Customer Experience Design

and Digital Innovation

Published: 30 March, 2023

Social Share:

Patrick Zimmermann

In this article, Digital Leadership AG partner Patrick Zimmermann explores the

concept of Customer Experience Design, which is the process of creating products,
environments, and interactions that provide a specific and valuable experience to the
end-user.

He explains that CX Design goes beyond just the user interface and involves the user's
emotional, cognitive, and physical engagement with the product or service. Patrick
emphasizes the importance of CX Design in today's digital age, where customers
expect meaningful, memorable, and enjoyable experiences.

He also discusses how CX Design can drive strategic business plans and overall

business models, and why it should be a priority for companies that want to deliver
more valuable experiences to their customers.

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What is Customer Experience Design?

Customer Experience Design is the process of designing products, environments,
and interactions to create a specific and meaningful experience for the end
user. When thinking about Experience Design, we typically consider interaction
design, service design, and user experience (UX) design, as well as aspects of the
user's journey and their emotional, cognitive, and physical engagement with the
product or service.

The goal of Customer Experience Design is to create products and services that are
not only functional, but also meaningful, memorable, and enjoyable for the user. It
should affect the priorities of an entire company, pushing it to deliver more valuable
experiences to the customer.
In the field of digital innovation, Customer Experience Design is frequently reduced
to efforts to create a pleasant, efficient user interface. While it’s true that customers
need and expect their on-screen experience to help them solve problems without
adding to their frustration, CX Design can be—and should be—much more.

Customer Experience Design in Motion

CX Design happens where two important realms meet: Business and Design. These
two disciplines have to ultimately join forces to ensure that customers are receiving
and recognizing the maximum value in a way that also keeps them engaged with your
product or service.

Our understanding of Customer Experience Design is evolving into a greater

understanding of the scope of “experience,” extending from the interaction with an
interface, towards a more holistic, omnichannel customer experience. An ecosystem
of touchpoints that all tell a coherent story that includes a relationship between our
business and our customer’s needs.

Technology enables a vast assortment of interaction points between a customer and a

company. Customers instinctively expect a consistent experience across a multitude of
channels. Today, moments of interaction are now extended across time into a
continuous flow of contact. It problematizes how we think of Customer Experience
Design because our relationship with customers is far more complex.

UX vs CX — User Experience vs Customer

Experience
User Experience (UX) and Customer Experience (CX) are two related but distinct
concepts.

Let's take a look at what makes each one different from the other:

User Experience:
 Concerned with user's interaction with product or service
 Considers ease of use, functionality, design, and customer satisfaction
 Wants to optimize the user experience
Customer Experience:
 Interested in the customer's relationship with a brand or company
 Analyzes all interactions, including marketing and advertising, the
purchasing experience, and customer service
 Focuses on a customer's experience with the company as a whole
While UX design strategy and CX design strategy have nuanced differences in their
focuses, both are important for building strong relationships with customers and
creating positive experiences that can lead to loyalty, strong word of mouth, and
repeat business.

Making Design More Human "Human-Centered

Design"
We are seeing innovation focus more on the user and less on the technology itself. As
we step toward Human-Centered Design, we consider more than just the hands or
eyes that interact with our products, but the emotional being in control of that body.

Human-centered design is an approach to design that prioritizes the needs, wants, and
limitations of the end user, rather than those of the manufacturer or designer. It is an
iterative process that involves close collaboration between designers and the people
who will actually be using the product or service, and seeks to understand their
perspectives and experiences in order to create designs that are truly effective and
appealing.

The focus on the human aspect of design is what sets human-centered design apart
from other design approaches. Rather than designing for aesthetics or technical
feasibility alone, human-center design considers the emotional, cognitive, and
physical aspects of the user's experience. This often results in designs that are not only
functional, but also intuitive, appealing, and enjoyable to use.

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The Business is the Product

We understand more and more that customers want to engage with the businesses they
patronize. We know that customers are more likely to choose businesses whose
business practices reflect the customer’s social or political priorities. Businesses build
these priorities into their Experience Design; even a neutral stance is a stance, and the
decision to not convey social and political priorities is a decision that some customers
appreciate.

It becomes therefore clear that the pure focus on the customer-product interaction as
the framework for which to design seems outdated. It is rather time to think beyond
the product and also use the company as an added value to the product. By actively
making the company part of the business offering, there is a necessity to not only
design the product, but to also “design” the company. Not by making it look prettier,
but rather through making sure that there is a shared understanding of what the
company stands for.

The goal is to create an authentic environment from which the customer can actively
pull back the curtain dividing the customer and the company.

