While traveling to present at this year’s Boston UPA mini conference via ferry I came across a wonderful editorial by David Brooks in today’s The New York Times. Here is a curiosity: a Republican bemoaning the state of “liberal arts” and humanities studies in US colleges. Evidently, in the last generation there has been a precipitous drop in student enrollment in the arts, while technical and business majors are growing. This trend is expected to continue as the possibly years-long economic recession grinds on.
Brooks makes the point that continued study in these less-than-technical arts programs is essential for the creation of breakthrough technologies. According to Brooks, besides improving people’s ability to read and write, the study of the humanities …
… will give you a familiarity with the language of emotion. In an information economy, many people have the ability to produce a technical innovation: a new MP3 player. Very few people have the ability to create a great brand: the iPod. Branding involves the location and arousal of affection, and you can’t do it unless you are conversant in the language of romance.
Brooks could not be more on the money. Creating great technologies and great interfaces requires a combination of technical skill and creativity – creativity that is informed by a deeper understanding of the human condition. This means an understanding of your customer that goes beyond a simple “test” of what’s in front of them as they interact with your technology; it requires an understanding of what’s going on in their heads — and possibly their hearts – as they do it.
This is what we practitioners mean by testing the user experience and what we at DIG strive for in every project we do for our clients. And, it’s something that I’ll be talking about tomorrow during my presentation at the UPA event. Companies that create usable products and interfaces will continue to make money. But the real winners will be those that understand how to deliver experiences that move the soul (not just the needle) and provide real meaning for their customers.
Interesting article in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine about Hyatt’s new “random acts of generosity” marketing approach: by offering their guests random freebies like free massages and drinks during their stay, Hyatt hopes to win over grateful customers and keep them loyal. From the article …
“Jeff Zidell, the vice president who oversees Hyatt’s Gold Passport program, underscores the importance of surprise — both that the favors are “unexpected” and that there’s no discernible pattern to which customers will get them. The hope seems to be that these grateful customers will reward the chain with future business and also spread positive word of mouth.”
Building generosity into ecommerce
Companies building online interfaces for e-commerce should take note: inserting seemingly random acts of generosity into the online experience could add up to big wins in terms of enhanced user experience. Some of the ways companies can do this might include:
Save some “specials” or “giveaways” for later in the shopping process, perhaps during check out rather than promoting them up-front. Specials might include price off or free shipping, a discount off of an additional item, etc.
A free coupon for their next order inserted into the package or even a free (low cost) item included right in the box. Sort of like getting a “free” prize in the Cracker Jacks box, only you weren’t expecting it.
A follow up email after the purchase of a high ticket item with a generous offer attached.
Random “notes of kindness” sent via email to loyal customers with a coupon offer attached – even if it isn’t attached to a particular sale.
Last December, I posted a letter to then GM CEO Rick Wagoner with some advice on how to move GM forward by being more sensitive to customer experiences, especially online. Now that Mr. Wagoner is gone, let’s take a look at GM’s progress.
Here is a review of some of my suggestions and how I might grade GM on their sensitivity to the customer experience so far …
Hire a ‘Chief Experience Officer’: score F: as far as I can tell, Fritz Henderson, GM’s new CEO (whose profile is missing from the Inside the Company page??), has not made any moves in this direction. With new chairman Edward Whitacre from AT&T coming on board perhaps there will be some new thinking in this area. Similar to Rahm Emanuel’s logic about the government being handed an opportunity during Depression 2.0, GM has a unique opportunity in bankruptcy to create some new thinking around their approach to customer experience.
Keep us in the loop: score C. GM has launched a new website called gmreinvention.com. I couldn’t wait to see it. It’s most prominent feature is a boring video from Ray Young, the CFO, talking in finance-speak in what I am guessing is an attempt to appeal to worried investors, creditors and suppliers. There are three main menu choices, all labeled (“OUR”) from the company’s POV: Our Mission, Our Vehicles, Our Company. At the bottom of the page are profiles of GM execs who are “contributors” to the site. One question: what about us – the customers of GM? We get a miniscule link on the right side bar for “Customer FAQs” about the “Court Filing.”
