The Holistic Customer: Beyond the Website Experience - Managing Experience 2010

The Holistic Customer Beyond the Website Experience
Samantha Starmer
sstarme@rei.com
@samanthastarmer

REI – Recreational Equipment, Inc.Retailer, Member owned co-op1938
"We inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship."

me
UX & IA related work for places like Amazon, Microsoft
REI – first experience at a non high tech company
Teach at University of Washington
Most important - Spent 10 years in the restaurant and bar business. With a lot of customers.

First, a story…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/2959785536/

Palm Springs!

Resort Hotel!!

I am lucky

Verdant

Foliage…lots of foliage

Like The Secret Garden!

But…

I was tired

I needed an adult beverage
$80 wine!!!

But I’m cheap…

…and car-less

I have to get out of a 13 acre resort

So, with a crappy map

and tips (seriously),

I finally find my way out

And escape to the real world

But now it is dark

And the lovely, secret foliage

With all of the nooks and crannies

That I already got lost in when it was light…

Is kinda scary

Finally, thank god

Now I really need a drink

At least for walking, exploring or doing anything not related to sitting by a pool and drinking

no sign policy

except…

WHY
should you care?

65% of visitors to an online search engine were looking for further information in relation to a product or service they saw in a television commercial or in a newspaper advertisement.
Pubblicita offline e ricercheneimotori, 2007
From ‘Information Architecture for Ubiquitous Ecologies’, Andrea Resmini and Luca Rosati

They are coming from everywhere!

We have no control

over how people hear about us

Or get to us

53% of US online consumers say they research products online that they subsequently buy offline.
Forrester, North American Technographics Retail Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US).

Over half REI online business is picked up in a store

Even if you think you are web only, you are multi-channel
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaireproductions/3176968409/

Customers are interacting with your brand.
They don’t care about the channel; they care about the experience.

I’m the same customer in each interaction

Leaving lovely hotel room

Getting flight # via email

Check in via mobile app

I don’t want flight status!

Okay, trying another way

Flight not recognized

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindaugasdanys/3766009204

Fine.
Old school check in.

US Airways….

And one more reason?

Our Marketing peers are way ahead of us…

some
GUIDELINES

Think about on ramps and off ramps

Don’t assume the customer is using the front door.

Holistic experience at all entrances

Back door

Side door

Holistic experience?

Where’s the award?

Store directions?

Who is REI? Why am I here?

Are your on ramps and off ramps a good experience?

Be consistent…
Consistent brand

Coordination, timing

Be consistent…
Consistent information

The most common problems reported by Web-to-store shoppers related to discrepancies in prices and product information across the two channels.
Forrester, How Satisfied Are US Consumers With Web-To-Store Shopping?
December 2009

Not the same information!

Be consistent…
But optimize channel capabilities

Surface at a hotel
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10016573-75.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10016573-75.html

Augmented Reality dressing room
http://www.tobi.com/

Not just a stupid advertising app

Don’t design for user's needs on the website, design for the holistic experience

HOW
to start

Use metrics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iliahi/2606645766/

Tools
mechanics

Experience Design
Service design
Customer experience
Customer relationship management
Multi-Channel communications
Cross-Channel Marketing
Ubiquitous computing
Design Thinking
Pervasive IA (@resmini)
Disciplines

Field Experience
Service Inventory
Customer Journey Mapping
Experience mapping
Mental Models
Business Origami (@jessmcmullin)
Tools and Methods

Wander the halls

Leave your comfort zone

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/2680257100_69b12c6e7d.jpg

Understand executives’ goals

Listen

Designing a holistic experience means listening holistically:
Usual UX research, but also
Call center
Email queries and feedback
Live Chat transcripts
Social Media
Sentiment Analysis
Market Research
Analytics (behavior)
Store follows/shop alongs

Hang with a new crowd
http://averagecats.com/page/7

Make new friends
Marketing
IT, or anyone who can build stuff
Finance
Distribution Center
Customer Service
Innies with outies, outies with innies
Different industries
Artists, architects, museum curators, restaurant workers, baristas, landscapers, hotel managers…

Don’t get overwhelmed
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/hoarding-buried-alive/slideshows/before-and-after-episodes-1-4-02.html

You can’t be everywhere at once
Target a channel pair
Focus on incremental progress
Measure stuff
Celebrate (and communicate) quick wins
Get allies to spread the work

Finally…
(and this one is hard)

Don’t be grabby
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimfrazier/1810966604/

Let go of control
It’s okaywhen other people start talking about the customer experience
It’s okaywhen other people try to improve the customer experience
It’s okayif you aren’t involved in EVERYTHING
It’s okayif you aren’t the only one making a difference.
Isn’t it all about the customer?

EVERYONE should care about customer experience

Join the Journey
http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A7760/776083/470_776083.jpg

Thank you.Samantha Starmersstarme@rei.com@samanthastarmer

The Holistic Customer: Beyond the Website Experience - Managing Experience 2010

by Samantha Starmer on Apr 27, 2010

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