Debbie Levitt discusses customer journey mapping and task analysis. She emphasizes the importance of adopting the customer's perspective and avoiding assumptions in journey maps. Qualitative research, including observation and conversation, is crucial for gaining insights. The speaker critiques the focus on speed in Agile and Lean practices and discusses challenges in implementing customer centricty. Task analysis is highlighted as a key tool for understanding the customer journey.
Customer journey maps should focus on the customer's perspective and include the end-to-end journey, based on real user experiences.
Driving customer-centricity requires finding allies in positions accountable for customer satisfaction and showcasing measurable improvements in specific areas.
Deep dives
The Importance of Customer Journey Mapping
Customer journey mapping is often misunderstood and incorrectly represented. It should focus on the customer's perspective, rather than the business's perspective. Many customer journey maps are based on assumptions or guesses, without clear indications that they are not accurate representations. These maps should ideally cover the end-to-end journey, from the moment the customer considers a company's offerings to their post-engagement experience. However, many maps only focus on a small part of the journey, often neglecting what happens before and after. To create effective customer journey maps, it's vital to conduct qualitative research and directly observe users performing tasks. This research should include studying tools, workarounds, and knowledge dependencies. By avoiding guesswork and focusing on real user experiences, customer journey maps can provide valuable insights and improve overall customer satisfaction.
Driving Customer-Centricity in Organizations
Driving customer-centricity within organizations can sometimes be challenging, especially without executive backing. However, finding allies in positions where they are accountable for customer satisfaction and retention can help initiate change. By partnering with individuals responsible for customer outcomes, such as marketing or product leaders, it's possible to influence a shift towards customer-centric practices. This requires emphasizing the link between customer satisfaction and better strategies, decisions, and efficiency. It's important to start with smaller, focused projects and showcase measurable improvements in specific areas. Aligning the company's objectives with customer-centric goals can help break down resistance and generate support for broader organizational change.
The Value of Task Analysis in Understanding the Customer Journey
Task analysis is a valuable approach for understanding the customer journey. By observing how users perform specific tasks, it's possible to map their actions, identify tools and workarounds they use, and uncover knowledge dependencies. Customer journey maps often overlook these important aspects, resulting in incomplete representations. Task analysis enables a more holistic understanding of user experiences by uncovering the challenges they face and the resources they rely on. This method goes beyond surface-level interactions and highlights the need for intuitive system designs, rather than more training or tooltips. Integrating task analysis into customer journey mapping can lead to improved user experiences and better-informed design decisions.
Any business you ask will claim to be focused on their customers' needs. But it can be hard to find companies that embody actual customer centricity in their design and business processes.
Debbie Levitt helps companies discover the actual pathways that their customers are taking and shows them how they can help customers accomplish the tasks that move them along their journey.
https://ellessmedia.com/csi/debbie-levitt/
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