I googled the term “GM customer website” and could not find any other relevant links besides the “restructuring” website which provides updates re: the bankruptcy and an open letter from the CEO (in PDF format). BTW, very customer-friendly term that “restructuring.” After some searching you’ll discover that GM also is using its FastLane blog to keep customers informed. If you look hard enough, you can find a link for it on the reinvention home page and the restructuring page.
3. Be a good listener: score C. If you can spot the text links on the main “reinvention” site, you will find at the top (above the tabbed choices) a link for “owners.” Okay. But – it looks like the same page that was up before, it requires a log in, and appears to disregard the fact that the company is going through the worst crisis in its history. Huh? On the plus side, Henderson has done some live Web chats but why aren’t these mentioned on the main site? But, where is the website that talks directly to consumers and allows us to ask questions and get feedback from someone at GM? There are links on the main “reinvention” website for GM’s Facebook page and Twitter “blog.” But what if you don’t have or want a Facebook or Twitter account? GM should take a page from Starbucks and set up their own customer-driven idea site.
4. Do something fun that surprises people:score TBD. To be fair, GM needs more time before they can be “fun” again. But it would have been a nice surprise if GM gave us more than a slick commercial (see below), a change in their URL, and some comforting words for their investors and creditors as their core online communication strategy.
Bonus: GM’s new commercial: why are people taking trains in an auto ad?
As I head off to this year’s national UPA (Usability Professionals Association) conference in Portland, I got to thinking about all of the hype around Web 2.0 and how it is changing EVERYTHING.
Image from tangyslice.com
As the above tag cloud illustrates, Web 2.0 can be defined in a number of ways and can be pretty confusing to the uninitiated. However, one thing is for sure: if you are a marketer and you haven’t embraced the idea of technologies that support customer collaboration, sharing, and control using so-called “social media” then you are in the dark ages. Right?
Sure, you say, that’s fine for those cool new music sites and iPhone apps but what if I am selling shipping services, heart valves, or cupcakes, what then? I can set up a company or brand Facebook page, allow customers to digg a page on my website, or send them Tweets about new stuff we’re doing. But is that really taking advantage of all that Web 2.0 has to offer? And, what if my customers are reluctant to participate in these new social media?
Choosing a Web 2.0 strategy
One of the pitfalls of trying to keep up with this new world order is to be too reactive. Companies want to stay competitive and may be attracted to some of these new tools or services and then try to fit them into a vague strategy that demands Web 2.0 type of interaction with customers. But which tools? And what do customers really want?
Now, which ones should I pick?
The problem with this “follow the wave” approach is that you may be spending money on stuff that nobody cares about or that just isn’t a good fit for your company.
Whether you are already fully invested in Web 2.0 or just getting started, here are some suggestions for meeting the challenges of the Web 2.0 world:
1) First define your brand: Recognize that your customers still have the same needs they had before – i.e., they want to be listened to and treated well. Choose any new services or tools based on this simple premise and keep coming back to it. Ask yourself: does this cool new (tool, service, etc.) support great customer experiences and my vision for my brand? If not, then maybe it’s not right for you.
2) Give and take: Provide a feedback loop that will bring you good information about how your customers are feeling about you and that makes customers feel as though you care about them. Don’t give them the tools for communication/collaboration and just sit back and watch. Stay in touch.
3) Build the spirit and sensibility of Web 2.0 into the online experience: Although your customers still have the same basic needs, that doesn’t mean their expectations haven’t changed. Web 2.0 has raised the bar re: customer expectations of the quality of the online experience.
Use “polite interfaces” and/or “adaptive interfaces” that speak to your users in real life language and give your website and your brand some personality. Provide a level of personalization that creates real value. Even if you don’t offer popular Web 2.0 tools, you can create pleasurable and meaningful experiences for your online users in other ways that don’t require a large investment (I’ll go into more detail about this in a future post).
4) Learn from your mistakes: Don’t be content with the status quo. There is going to be something new right around the corner that your customers might want. If participation rates slump for a particular tool, move on. Be willing to adjust as technology and customer desires change.
5) Do research: William Goldman’s famous quote about the entertainment industry is relevant here: “nobody knows anything.” Don’t assume that your competitors have this thing all figured out. The only real way of knowing if you’re making the right decisions is to do research.
