Customer Experience Crossroads

Catching up: immersive experiences, bathroom blogfest and simplicity

2009-11-03T11:24:44-05:00

I've been away from my office for a week, but it feels like a month, things are so backed up.

This morning, trainer TK (aka the princess of pain) wanted to know why I didn't get any hotel workouts in... at the time, just getting enough sleep felt like a victory. Some experiences are very immersive, and don't leave much room for anything else. A good vacation is like that, but so are some conferences, and some of my work projects are like that.

Immersive experiences and simplicity

Here's the thing - many of your target customers are in some kind of immersive experience. Their day to day life is often pretty immersive if they have children and work.

They simply don't have any mind-share to spare for you or your needs. Maybe it's some procedure that seems simple enough to you (a mail-in rebate form, for example), but that bit of effort has to displace some other important thing.

My take: no matter how simple you think your form, your procedure or your communication is, you need to make it simpler. If we have to set it aside for later, later might never come.

Bathroom Blogfest

The Bathroom Blogfest pretty much plunged on without me this year, and there was even a sponsor!! [Although I did get to dabble in logo design again, see left. It was more fun than the reports I needed to write].

I rather liked CB Whittemore's post about simplicity, here. Her recap of the week is here.

Simplicity of operation seems to have gone too far in public johns, IMHO. We all stand waving our hands under automatic sinks that don't come on, trying to get soap from automatic dispensers that won't dispense, and waving frantically at automatic towel dispensers that aren't whirring.

Mostly the automatic dryers seem to work, but you have to hang on to small children lest they get blown over by the high speed fans.

Inside the stall, it's much worse. If the automatic flush doesn't happen, you may look in vain (as I did a few days ago) for a manual button. Why these little buttons are so well hidden is a mystery. As often as not, these units flush twice, which is hardly a water saving.

Encountering these mysteries in several airports, I empathized with the newcomers who must be mystified by these devices. If we can't figure it out, what hope does a foreigner have? It's not like there are signs that explain what to do.

My take: We have a lot of weird obsessions about bathroom fixtures that could keep a team of anthropologists busy for years. I strongly suspect that the automatic switches have more to do with not touching the untouchable than with any real efficiency.

Good bathrooms are good for business

McDonald's is one of the few places you can count on a good bathroom, and that's motivated me to stop there on many occasions. And in the spirit of reciprocity, of course I buy something too.

Linda Wright has actually written a book about this topic,

Skip to the Loo: Bypass Big-Ticket Advertising and Build Business with Better Bathrooms.

My take: I haven't read the book, but I totally endorse the concept. When you are talking bathrooms, you are talking about a need felt by 100 per cent of the population.

Blogfest Blogger list

Participating bloggers for the Bathroom Blogfest ’09 include:

• Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads http://www.customercrossroads.com
• Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog http://onqualitativeresearch.blogspot.com/
• Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up http://fromthefloorsup.com/
• Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog http://blog.mybigbobs.com/
• Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop http://www.laurenceborel.com/
• Jeanne Byington at The I mportance of Earnest Service http://blog.jmbyington.com/
• Becky Carroll at Customers Rock! http://www.customersrock.net
• Leslie Clagett at KB Culture www.kbculture.blogspot.com
• Katie Clark at Practical Katie http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/
• Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out http://circulating.wordpress.com/
• Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog http://cleaningsecrets.greatcleaners.com/
• Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution http://www.resultsrevolution.com
• Maria Palma at People To People Service http://www.people2peopleservice.com/
• Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog http://www.professortoilet.com/
• David Reich at My 2 Cents http://reichcomm.typepad.com/
• Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com
• Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose http://spiritwomen.blogspot.com
• Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology http://experienceology.blogspot.com;
• C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com
and Simple Marketing Blog http://www.SimpleMarketingBlog.com
• Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms http://lindaloo.com/

New methods for a digital world: agile, iteration + prototyping, not top down plan

2009-10-20T13:37:41-04:00

I'm no expert on the Agile development process, but I love the concept - - that every small piece of work that is done in the development stage should yield a usable function. I like this approach to customer experience too, but give me a sec to explain how I see the connection.

I was trying to explain about Agile development to someone recently, who likened it to the auto assembly process. But it's not, really.

With auto assembly, you know what the finished car is supposed to look like. You have a detailed plan. You divide that plan up into small pieces of efficient manufacturing, and assemble all the pieces. The leather steering wheel cover, the aluminum rims, the radio and the formed steel -- all come together in an amazing dance of assembly like a ballet.

