We host customers in spaces and it would bode well for a superior customer experience if we intentionally put more thought into the #architecture, into how we design these spaces to bring out our #brands.

1. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Customer Experience & Architecture:
“Chicken and Egg”
Tom Sitati
BArch MA MAAK MCIM
Architect + Brand Strategist

2. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
What is the African Customer saying?

3. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
“I am both proud and
aspirational. Promise me to make
me appear to be better than I
really am. Treat me like I have
already ‘arrived’, because I will.”
- Brand Integrated Consulting

4. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
“I am cautiously optimistic. Promise
me reassurance and care. Make me
feel I can depend on you, always.”
- Brand Integrated Consulting

5. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
“I am empowered.
I am in charge. Promise me
a genuine, honest
conversation”
- Brand Integrated Consulting

6. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
What is the African Customer
demanding of brands now?

7. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
7
We are now all
“babies”; adorable,
needing tenderness,
love, care and
empathy from brands

8. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
(yet very selfish
and loudly
demanding when
things don’t go our
way – and it must
be our way)!
8

9. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
What is the African Customer demanding
of Architects?

10. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
This is where your physical space and architectural
design interface with customer experience
The RATER model is a convenient method to measure customer
expectations. It was created by Valarie Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman
and Leonard Berry for service quality. They first mentioned the RATER
model in their book 'Delivering Quality Service' from 1990.
The RATER model for Customer Expectations

11. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
What should you as a CX professional
demand of your Architect, for the sake of
your customer?

12. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Architecture is
NOT magic,
involve me in
the process

13. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Architecture is about
creating spaces for
unique, exceptional
customer experience,
spaces that bring the
customer’s dreams to life

14. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
What is changing?

15. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Digital is Everywhere!

16. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Human relationships still rule!

17. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
The COVID-19 reset?

18. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Architecure is now
even more about
customer experience

19. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Why should we go about designing
spaces for unique, exceptional
customer experience?

20. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Brand is experience,
experience is brand.
Brand:
Why you exist –
your promise
Experience:
What you do about
your promise
– the proof
Courtesy, Hector Pottie, Creative Director—Method London

21. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Using a brand-led approach to enhance
architectural solutions for customer experience
Emotional Comfort - how does the
space make you, the customer, feel?
Does it bring out the desired brand of
your organization?
This is where an intentionally crafted architectural
brand comes in – unique to each organization
Functional Comfort - ease of doing your job - support
your job tasks – navigable for the customer
Physical Comfort - basic standards of habitability - health
and well being - health and safety standards – building code
Adapted from Visher (1989)
Habitability
Threshold
Branded Architecture
Physical Comfort
Functional Comfort
Emotional
Comfort

22. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
An experience occurs when
a company
intentionally uses
services as the
stage, and goods
[buildings] as props,
to engage individual customers in
a way that creates a memorable
event.
Enhancing Economic Value through Built Environment Experience
Welcome to the Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore –
Published in Harvard Business Review, July– August 1998

23. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
There is indeed a
positive correlation
between design and
returns to
shareholders –
businesses can no
longer ignore
architectural design
and its link to
customer experience
and the bottom line
Design and Total Return to Shareholders

24. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
How should we go about
getting the best out of
architectural design to enhance
our customer experience?

25. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Architectural brand development process
synthesize deliver +
manage
2 3
understand
1

26. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Insights that inspire
the corporate
architectural brand
experience
development
Brand
Strategy
(BS)
Company
Strategy
(CS)
Global
Trends
(GT)
Local
Trends
(LT)
Architectural
Brand
Org + Cx
Culture
(OCx)
Competitors
(CP)
© Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.

27. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Form
Design
Elements
Graphic
Style
Colour
Palette
Architectural
Brand
Materials
Space
Planning
Aspects that create
the corporate
architectural brand
experience
© Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.

28. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Form
Design
Elements
Graphic
Style
Colour
Palette
Architectural
Brand
Materials
Bringing it all
together…
Insights inspiring
each aspect of the
architectural brand
experience
Space
Planning
OCx CP
GT
LT
BS
CS
OCx CP
GT
LT
BS
CS
OCx CP
GT
LT
BS
CS
OCx CP
GT
LT
BS
CS
OCx CP
GT
LT
BS
CS
OCx CP
GT
LT
BS
CS
© Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.

29. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
29
We are now all
“babies”; adorable,
needing tenderness,
love, care and
empathy from brands

30. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
30
Why do we really do what we do
as CX professionals?

31. © Lexicon + ION. Copyrighted Material – Do not distribute without permission.
Thank you!
www.linkedin.com/in/archtomsitati
@tom_sitati