Once you embrace the spirit of Web 2.0 there are a number of ways of collecting and analyzing information that can provide insight and are cost effective.
Rick Wagoner
General Motors
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48265
cc: Allan Mullally, CEO Ford; Robert Nardelli, CEO Chrysler
Dear Mr. Wagoner,
By now you are probably tired of hearing every so called “expert” who has studied, analyzed or written about the auto industry – or simply driven a car — give you advice on how to survive this recent crisis, but I just wanted to tell you one more thing. Like the advice given to Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate: “Plastics” my advice can be summed up in a word (okay, two words): “user experience.”
As you struggle to consolidate your brands, close factories and dealerships and figure out a way to continue operations before you run out of cash I urge you, no, I beg you – please do not forget to invest in satisfying your customers’ experiences.
Your recent decision, along with your esteemed colleagues at Ford and Chrysler, to fly your private jets to Washington to ask American taxpayers to fork over billions to help you continue operations not only set the wrong tone, it is indicative of your company’s inability to understand the emotional needs of your customers and those that left the fold years ago to buy from your European and Japanese competitiors.
Having worked on advertising campaigns for a couple of automakers (US and Japanese) over the years I have some sympathy for both you and your dealer network in these trying times; I know how difficult it is to research, manufacture, market and sell products that have a long product development cycle. However, the experience also provided me with keen insight into how customers are often left out of the process. Going forward, here are a few suggestions that I hope you will consider:
Hire a ‘Chief Experience Officer’ immediately: this would be the senior executive responsible for understanding customer experiences across all communication touchpoints among all of your audiences. Make sure this person reports directly to your CEO. And, give him/her veto power over dumb decisions (like flying private jets to important public meetings or killing popular programs while ignoring your fan base).
Keep us in the loop: stay in touch with customers over the next year or two about what your plans are, even if it means having to tell us bad news. If there’s going to be pain, own up to it. You won’t be fooling anyone by communicating via the typical corporate-speak – or worse – by giving us the silent treatment. Two-way communication has to be part of the new GM paradigm. Which leads to …
Be a good listener: don’t rely solely on your research department for insights. Put someone in charge of reading blogs, emails and snail mail from customers that has the ear of your CEO. Keeping an ear to the ground while putting your nose to the grind stone is difficult, but an absolute job requirement in this new economy. And blaming the press for the public’s “misperceptions” about GM’s lineup of fuel efficient cars (as your Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has done) isn’t going to cut it.
Don’t be afraid to look overseas: Your brand Opel is a well respected name throughout Europe. Right now Saturn is the only division that has announced plans for using the Opel platform (the 2010 Saturn Aura is essentially the Opel Insignia) - but ask 100 people on the street and I’ll bet you’ll have trouble finding 1 person that might know about it. With Saturn going away, don’t lose sight of Opel for helping you create cars in the US with some European sensibility and style.
Do something fun that surprises people: when was the last time someone beyond the gear-head crowd thought “Wow, GM gets it. They know how to reach me by doing something fun?” Think Mini Cooper, and the VW Beetle. Fun is the intangible gift that keeps on giving and can create a positive halo acrosss all of your models. And don’t say “Chevy HHR.” The 60′s was Detroit’s heyday for youthful, fun design, not the 50′s. Some ideas: how about a US version of the ’66 Vauxhall XVR or an updated 60′s era Opel GT? Or what about making the Chevy Volt fuel efficient, fun to drive and affordable?
Walk the walk (don’t just talk the talk): When you introduced Saturn to the world back in 1990, you promised a “different kind of company, a different kind of car” and really tried to create a new way to approach the customer. Now it looks like you will be closing or “consolidating” the Saturn brand. What happened? You wrote the words but forget the music. You and your predecessors gave up on Saturn’s mission after only four years by making the division just another GM brand and failed to provide the kind of experiences — and cars — that could compete effectively with the Japanese.
If you start to rebuild your company and your product line from the bottom up (i.e., putting the customer first) I’m confident that you can become a leader again in cars, not just trucks. But, I’m already bracing myself for the slogan “A new GM” and the multi-million dollar ad budget that will go along with it. Don’t make the mistake that Microsoft is making with Vista. Why not demonstrate the change and trust the customer to create the label this time?
