a prank at work involving sticking cheese up their noses and covering salami with 'some lethal gas' and then posting it on YouTube? Firstly the video becomes an overnight success and secondly the firm's management scrambles to manage the PR disaster.  Domino's found out the hard way how social media can cause a serious PR crisis they simply did not know how to deal with. Following the popularity of the posted video and the subsequent feeling of disgust felt by millions of their customers, Domino's were quick to sack the employees involved who are now facing felony charges.

Apparently the employees involved were 'two idiots with a video camera' according to a company spokesman. Well I guess then until they got hold of a camera they were simply two idiots working for Domino's. That certainly says a lot about the culture of the company and how they feel about their employees.

Read the story on IHT for more details.

extraordinary service brands

In the weekend edition of IHT for March 1-2, 2008, Joe Nocera talks to Millard Drexler, CEO of J.Crew and finds out that his hands-on approach helps him deliver value for J.Crew. "Visiting stores, quizzing the staff, critiquing everything in sight - and most of all, meeting customers - is at the core of how Mr. Drexler runs J. Crew."

Nocera describes how Drexler has 're-established his almost visceral connection to the customer'. He mentions how J.Crew's CEO spends time every day going through customer emails, visiting stores and talking to his staff and customers on the shop floor. Drexler does not see anything special about his approach: "People want to be listened to and they want to be respected. Besides, this is how you learn what is on their mind. What can be more important than that?"

Drexlers' almost obsessive attention to his customers' and staff needs is typical of managers running powerful service brands. Powerful in that they are immersive and present a coherent and consistent face to all those who come in contact with any of the brand's touchpoints. In Uncommon Practice: People who deliver a great brand experience, managers are unanimous that when it comes to providing a great service, staff come first. That means taking time to hire the right people, getting them to experience the service, and rewarding them for great service [one of the five compensation indices at Virgin is 'virgin professionalism' ].

Wally Olins also highlights the importance of getting the staff to live the brand when he lays out his rules for sustaining service brands:

• Organise your operations around the brand
• Train your people to live the brand
• Behave the way you talk
• Always remember your staff are the brand
• Be consistent and coherent
• Treat customers with respect
• Listen to customers
• Lead by example from the top

I wonder how many CEOs of our familiar everyday brands pause to consider their staff and customers... 

branding your way around

I came across the work of Gregor Graf the other day and it made me think about the omnipresence and persistent nature of brands; how we navigate our everyday life using them and how familiar they are to us. Graf has taken pictures of main cities around the world, including London, and removed all signage and other commercial references leaving us with images of bare streets and barely recongisable.

all looks and no substance

I have recently been asked to look at a major consumer product website designed and built by a leading global digital agency, and provide some feedback. The site is highly interactive and makes heavy use of Flash. The whole project is the result of a creative drive to enhance the brand and immerse users in the brand identity. The site certainly looks stunning but begin to scratch the surface and you find that it lacks substance. User journeys are incomplete and sticky. Interaction is hampered by unnecessary steps that result in a disjointed experience of the site. While the site delivers a powerful brand image it fails to deliver a powerful brand experience. What is alarming is that the site was design and built with blessing of user experience experts.
That makes me wonder then, what is the role of UE in a digital agency?
Are they there to provide hygiene services? - clearly did not work this time
Are they there because the agency needs to be seen to employ a user centered methodology?
Are they there  so the agency can tick that 'usability' box?

or are they there to employ user centred methodologies to uncover latent user needs and work closely with creatives to innovate based on their insights? just wondering...

is brand experience not user experience?

Is it not true that when users describe their experience of using a service or a product they are actually describing their experience of the brand? So, when defining a brand, brand managers should find out what the user experience of the brand actually is and then seek out ways to align that with the intended brand experience. This is all part of helping the brand staying authentic and true to its values.

Let's not confuse brand image with brand experience, or brand action as it is usually referred to. Branding documents and style guides all help define the brand image while interacting with the actual offering shapes and defines the brand experience.