aplo | designing experiences

empathy as key to successful integrative thinking

2010-09-01T14:31:30+01:00

I have been reading the Opposable Mind by Roger Martin and have come across many similarities between the method of integrative thinking described in the book and the practice of qualitative research.

One of the key elements of successful design research is the practitioner's ability to understand people's (be it users of a service, customers, etc.) motivations, needs, and attitudes. Throughout the research process the practitioner aims to understand people by observing and supplementing his understanding by asking the right questions. A good practitioner will empathise with his subjects without necessarily agreeing with what is observed or discussed. The right approach and skill to separate ones own preconceived ideas and beliefs from the subjects' mental models is key to the success of any design research project. The practitioner will later use his experience, subject matter expertise, and understanding of client needs to design a service or product to meet those needs.

This approach of understanding and empathising in order to design a user centric solution is similar to the method of assertive inquiry described by Martin in the book:

"When you use assertive inquiry to investigate someone else's mental model, you find saliences that wouldn't have occurred to you and causal relationships you didn't perceive. You may not want to adopt the mental model as your own, but even the least compelling model can provide clues to saliences or causal relationships that will generate a creative resolution. ... assertive enquiry involves a sincere search for another's views. ... It aims to learn about the salient data and causal maps baked in to another person's model, then use the insight gained to fashion a creative resolution." p.157

online shopping and the problem with.... research

2010-08-27T15:44:23+01:00

Well, actually pictures according to some research mentioned on HBR. In a nutshell, the research suggests that when customers print out pictures of items they bought online the quality of the printouts affects 'the expectations during the shipping time, and can result in dissatisfied consumers'. Ok, useful to know but not sure how much valuable the findings are.

Firstly, the research makes the assumption that printing pictures of items bought online is common practice. I'd question that. In all the research I've done I ever came across anyone who actually does that. Collecting pictures of products for research is common but usually these pictures are cut-outs from magazines, catalogues, etc. and their purpose are to compare and inspire.

Secondly, more often than not, receipts do not include pictures of the purchased products. They may however include links to the product pages.

Thirdly, those customers wishing to share their purchase tend to do so online either by emailing links to the products purchased or using any of the social media tools. The increasing use of smartphone further reduces the need for any type of printouts, including the actual receipts.

For me there are two key learning here:

Good quality pictures are important in encouraging loyalty in customers. I have to say though, nothing new here.
The second learning is that academics have too much time on their hands and would research anything... so we don't have to...

opt in, not out

2010-08-27T10:56:39+01:00

image by Tenisha Rawlin on flickr

A recent article in DarkPatterns, discusses how online businesses use trick questions to get users to either agree to sharing their information with them (Wired) or inadvertentdly buy a service (Ryan Air). A more benign, yet sneaky approach employed by online marketers is the use of opt-out communication/registration questions. Typically this takes place when marketers wish to collect users' personal information to later contact them with offers, etc. The opt-out usually takes the form of a check box with negative text, something like: 'tick here if you do not wish to...' see example from Wired:

Why is this approach insidious? Firstly it breaks the heuristics governing a check box, specifically that a selected check box equates to a positive, true statement. That is, by selecting a checkbox a users makes a positive statement, which in the marketing world would be that they opt in, agree to a business sharing their information, contacting them, etc.

Secondly, a key feature of asking users to opt in - apart from legal requirements - is that all emals, materials, letters, any communication made is anticipated by the user. It confirms that the user wants to receive it, which makes it quite different to unsolicited advertisements.

Finally, opt out questions take advantage of our tendency to not fully read online but rather scan text. Basically they rely on us not noticing and inadvertently opting-in.

All in all this does not make for an honest and fair start to a relationship. Is this really how online businesses want to engage with their customers?

meet customer needs to get ahead of the pack

2010-08-25T12:02:46+01:00

A blog entry in HBR today outlines three questions companies need to ask themselves to see if they are heading the right direction, that towards the head of the pack. Unsurprisingly question no 1 is: '

Would you say your company is becoming more effective at meeting customer needs?'

It is not 'is your company effective at selling more?', or even 'is your company effective at telling your customers what they want?'. It is increasingly becoming clear, even to the MBAs, that the key success differentiator is whether companies a)understand their customers' needs and b) find innovative ways to fulfil those needs. Questions 2 and 3 continue on the themes of innovation and collaboration. They read:

Has your company recently implemented a significant innovation campaign or launched numerous small-scale innovation pilots?
Is your company becoming more collaborative with outside firms?