There is no question that the iPhone has revolutionized the smart phone market. With the recent release of the 3G, Apple has managed to create one of the most pleasurable experiences for users of any electronic device while being responsive to issues from users re: the first generation iPhone (at least re: GPS). However, I’m still astounded that Apple has yet to offer one of the most important features that BlackBerry users have taken for granted for years: copy – or cut - and paste when editing email or other documents on the handheld.
iPhone copy and paste
Even more astounding is that Greg Joswiak, head of product marketing for Apple, believes that copy and paste functionality is not a priority for the iPhone (!). Not only are they losing customers by delaying this, Apple is putting developers on hold who could be developing a workable office suite for the iPhone.
As a long time BlackBerry user that has switched over to iPhone, I am one of many who miss this most basic function (If you’ve ever used your smart phone to type a 35 character long URL you know what I mean). Until Apple gets its act together on copy and paste, we’re going to have to settle for workarounds, poor (and time consuming) imitations, and unapproved “proof of concepts” or open source apps created by the developer community.
For those willing to use a Web-based app to copy and paste …
Preston Monroe’s iCopy is the closest you’re going to get. It’s a good stop-gap solution but as Monroe admits, there are some drawbacks including the fact that it doesn’t work with every page of text (sorry BBerry users), you have to reload the page to paste, and the text you paste is added to a URL and sent over the internet – providing an insecure environment for your personal information. Here is a demo …
As for ”proof of concepts,” here are a couple that are worth mentioning …
From loneysandwich, here’s a mockup of what it might look like to Copy and Paste on the iPhone, using the magnifying loupe and a second-finger tap. Nice job – but we expect that many users will have problems navigating effectively with the second finger – working the magnifying loupe is difficult enough (I’d love to see a UI test with Sumo wrestlers using this feature) …
MagicPad from Proximi is a rich-text editor that is now available in the App Store. MagicPad allows users to create text documents in which they can change fonts, text sizes, colors, and even add bold, italic, underline, and strike-through effects to their text. And unlike the earlier proof of concept mentioned above, the user only needs to use a single finger to highlight text to copy, cut and paste. Unfortunately, MagicPad doesn’t solve many of the issues I have: you can only copy and paste items created within MagicPad – not between existing Apple applications on the iPhone. However, for the price of a Mocha Latte ($3.99 at the App Store) it’s worth checking out. Here’s a brief demo from the folks at Proximi …
While the developer community works to create workarounds and other apps, Apple is losing business every day from potential BlackBerry users who are getting locked in to 2 year contracts with their Pearls, Curves and Bolds. RIM is also looking to release the new Flip 8220 BlackBerry in the U.S. The new flip phone will provide some extra “cover” for those frustrated by those exposed keys, and create yet another reason not to switch to the iPhone.
Apple made a big mistake in years past by focusing all of their Mac sales efforts on the education market and not listening to corporate and small business customers. It took them years to recover. Let’s hope they get wise and come up with an elegant solution soon for Copy and Paste.
Also check out:
Zac’s White’s OpenClip project – you can find a video demo and Zac’s updates re: iPhone copy and paste within iPhone’s SDK framework here:
I’ve been doing some research for an article I’m writing about the importance of breaking down the barriers that exist between user experience practitioners and marketing researchers, and I’ve come to an important realization.
As much as the experts rail on about the importance of making “customer experience” a core competency within organizations, things are not going to change until the stakeholders force a change in the “frame.”
“a frame is a conceptual structure usedin thinking.”
Rakoff goes on to say …
“reframing is telling the truth as we see it – telling it forcefully, straightforwardly, articulately, with moral conviction and without hesitation. “
Some examples that Republicans have used to reframe issues in their favor (with the help of the much maligned GOP researcher Frank Luntz) include:
OldNew Tax cut Tax relief
Estate tax Death tax
Global warming Climate change
Logging/Clear cutting Healthy forests initiative
Although Lakoff’s and his progressive institute’s main concerns are the framing of political language, particularly that used by Democrats to counter the Republican successes of the past eight years, framing can be used by anyone to score points for their side.
