For UX practitioners, keeping your stakeholders continuously engaged is key to having a seat at the table and understanding your users. Twelve successful tactics to keep your customers engaged are highlighted in this presentation.

1. HOW TO KEEP YOUR
CUSTOMERS
CONTINUOUSLY ENGAGED
WITH YOU
Jane Robbins
Senior Human Factors
Engineer
ICF International
Mobile UXCamp DC
Sept. 19, 2015

2. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 2
Who really are our customers?
They are the stakeholders who own the software or product
you work on, such as
People from an internal department at your own
organization
A government agency
A commercial client
A nonprofit

3. Why do we need to keep our customers
continuously engaged?
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 3
To understand our
users, we first have
to understand our
customers
In the User Experience (UX)
field, understanding our users
is the most important aspect
we bring to the organization…
And the key to reaching our
users is to establish rich,
engaged relationships with
internal stakeholders

4. What is customer engagement?
The relationship of customers with a brand,
with highly engaged customers having
Continuing relationships
Brand loyalty
Better awareness and recall of communications
More likely to recommend the brand
Likely to engage in free, credible word of mouth advertising
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5. We can apply the same branding logic to
our customer stakeholders
With the fast pace of change in the workplace,
we have keep up with their current needs and
goals
We have to keep them continuously engaged
Otherwise, we risk losing our seat at the table
when new products are being developed
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6. What are other benefits?
An engaged customer = a customer who
supports the UX worldview
Continuously engaging with them:
Develops deeper and more valuable relationships
Proactively anticipates their next needs
Ensures your customers keep UX ‘top-of-mind’
when they think about product development
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7. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 7
How do you keep them continuously engaged?
Perhaps you’re new to your organization, you have a
new set of customers, or you want to reinvigorate your
engagement with customers you’ve been working with
for a while…
Come up with a set of tactics to build or enhance your
relationships with them, on both a professional and
personal level
I’ve successfully used twelve tactics in several business
and government organizations that really increase
engagement

8. Decide on your tactics based on…
The UX maturity model for your organization
The relationships that you’ve already established
Your UX focus or
The effort involved
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9. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 9IMAGE FROM HTTP://UXPODCAST.COM/88-JARED-SPOOL-UX-STRATEGY/

10. The Customer Engagement Model
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11. Tactic #1: Presentations by UX Staff
Provides basic UX information to customers, such as
benefits and examples of potential improvements to
the customer’s products
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Anywhere from Low (Unrecognized) to Medium
(Invested) maturity; other tactics are more appropriate for
High maturity organizations
Relationships – New; this sets the stage for future
interactions
Your UX Focus – Can be done for either management or
employees
Effort – High, though the same presentation could be
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 11

12. Tactic #2: Presentations by Experts
Involves experts in the UX field who present
authoritative information to customers
Best for organizations where…
Maturity– Anywhere from Low to Medium, but the
topic should be customized to the level of maturity
Relationships – New or Established
Your UX Focus – Can be done for either
management or employees
Effort – Medium
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13. Tactic #3: Workshops
Engages customers by involving them in
tackling a specific app/website/system and
working through possible solutions in day-
long workshops
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Generally Low to Medium
Relationships – New
Your UX Focus – Generally done for employees, not
management
Effort – Depends if you hire an outsider to prepare
and facilitate, or do it with your UX staff
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14. Tactic #4: UX Classes Together
Allows customers to gain in-depth knowledge, so
that everyone shares a common understanding of
UX terminology and techniques
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Low to High
Relationships – Anywhere from New to Established
Your UX Focus – Generally done for employees, not
management
Effort – Low, if an outside instructor teaches the class,
High if you do so
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15. Tactic #5: Blogs and Articles
Provides a showcase on your team’s
expertise by applying a UX technique to
your customer’s needs
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Anywhere
Relationships – Most likely Established
Your UX Focus – For both management and
employees
Effort – Medium CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 15

16. Tactic #6: Office Hours
Allows UX staff to educate and consult with customers
on issues and questions; this can be virtual or onsite
Best for organizations where…
Maturity Model – anywhere from Low to High
Relationships – from New to Established
Your UX Focus – best if you are focused on regular
employees
Effort – High to prepare, reuse the same materials, so works
out to Medium effort
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 16

17. Tactic #7: Customer Review Board
Engages customers from different parts of the organization
to give input on UX priorities
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – anywhere from Low to High
Relationships – from New to Established
Your UX Focus – Generally focused on managers, though
sometimes line employees represent their teams
Effort – High to set up meetings, record results, promulgate
information to the rest of the organization
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18. Tactic #8: Invitations to UT and Focus Group
Sessions
Invite customers to your usability testing and focus
group sessions as observers
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – anywhere from Low to High; if Low, it will be
an eye-opener, if High, it will reinforce the value of UX
Relationships – from New to Established
Your UX Focus – Both managers and employees should
be invited, but for different reasons: managers to
better understand UX, employees to learn about their
users
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19. Tactic #9: Offsites
Provides opportunity to discuss UX strategy
for the organization with your customer
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Generally Low to Medium
Relationships – New or Established, with the focus
of the offsite slightly different depending on the
existing relationship
Your UX Focus – Management primarily
Effort – High preparation
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20. Tactic #10: UX Trips
Reinforces relationships when you travel with
your customer for a UX-related event, such as
a conference
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Generally Low to Medium
Relationships – New or Established, to build further
credibility for the UX philosophy
Your UX Focus – Management primarily
Effort – Low preparation
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 20

21. Tactic #11: Social Events
Holding a social event for customers, such as a Meet-and-
Greet or Happy Hour, can be a powerful way to establish
and reinforce customer relationships
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – anywhere - almost everyone appreciates a party!
Relationships – Anywhere from New to Established
Your UX Focus – For both management and employees
Effort – Medium
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22. Tactic #12: Co-locate with your Customers
To maintain continuous engagement, there’s nothing
better than meeting your customer at the coffee pot each
morning, posting your personas in the halls, and
displaying wireframes at your desk
Best for organizations where…
Maturity – Can be for any stage, but the most ‘bang for the buck’
at the Low stage
Relationships – For New relationships, this should pay the most
dividends
Your UX Focus – Employees
Effort – Low
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 22

23. Let’s Hear About Other Engagement Tactics and
Ideas That You Have Used….
1. Important to set expectations with customers upfront
2. Involve customers in your online dialog, via Slack, Github
or other tools and wikis
3. Use customers for dry runs for your testing
4.
5.
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24. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 24
KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS
ENGAGED!
Jane Robbins
Senior Human Factors Engineer
ICF International
Jane.robbins@icfi.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ja
e-robbins-mba-cua/5/a09/36a
@UX_JaneRobbins