Both these two last questions point to a kind of business that is outward looking, confident, and one that places the creation of value for its customers at the core of its strategy.

pop up garden

2010-08-25T11:01:08+01:00

Now that pop up shops have become a norm among brands that want to experiment with new formats or simply follow a fashionable trend, the Prinzessinnengarten urban farm in Berlin adds a new dimension to this retail trend. Temporary by nature, the gardening season last till about November, and by circumstance, the farm will need to move as soon as the space is sold off, Prinzessinnengarten is set up by non gardeners as a way to support knowledge exchange and work with the local communities. Interestingly ,the founders see this as a business venture, determined to make a profit by selling produce and running a cafe. The farm, with it sown resident beekeeper, seems to have proven a success with different social groups and cultural backgrounds. It also stays true to the notions of provenance and traceability.

Have a look at this video by Monocle

this is real multichannel (with all its challenges of course)

2010-08-24T18:00:00+01:00

A recent New York Times article describes how Nordstrom increased sales and inventory turnover by linking its on-line inventory with that of its 115 stores. A integrated inventory allowed on-line customers to buy a product even though it was not available on-line: 'if the Web warehouse was out of that bag, it did not matter. Inventory from Nordstrom’s 115 regular stores is also included. Maybe there was just one handbag left in the entire company, sitting forlornly in the back of the Roosevelt Field store — it would be displayed on-line and store employees would ship it to the Web customer.' As a result of the inventory changes there were significant improvements in stock management and eventually sales and earrings: 'we can sell more without having to buy more inventory,' Mr Nordstrom said. 'That plays through to margins and, ultimately, earnings'.

Having worked on retail sites, one major challenge that comes to mind is that how certain is Nordstrom that the bag that appears to 'sitting forlornly in the back of the Roosevelt Field store' is actually there and not a)misplaced and impossible to locate, b) stolen, c) in good condition, and d) sold but never accurately registered. This is not to say that integrated inventory cannot work, quite the opposite; customers view a brand as one entity not separate touch-points. There are however, challenges in communicating to customers how reliable stock availability actually is.

Marketers want all your details, now

2010-08-24T15:14:58+01:00

It won't be news to anyone that when designing newsletter subscriptions or any email sign up journeys for that matter, marketers would insist they need to collect all types of information; details ranging from date of birth and gender to favourite brand and colour. when asked why, they answer tends to be something like 'in case we need this information in the future'. We all know that asking information unrelated to the task at hand poses a barrier to task completion and can make customers suspicious. A recommended approach is to only ask for key and relevant information first and invite more details as the relationship grows; the principle of reciprocity works really well here. A common response is that it is best to get all that information when users first sign up as 'they are already filling in a form' and that 'they won't bother give us more details later'. Wrong, customers will provide you with as much information as you need if a) they see a direct benefit or/and b) is easy to provide this information. Myla includes a simple question at the end of their emails asking you to provide more information about yourself. By simply clicking on one of the two options you are taken to their website where a confirmation that your details have been updated is displayed. Simple, quick, and effective.

do customers want a relationship with brands?

2010-07-30T15:38:07+01:00

In an HBR article, entitled 'Why your customers don't want to talk to you' the authors argue that customers prefer self service channels to face to face interaction with employees. They also raise the concern that this may be because customers 'never wanted the kind of relationship that companies have always hoped for, and that self service now allows customers the "out" they've been looking for all along.' Quite an interesting thought.

They also claim that channel hoping, customers' movement from channel to channel when interacting with a company, increases the likelihood of them being disloyal. That is an easy one to fix. Just design your service holistically. Look at all your touch-points as part of the same service, not as independent channels.

You never know maybe your customers do want to have a relationship with you, but at the moment that relationship is painful... for them.

starting with those that your designs affect

2010-07-30T09:57:46+01:00

How the people at Continuum approached the design of a hospital room for Herman Miller: They began by interviewing and observing everyone in the hospital spectrum--patients, doctors, janitors, visitors, administrators--to discover inefficiencies and learn how infection spreads throughout a room. “A lot of times, especially as caregivers, they don’t often even know why they do certain things,” Beth Nickels, president of Herman Miller Healthcare, says. “And when you listen to their answers, you might be able to point out a better way to do things.” (From FastCompany)

who needs Facebook...

2010-07-14T11:53:51+01:00

This morning, as I was leaving the flat for work, I came across this notice. What a brilliant public display of what is obviously quite private. I just hope 'Scottland' and 'America' go out for that coffee...