MBS Inspiration
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The MBS Group
is one of the world’s leading executive search firms operating exclusively in Retail, Consumer and relevant technologies, and the most successful sector-specialist firm in the UK
Experience by design: how to build customer experience excellence into your business
A discussion breakfast with Clive Grinyer, Head of Customer Experience at Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group
Apple is one of the world’s most valuable brands, not only thanks to it’s technological abilities but also to it’s relentless commitment to a somehow intangible mantra – customer experience. But what does customer experience mean today and how can companies build teams to look after this crucial part of the business?
To explore some of these issues Thomas Green, Head of Digital Technology at The MBS Group hosted a discussion breakfast with Clive Grinyer. Clive, a pioneer of customer-centric design and co-founder of Tangerine with Jonathan Ive, has led user experience for the Orange Group, and worked with McClaren and IDEO. Now a Director of Cisco’s consultancy arm, IBSG, he helps Cisco’s clients envision how technology can enable people to connect and interact with each other, both in the online and physical space.
Clive began the discussion by inviting us to remember how, until very recently, many companies used to focus purely on technology, without paying much attention to how users would see, understand or engage with any of it. At that time, interfaces were largely unusable, ergonomics poor and designs plain ugly.
The world is now a very different place, with customers not only embracing technology faster than ever, but also expecting high levels service across all platforms. Today, we all have the ability to research and compare, we expect things to work and, thanks to Apple, we expect them to work beautifully.
These high expectations, together with the development of new devices and richer online experiences, mean that managing the customer journey is more complex than ever before. We no longer just choose and pay for products or services, but discuss our choices with our peers, compare prices and sign up for store services, all in one place. At the same time, the conversation between companies and customers has changed from telling (email, SMS and banner ads) to asking (comparisons, personal recommendations and reviews) to engaging (mobile apps, digital touch-screen and gaming).
How can companies respond to these changing demands? Above all, they need to remember that customer experience is about people and that design and technology have to anticipate and serve their needs. To uncover these needs, you have to go beyond conventional market research, and observe users. Drawing, visualising and rapid prototyping are all useful tools. It is about designing for people, with people.
In terms of the journey, there are other elements that need to be taken into account. After all, who hasn’t been disappointed when a smooth online shopping transaction ends up with a ‘sorry you were not in’ card and a queue at the post office at the weekend to pick up your precious order?
We continued talking about how companies need to of course look at every point of the journey. From choosing to buying, joining a loyalty scheme or upgrading services, the main challenge is that, in many companies, each stage of the journey is managed by different parts of the organisation, or even external organisations – which are often quite siloed.
In that context, who is responsible for the customer experience? If you ask many CEOs they would say everyone is responsible, which means that no one really is. After some discussion, we agreed that companies need people who are championing the customers inside the organisation. People who can stand up to CEOs, financial directors and technical and engineering teams if necessary, and keep reminding them of what’s important.
The discussion moved on to discuss the challenges for retailers in terms of the online competition, and how to combine the best of in-store experiences and the best of online.
In terms of what the future might bring, customer interaction is going to keep changing. The next 10 years will see consumers shifting seamlessly between devices and screens; the mobile device will be the main vehicle for interacting with the web, making payments, taking pictures, watching TV, listening to music and viewing films. We are also likely to see many wearable devices and screens will be so inexpensive that they will appear almost everywhere and become ubiquitous. Our attitudes to privacy are going to fundamentally change (particularly younger demographic groups) and users will trade their personal data in favour of getting customised information.
In this changing world, customer experience is and will continue to be the great differentiator and cannot be left to chance. The session concluded with the recognition that it can no longer be ignored – leaders have to imagine, manage, and deliver it.
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Event: Panel debate
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