Like the Democrats, most of the folks on “usability” or development teams have been using the wrong language to make their case, ignoring the power of framing when they speak to management. When it comes time to ask for funds for ”usability testing,” managers from the various business units who otherwise claim dedication to “usability” often come up short when it’s time to commit dollars.
I have a suggestion: instead of asking to fund “usability,” practitioners should reframe the issue by asking managers to support and enhance the ongoing satisfaction of the customer experience. If a product developer asked a manager in one of big three car companies for money to improve the stabilization system in their best selling car in order to improve the driving experience wouldn’t she get the funds? When film directors ask producers for more money to blow stuff up in their movies to improve the viewing experience don’t they usually get it?
Those involved in creating online customer experiences have to start talking about the funding of their goals in broader terms. They have to emphasize the importance of creating satisfying customer experience across all touch points with their customer, with the online experience as an essential piece that helps drive a stronger relationship with the brand. And, as with successes seen in the political realm, this reframing has to be consistent and persistent. That means using this new language in every piece of written communication and every interaction with stakeholders.
Reframing the issue in this way may go a long way to increased understanding of the importance of creating usable and persuasive interfaces for customers.
This pretty much sums up a lot of users’ frustration with product/web usability. You gotta wonder: why aren’t these guys talking to each other or to us?
(Thanks imagechan.com for the digg post)
When I came across this cartoon I couldn’t help thinking of the iPod adapter in my 2008 VW Passat. After years of consumer requests, car companies are finally providing an AUX adapter so drivers can easily plug in their portable MP3 players. If you are an iPod fanatic like me you might actually consider getting a new car just so you can get rid of that old cassette or FM adapter that used to be required to play your device.
You would expect VW to be on the cutting edge of providing satisfying userexperiences to their customers, especially coming from a car company with the word “people” in their name (and an ad tagline like “Drivers Wanted”). VW is so cool it has decided to offer a solution that is meant to only work with the iPod (the VW logo even shows up on your iPod when you plug it in). Here is how the adapter works (or doesn’t):
–Your ipod is inserted into a small pillbox-sized compartment within your glove box. No wires are needed in the most current setup since it plugs directly into the “male” end of the iPod adapter. Broken: you can’t control the iPod from the iPod itself when it is connected. Even someone on the passenger side must remove the ipod in order to see the screen and once removed it turns off.
–After plugging it in you can only choose from five playlists that you create ahead of time (numbered 1 thru 5) or play your entire iPod song list (number 6) . Broken: You cannot listen to albums, artists or random songs. You can’t reach playlists beyond the first 5, which are set up in alpha order (sorry ZZ Top fans).
–To “shuffle” songs, you have to start the iPod in shuffle mode and let it play one or two songs. Broken: If you don’t move the audio selector to “CD 6″ quick enough to get it to start playing, the adapter turns off “shuffle” and you get an alpha sort of your music starting with “A.” I like to hear ABBA once in a while but, please, not everytime I get in my car.
–While your music is playing, the read out in the dash says “Track 01″ Broken: there is no info shown re: song or artist
What’s amazing is that VW has completely thrown out the intuitive features and interface that Apple has painstakenly set up that makes the iPod experience so pleasurable. They’ve put “clumsy mitten-hands” on the iPod interface without any thought about user preferences or desires.
I can only conclude that these choices were made by engineers that were looking to add car audio features not currently offered by competitors but were not considering what people like about the iPod itself. They would have been better off creating less car audio functionality and letting the driver decide how best to use their own iPod (i.e., just put an AUX jack in the middle console next to the driver that gives us easy access). Instead, we end up with a very sad robot indeed.
The lesson here is thatif you can’t match or improve on an existing well known interface, half-measures are worse than no measures at all.
Gesture-based interfaces are looking like the next new thing. One of the key features that iPhone aficianados love to show their friends is the multi-touch feature that allows them pinch their fingers or expand them to scroll and
manipulate images on the screen. And, companies like Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, and Motorola are coming out with a number of new “iClones” that offer similar software-based interfaces.