The Role of Customer Experience Design in

Business Strategy
Customer Experience Design plays a crucial role in business strategy as it helps
companies create products and services that deliver competitive advantage and drive
growth. Here are a few ways in which Customer Experience Design can contribute
to a company's success:

 Customer satisfaction: Customer Experience Design focuses on creating a

positive and memorable experience for the end user, which can lead to
increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
 Differentiation: By creating unique and compelling experiences, companies
can differentiate themselves from their competitors and establish a strong
brand identity.
 Innovation: Customer Experience Design encourages designers and
businesses to think beyond the functional requirements of a product or
service and explore new and creative ways to engage with customers.
 Increased efficiency and effectiveness: Customer Experience Design
considers the entire customer journey and seeks to optimize it in a way that
is efficient and effective for both the customer and the business.
Overall, Customer Experience Design is a key component of a successful business
strategy, as it helps companies create compelling and meaningful experiences that
drive customer satisfaction, differentiation, innovation, and growth.

The Process of Customer Experience Design

Customer Experience Design is the process of intentionally building the interactions
and experiences customers have with a company. The goal is to create a positive and
memorable experience for the customer.

Here are the main steps involved in the process of customer experience design:

(1) Research & Discovery

The first step in the process is to research and understand the needs, preferences, and
behaviors of your target customers. This can be done through surveys, interviews,
focus groups, and other research methods.

(2) Developing User Personas

A customer persona is a fictional representation of your target customer, based on the
research you have conducted. We use the research to build a model of our customers
to help us think of them not as data, but as living, breathing people who look to us to
help them complete important jobs.

Customer Personas help you understand the customer's goals, motivations, and pain
points, and design experiences that meet their needs.

The UNITE Empathy Map

The UNITE Empathy Map Canvas
Originally published by Dave Gray (XPlane.com). Designed by Digital Leadership AG

Digital Leadership recommends the UNITE Empathy Map to help you develop your
Customer persona. They can be very helpful for putting us in a customer's shoes.

The Empathy Map leads you through a series of steps so you can best understand the
entire customer experience. They are an important element of both UX design and CX
design.
(3) Customer Journey Mapping
Here, we map out the various customer touchpoints and interactions that a customer
has with the company, from initial awareness to post-purchase support. This helps you
identify the key moments when the customer's experience can be improved.

Customer Journey Map

A Customer Journey Map outlines the ways customers interact with your company.
They are helpful in understanding a person's experience with a company, from first
contact from advertising and marketing, through to post-purchase.

The end to end experience a customer has with a company is a vital opportunity for us
to boost their buy in and build customer loyalty. It's also an opportunity to misjudge a
target audience or scare off potential customers. Customer interactions shape the
attitudes they have toward our companies. Good interactions create loyal customers.

A Customer Journey Map has tremendous value for the customer experience designer,
so we've made it available here to download.

(4) Ideation & Prototyping

Based on your research and customer journey mapping, develop a strategy for
creating a positive and consistent experience for your customers at every touchpoint.
This may involve changes to your products, services, or processes, as well as
improvements to your customer service and support.

Create prototypes of your proposed changes and test them with customers to gather
feedback and refine your designs. This can be done through usability testing, A/B
testing, or other methods.

(5) Testing, Validation & Implementation

Once you have finalized your designs, implement them across all customer
touchpoints and monitor the results. Collect customer feedback and measure key
metrics such as customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty.

Let your internal teams develop methods to measure a customer satisfaction score and
use the data and up to date information to drive how you respond to customer needs.

Your Customer Experience team can use the feedback and data you collect to
continuously improve your customer experience design, making changes and updates
as needed to ensure that your customers are consistently satisfied and engaged with
your brand.

Making the Business Part of the Experience

To make your business part of the customer experience, you need to ensure that every
interaction a customer has with your company is designed to deliver a positive and
consistent experience.

Here are some ways to do this:

(1) Develop a customer-centric culture

Make sure that everyone in your company, from top to bottom, is focused on
delivering a great customer experience. This means prioritizing the needs of your
customers and putting them at the center of all business decisions.

(2) Create a customer experience strategy

Develop a strategy for creating a positive and consistent experience for your
customers at every touchpoint. This may involve changes to your products, services,
or processes, as well as improvements to your customer service and support. Your
strategy will build word-of-mouth marketing based on how positive your customers
feel.

(3) Train your employees

Ensure that all employees are trained on the customer experience strategy and
understand their role in delivering a positive experience. This includes training on
customer service skills, product knowledge, and communication. Make sure your
team understands how important it is that your customers experience your company at
its best.

(4) Use technology to enhance the customer experience

Utilize technology such as chatbots, personalization, and self-service options to make
the customer experience more convenient and seamless.
(5) Gather and act on customer feedback
Regularly gather feedback from customers to understand their needs, preferences, and
pain points. Use this feedback to make improvements to your products, services, and
processes, and to show customers that their input is valued.

(6) Reward customer loyalty

Implement a customer loyalty program to reward customers for their business and
incentivize them to continue doing business with your company.

By making the business part of the customer experience, you can create a seamless
and positive experience for your customers, increasing customer satisfaction, loyalty,
and ultimately, business success.

Conclusion
Without a clearly articulated customer experience strategy, you're missing out on
countless opportunities to develop a customer base that can sustain your company for
years to come.

Customer and User Experience are a collaborative effort, each a key part of your
overall business strategy as important as product and service design.