3/1/2017 Op-Ed | Why Retail Is Getting 'Experience' Wrong | Opinion, Op Ed | BoF

OP ED

Op-Ed|WhyRetailIsGetting'Experience'
Wrong
BY DOUG STEPHENS
MARCH 1, 2017 05:25

Mostcustomerexperiencedesignisjustfreshicingonthesame
stalecake,arguesDougStephens,founderofRetailProphet.

NEWYORK,UnitedStatesAppleco-founderSteveJobsoncesaid:Designisafunny
word.Somepeoplethinkthatdesignmeanshowitlooks.Butofcourseifyoudigdeeper,its
reallyhowitworks.

Thatcentralbeliefthatdesigntranscendsmereaestheticsandisreallyabouthow
somethingactuallyfunctionsiswhatpoweredsomuchoftheremarkableinnovationat
Apple.Appleproductsdidntjustlookdierenttheybehaveddierentlytoo.Andthissame
designsensibilityspreadthroughoutAppletoeveryaspectofhowthecompanydidbusiness.
Applestoresnotonlylookedunlikeothercomputerstores,theyacteddierentlyin
practicallyeveryrespect.
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Today,justasJobsfelttheconceptofdesignwasbeingmisconstrued,Iwouldarguethat
manyintheretailindustryaremakingthesamemistakewhenitcomestothenotionof
customerexperience.

Certainly,noonearguestheimportanceorvalueofgreatcustomerexperiences.Infact,its
impossibletositthrougharetailconferencewithouthearingthetermatleastadozentimes.
Customerexperienceisnotonlythenewfrontierofcompetitivedierentiationbutalso,as
Iveoftenasserted,thefutureofhowphysicalretailerswillgeneraterevenue.Experiences
wontjustsellproducts.Experienceswillbetheproducts.Yet,foralltheviolentagreement
abouttheirvalue,thecustomerexperienceswemostoftenhavewhenweshoparemediocre
andforgettableatbest.Whyisthat?

Deningexperience

Thereasonisafundamentalmisconceptionaboutwhatcustomerexperiencereallyisand
moreimportantlyhowtrulyremarkablecustomerexperiencesareconceived.

Mostretailersassumecustomerexperienceisprimarilyanaestheticconceptandmoreabout
howstoresandwebsiteslookandfeel.Hence,youllveryoftenseecustomerexperience
designprojectsbeginwithretailersupdatingorchangingbrandvisualsnewlogos,new
websitesandnewstorelayouts,oftenrequiringtremendouscapitaloutlays.Theyrampup
marketingspendingonadcampaignspronouncingthenewandimprovedexperience.And
frequently,asifadheringtoanunwrittenlaw,theyequipstorestawithtabletsbecause
welltechnologyright?

Otherretailersassumethatcustomerexperiencesimplymeansbetter,friendlierormore
personalisedservice.Thustheyinvestinrecruitingandtrainingandworkhardertocapture
dataabouttheirclientele.

Thedisappointmentsetsinwhenallthesesortsofinvestmentsproducelittleinthewayof
markedimprovement,eitherinenhancedcustomersatisfaction,improvedfoottracor
sales.Thisisbecausetheyhaventreallydesignedanewcustomerexperienceatall.Theyve
justputfreshicingonthesamestalecake.

Engineeredmoments

Truecustomerexperiencedesignmeansdeconstructingtheentirecustomerjourneyintoits
smallestcomponentpartsandthenreengineeringeachcomponenttolook,feelandmost
importantly,operatedierentlythanbeforeanddistinctlyfromcompetitors.Itmeans
diggingbelowthesurfacewithineachmomenttounderstandtheunderlyingcustomerneed

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anddesigningtheexactcombinationofpeople,place,productandprocesstodeliverdelight
inthatmicro-moment.Itmeansreconnectingwiththecompanysuniquebrandstory(also
knownasthereasonanyoneshouldgiveashit)andweavingitintoeverycustomer
interaction.Itinvolvesusingdierentlanguage,methods,ritualsandprocessesthanyour
competitorssothattheresultingexperienceistangiblyforeignandfascinatingcomparedto
anythingelsetheyvebeenthrough.

Trulyremarkablecustomerexperienceisnodierentthanstageproductionwherecast,
crew,setdesignandtechcometogethertobringeveryline,scene,andacttolife,whereevery
aspectofthewell-writtenbrandscriptismeticulouslydirected,rehearsedandperformed.
Wheretheaudiencefeelsanemotionalconnectiontothestoryandaphysicalonenesswith
theaction.Andeachdaywhenthecurtainisthrownopenonyourbrand,theelaborate
performancebeginsagain.

Thisiscustomerexperience,andwhenitsdonewell,itleavescustomerscravingmore.

The5elementsofremarkableexperiences

Frommyperspectivethosethataretrulyoutstandingcomprisevedistinctelementsandif
werebeinghonest,mostretailersneverachieveanyoftheve.Someachieveoneortwo.
Fewerhitthreeorfour.Extremelyfeweverachieveallve.

Trulyremarkablecustomersexperiencesaredeliberatelyengineeredtobe:

1.Engaging:Theyconnecttoallvesenses:ofsight,sound,smell,tasteandtouch.They
involvethecustomerinavisceralway.Whatwethinkaboutanexperiencemaylasthours.
Butmemoriesofwhatwehear,feel,touch,seeandtastemaylastalifetime.

2.Unique.Theyincorporatemethods,languageorcustomsthatareunusual,surprisingor
proprietarytothebrandbutarealsoauthenticandnatural.Theincorporationofthese
uniqueelementslendsthefeelingthatcustomershavenotjustenteredadierentstorebuta
dierentworldentirely.

3.Personalised.Theymakethecustomerfeelthattheexperiencewascreatedjustforthem.
Thismaybeassimpleasrecallingdetailsandpreferencesfromanearliervisitoritmaybeas
complexascreatingacompletelybespokeproductorservicedesignjustforthem.Eitherway,
theyfeelspecialandvalued.

4.Surprising.Theyincorporateelementsorinteractionsthatarecompletelyunexpected.
Packingevenonesmallbutdelightfulsurpriseintotheexperienceleavesalasting
impression.
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5.Repeatable.Theyareexecutedusingprescriptiveandtestedmethodstoachievea
uniformlevelofconsistencyandexcellenceacrosstheenterprise.Theyaresohighly
engineeredandwellpracticedthattheyappearspontaneouswhileleavingalmostnothingto
chance.Atthesametimetheexperientialdesignaordsstajustenoughfreedomtolettheir
uniquepersonalitiesshinethrough.

Couragenotincluded

Achievingthislevelofcustomerexperienceisnoteasybutitsalsonotsomethingyoucan
simplyoutsourcetoanagencyordesignrm.Itrequiressignicantorganisational
introspection,courage,honesty,designthinkingandresearch.Thereisnoo-the-shelf
solution,noappandnomagictoitjustthewillingnesstoreinvent,reimagineandriskthe
occasionalscrewup.Thinkofitthisway;ifitsnotrisky,itsprobablynotinnovative.

Butifyourbusinesscangetbeyondtheaestheticsofwhatyourexperiencelookslikeandas
SteveJobssaid,digdeeperintohowitactuallyworks,youllhavetakentherst
transformativesteptowardlastingdierentiation.

DougStephensisaretailindustryfuturistandthefounderofRetailProphet.

TheviewsexpressedinOp-Edpiecesarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyreectthe
viewsofTheBusinessofFashion.

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