What exactly is our goal in customer experience?
For some time now, there’s been a debate in the industry - let’s call it a low-level skirmish - over what makes a ‘good’ customer experience.
Should it be forgettable and frictionless or memorably mind-blowing? Hamish Stewart, CHEP's national executive creative director - experience, explores further.
There are some who argue that customer experience should aim to reduce friction, making every step of the journey seamless.
Our job as brands is simply to get out of the way. Perhaps the best-known proponent of this is Matthew Dixon, author of The Effortless Experience, who, ten years ago, introduced the world to the Customer Effort Score.
There are others who say that this is too reductive, that too much in customer experience has become generic, each bland journey blending into the next, beige and indistinguishable.
Instead, we need to delight customers, even add friction if need be. For inspiration, we should draw on, let’s say, an AC/DC concert, inspiring, exhilarating, unforgettable, and filled with emotional highs.
So, which is it? Forgettable and frictionless or memorably mind-blowing?
As with many subjects, our industry is often guilty of making sweeping generalisations without worrying too much about the nuance. I’ve noticed this lack of clarity in discussions on a range of subjects, from brand purpose to ROI to differentiation. And this one is no different.
The irony is that what’s missing, in a debate over customer experience, is the perspective of the customer.
Because ‘experience’ isn’t just one thing. ‘Experience’ can be as broad as the design of an email, a retail store visit, a sign-up form, an interactive campaign or, yes, a rock concert. Increasingly, ‘experience’ is indistinguishable from the brand itself.
The answer to the question of what kind of experience we should be aiming to create is – drumroll, please – it depends.
It depends on the brand, the audience, the context, the stage of the customer journey, the customer’s mindset, the client’s objective, the product or service, the location, and on and on. It also depends, like so much in marketing, on personal judgement, taking account of all of the above.
To return to the rock concert analogy, there are times we want fireworks and pyrotechnics, and there are times we just want to purchase a ticket, find our seat, or get a drink without waiting in an interminable queue. Neither is ‘right’, each just plays its role.
Years ago, I remember flying on an airline whose staff had clearly been told to inject some fun into the experience.
Everything they did was a little zany, trying to add some personality to every moment. But as a customer, it was painful. My travelling companion, who doesn’t suffer fools, rolled her eyes and said, “Can they not just do their job and leave us alone?”
The airline had valiantly attempted to add value, but it was ultimately the wrong call.
At its heart, one of the key considerations for whether an experience should be frictionless or friction-full is the customer’s job to be done.
I’ve come to see the job to be done as a fundamental concept, a core unit of every aspect of what we do, from segmentation to experience design to product development. It’s elemental, an invaluable guiding principle.
At its heart, it helps keep our focus where it should be – on the customer – and on the progress they’re trying to make in a specific context.
Sometimes, the job to be done is simply to get shit done and get on with our day. So the experience should be as simple and frictionless as possible.
If this is executed well enough, in fact, being frictionless and memorable can be one and the same. I think of this every time I go to Service NSW or use my ePassport to glide through the Smart Gates at the airport. I can’t believe it’s so easy, and every visit gives my brain a healthy squirt of dopamine: Wow, this is cool! In those moments, I’m just so grateful that a team somewhere worked hard enough to remove friction so I can get on with my day.
At other times, I want that little bit of magic, the surprise and delight: the big idea, the immersive exhibit, the witty bit of micro-copy, the clever interaction, the rock concert I’ll never forget. Bring it on.
At CHEP, we focus on ‘closing the experience gap’ – the distance between the promise made by a brand and the actual direct experience of the customer. And the experience of the customer will largely be shaped by their job to be done, the expectations and ambitions they bring to this experience in this moment.
Which is why it’s time to move away from broad brush pronouncements and one-size-fits-all prescriptions, and to recognise the reality that crafting any customer experience requires judgement, based on a deeper understanding of the brand, the customer and, of course, the moment itself.
Hamish Stewart is executive creative director – experience – of the CHEP Network
