What's in it for me? And my customers?
Before deciding on anything (from long term strategies to small product or service improvements) it is essential to take the time to understand two things:
- What do you want to get out of any change?
- What do your the people you are proposing a change for want?
Resist the rush to solutions
Any new idea to be implemented requires investment in resources in time, people and money. External pressures from bosses and clients, along with our own enthusiasm when a new idea strikes, can have us fall victim to the rush to solutions. We often skip the preparation needed for longterm project success when we succumb to the pressure to propose and develop solutions, before we have taken the time to understand what is really needed.
So that you have the best chance if this investment being worthwhile, you should resist the often strong temptation of rushing to solutions.
Understand first then design
Take the time needed to understand what internal objectives are, consider quantitative objectives (like revenues, increased sales, new customers) but just as importantly qualitative (What frustrations can be removed? What is there not enough time to do properly?)
When you take the time to understand, the odds of designing a successful solution are greatly increased.
Ways to increase your understanding
The field of service design is centered on understanding the needs of who you are designing for. Focusing on in-depth, qualitative research we offer a number of approaches that can add to your existing research.
A few samples of methods
- Shadowing customers in their own environments
- Show and tell interviews
- Customer journey mapping
- Service blueprinting
- Value proposition design