Anyone that caught some of CNN’s recent coverage of the primaries (“The best political team on television!”) couldn’t help noticing Wolf Blitzer and other commentators showing off their gesture-based interface (called Perceptive Pixel) to manipulate the state maps in order to further confuse viewers re: the evening’s voting outcome. Wolf, we know Tom Cruise (in Minority Report mode), and you are no Tom Cruise.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is focusing its efforts on their Surface technology which is to be available in hotels and casinos but isn’t promising any tabletop (or PC) gesture-based interfaces for consumers until 2011.
However, with the introduction of the new MacBook Air, Apple has introduced the first multi-touch applications for the plain old PC (using the touch pad rather than the actual screen). And, last summer Apple filed a patent to expand their multi-touch interface into a host of other uses including copy, cut, paste and other common editing operations. Get ready to start seeing more of these gesture-based interfaces introduced into Apple’s product line.
It will be interesting to see how these new soft interfaces will change the way we all conduct every-day PC-related tasks once they go beyond the hipster iPhone crowd and into the mainstream. It’s already clear that software-driven interfaces (like the iPhone) will soon be replacing the clunky hardware of the present.
And, as these interfaces become more widespread there may be a host of new user experience issues to consider, especially for older users or those handicapped with arthritis or other muscle ailments that affect dexterity. Will people be divided into those who can “pinch” and glide their way through an interface and those how are stuck with that old mouse and keyboard on their desk/laptop?
Okay. Enough is enough. With all the innovations in packaging and so called greening of upscale products I still can’t believe I am purchasing music CDs in the same plastic jewel box used since I first got those early Pixies and Nirvana CDs in the “new” format.
(photo: gearfuse.com)
Around that time I was hired to do some research for an organization that represented the record companies/distributers re: said packaging. To no surprise, people in our focus groups hated it and had few problems with an alternative paper sleeve, as long as it could hold the CD in place. The jewel box (in the US anyway) continues to be the single most difficult mass produced consumer product to open – short of those plastic hang tag packages containing mice and other e-goodies that cut people open every day (a whole ‘nother story).
The great graphic designer Tibor Kalman, no slouch when it came to recognizing satisfying user experiences, wrote a very funny humor piece for the NY Times — almost 10 years ago — about this very issue. Although some artists and small record labels are demanding, and getting, alternative paper packaging, this problem still persists (Starbucks is being slammed for “mainstreaming” their musical offerings, but at least their Hear Music unit has dedicated itself to the more friendly paper packaging). When they do use paper packaging for limited releases, the big labels use it as a PR device to show their green cred rather than make it their standard practice for all CDs. What are the record companies waiting for? What are they thinking?
I have some hypotheses/explanations that I hope will be in the spirit of Kalman’s efforts to enlighten us those many years ago:
-Anticipation: by making it almost impossible to get to your music the guys in suits are just making that moment when you actually get to play the thing that much sweeter (I once had to wait over an hour and a half for the Rollling Stones to come on after the warm up band left the stage. Evidently they do this often).
-The “album” is dead - The time it takes you to open the CD case correlates roughly to the time you’re saving by not playing the other 8 weak cuts on the album that you probably didn’t want to listen to in the first place.
-Downloads Part I: Why Bother? - the phyisical CD purchase is probably going to be replaced by “0′s” and “1′s,” say in 10 years or so, so why change anything?
-Downloads Part II: Punishment - Record execs figure that approx. 50% of all CD purchasers have illegally downloaded some music in the past year. Why reward these people when they actually purchase the product? They should all be in jail where they can’t even get near their CD collection or Limewire!
-Good forSelf Defense - How many times have you watched a scene in a movie where someone breaks a bottle and threatens to use it as a weapon? Why not use a jewel case instead? For those AA folks who don’t have a bottle handy just grab a CD case, hit it against your old Pioneer receiver, and you’ve got a lethal weapon at the ready. This however, could backfire in that it could be used to thwart off the download police that have just come to arrest you for stealing that new Vampire Weekend single you downloaded from that site in the Ukraine.
Brooks makes the point that continued study in these less-than-technical arts programs is essential for the creation of breakthrough technologies. According to Brooks, besides improving people’s ability to read and write, the study of the humanities …
Posted by David Kozatch 
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Meanwhile, Microsoft is focusing its efforts on their 
