It’s something we often talk about, but its importance can’t be overstated: organisations simply have to design the user experience through the eyes and perspectives of the customer. This is one of the fundamental determinants of good service and positive customer outcomes.
Smooth customer journey on Swiss trains
The truth of this was brought home to me recently through two strongly contrasting experiences. Firstly, I went on a visit to Switzerland a couple of months ago and made use of the train service to get around the country. Quite simply, it was superb. The service itself was incredibly punctual and reliable. Stations and trains were clean and comfortable. Station announcements and information boards were clear. There was an excellent app that was easy and intuitive to use.
Not only that, but the travel experience itself was excellent. It was easy to get on and off the trains, and easy to stow and take down luggage because there were steps you could use to do so. The seats were comfortable, there were sockets and charge points everywhere.
It was almost as if someone, in designing the train, had actually put themselves in the shoes of the customer! As if they had gone on a journey themselves and thought: what would I need at this point or, what would help me if I wanted to do X?
I say that with a slight irony because of course that is what should happen every time, in designing every service. But how often do we feel that’s not the case?
The Swiss train experience was a great example of the whole end-to-end experience being designed around the customer, with a perfect blend of the physical and the digital. Physically, customer needs and requirements were anticipated and catered for; while digitally, the app enabled you to make bookings, manage them, look at timetable information, and do everything you might need to do.
Impersonal retail experience
But if the Swiss train service receives a ten out of ten, I’m afraid the same can’t be said for a large retail store that I recently visited in the UK. This was a big flagship outlet that had recently been refurbished. However, the overwhelming sense it created was sterile and impersonal. Lots of digital, self-service technology had been installed – but this felt like it was at the expense of the human. There were very few staff in evidence, the signage around the store was poor, and there was very little seating if anyone wanted to rest their feet. It felt like everything had been premised on throughput, efficiency and self-service, with almost no thought about what kind of customer experience that actually created. It also felt less like the technology was there to help customers – and more that it was there to reduce the need for staff.
However well-intentioned this may have been (embracing the digital age), it had in my view been pushed much too far to one extreme. It’s the kind of experience that reinforces that insidious “technology vs human” debate. It shouldn’t be about one versus the other – it’s about blending the two, using all the good things that AI and digitisation can do to create more time and space for human service where it’s really needed.
The Swiss train service is great example of where balance and harmony have been achieved; but I’m afraid that the cavernous and unwelcoming retail store was an example of where the balance was badly out of kilter.
Infrastructure planning and design
We need to get this right because the principle of designing the experience around the customer applies everywhere – and therefore can contribute towards achieving the economic growth and productivity the UK badly needs. The government has put growth at the heart of its agenda and is backing this up with a major infrastructure push, including a third runway at Heathrow and bold ambitions to build significantly more new housing.
To get the full value out of this, it’s essential that infrastructure is designed through the eyes of the user, anticipating their end-to-end needs. A key part of this is standing back and appreciating how everything connects and links up. New housing, for example, doesn’t only mean the properties themselves – it means roads and transport links, shops and services, parks and play areas, community needs. It means a higher need for financing, mortgages and insurance too.
Stimulating economic activity
Taking a holistic approach to the needs of the customer not only means they will have a better experience, but it stimulates wider benefits across the economy. Integrating an ecosystem of other sectors and service providers into the planning and design means they can meet customers’ needs and do more business too.
Let’s keep laser-focused on the customer experience and keep committed to people-centred experience design. Doing this drives up the quality of the customer experience, creates better levels of service, and could help us realise that ambition of economic growth.
Related Posts