If you were building a car using agile methods, you wouldn't even consider the radio in the early going. You'd be thinking about the simplest moving vehicle you could get on the road. It wouldn't have a roof in the first iteration. It would have some kind of propulsion system, and it would have wheels, and something to sit on.

As you kept building the agile car, you would build better bits on it as you understood the user needs more perfectly. And the user needs -- and their early experience -- would help you figure out what to add next.

This method is actually the way people used to build homes -- and still do in some places. You start with one room, walls and a roof. You might cook outside if the climate permitted. Then you add a second room. You might know you will want a second story someday, so you make the foundation strong enough for that, even though you have no immediate plans.

Coming back to customer experience...

Organizations that try to "get it right" inevitably get stuck on the plan. It's complicated, and there are a lot of moving parts. They keep driving the old car waiting for the new and perfect blueprints.

A better method involves rapid prototyping. Here are some of the principles you use:

Pick a few things to change, and change them. Not everywhere, but in a few locations.(The prototypes)
Accept that the plan will have giant holes in it until people on the ground are actually involved
Involve people on the ground in a collaborative way to develop solutions and refine the bare bones outline
Insist that every day you make a step forward, no matter how small, towards the vision
Involve customers. Watch how they are reacting to the changes. Ask what they think. Bring their ideas into the process
Roll out the good ideas into your network as you have them -- don't wait for the "branch/store of the future" to be ready -- evolve
Recognize that you are never done where customer experience is concerned. The innovations of today will be the buggy whips of tomorrow.

Respecting your customers

2009-10-08T09:55:21-04:00

I think you'll like this little story, but I have to tell you the situation first: I'm in Palm Springs at a Renaissance resort for the annual QRCA conference. Since I'm three time zones away from home, I'm up early.

So yesterday, I decided on a quick swim and a hot tub shortly after 7 am, when there was no-one around except the guys making the pool ready for the day.

I thought I saw a big pile of towels on the lounge seating. These are like giant outdoor livingrooms with fire pits to ward off the desert chill at night. The chairs are oversized bamboo and cushion affairs that are quite nice.

Turns out the towels had men under them. Two guys to be specific, both covered in big striped pool towels, with their street shoes and suits still on, and the evidence of the party the night before all around them.

What I loved is that the hotel did not chase them away at 2 am. They worked around them.

I didn't think the Marriott chain's service could surprise me anymore, but they show tremendous respect for their customers. And this was just one other example.

A little inspiration at the right moment: A girl named pants

2009-10-07T09:58:47-04:00

I'm in lovely Palm Springs this week at the QRCA Conference -- more on that in a minute. You may imagine that I'm enjoying warms sunny days, but actually, I was freezing in my pashmina during a day of board meetings inside the hotel. It was a long day, and I got up feeling rather uninspired. But then ... [trumpets going da-da-da-daaaaah here please]

My e-mail flashed me back to two years ago at the AGILE Alliance conference, for agile software developers. They let me run a panel for them, and we had a ball. Which is where I met Tom Coulson, who signed a poster of A Girl Named Pants for me. This is a new character Tom was developing because he wanted his own little girl to grow up strong and courageous, able to do anything.

Turns out Tom's been busy, as only a developer can be. He's launched a delightful new site, where you can see videos -- which are engaging! And you can read all the books for FREE. [Yes, you can also buy the books, so you don't have to take your laptop to bed when you read to the kids every night.]

There are even downloadable coloring pages you can print out. How cool is that. He says it best in his own words:

Susan -
You hoped our paths would cross again...here's a quick cross...
I mentioned my hobby when we were together in Toronto...Children's books.
Well, I launched a new website a couple nights ago and I am trying to spread the word.

My new site is totally kid-safe and everything is free. Kids can read all of
the Pants books, download illustrations and coloring pages, download
motivational posters, and watch two new awesome web shows; a series called “Kids
Save the Planet,” and a series called “Stuff Kids Need to Know.”

The website is www.agirlnamedpants.com. Check it out! And, if you find any
bugs, please let me know. It’s a new site…there are always bugs.

Thanks!
Tom Colson

I love it when small entrepreneurial companies do such lovely work that could easily have been launched by a big company. It gives me great material to use as examples in my innovation projects.

So Tom, I read one of the books this morning, and now I have the courage to face another day of meetings.

I love that you are giving away the books. I bet you'll make a ton of money selling them and speaking to kids, and all because you are trying to do something good in the world. I may have to frame the poster [currently tacked to my cork-board].

Back to my travels -- for the rest of the week, I'll be soaking up great brain food at the QRCA conference, which is the annual back to school event for qualitative researchers. With any luck, I'll be able to sneak off for some pool time later. Wishing you a courageous rest of the week!