CX without Design loses meaning and value

In today's experience economy - with customer journeys becoming more and more complex - the development of customer experience cannot disregard user-centered design practices and processes. Without this combination, the experience loses meaning and value.

We live in a historical moment and context characterized by global connectivity, accelerated innovation, rapid changes and epochal transitions taking place. A scenario within which we have changed, our expectations, habits, behavior have changed... and our ways of relating to brands and companies have also changed.

As a result, more and more companies are putting the spotlight on the customer experience. Not only companies that address consumers directly, but also those that operate within B2B supply chains.

However, in this race to define new CX strategies, many companies are giving priority to traditional practices of developing services and solutions designed for customers but without involving the design teams, which, instead, represent the real pillar of value from which to design solutions and services that truly have the user at the center and which, therefore, have the definition of CX in their design DNA.

In the complex VUCA scenarios experienced by companies today, characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, establishing stable, long-lasting, valuable, and trustworthy relationships with one's customers becomes the pivot of any business strategy aimed at performance growth. The development and delivery of customer solutions and services (from the design of a new product to the delivery of customer care or support services, from the contact center to the management of multi-channel communications and relationships) must therefore consider this pivot and what it means for the company's productivity and profitability.

Do you still think that the development of solutions and services in such contexts can take place without the combination of CX and Design?

The how is important as what: the way in which companies offer a solution or service is just as important and critical as what they offer.

A combined CX design approach that harnesses the design methods of research, opportunity definition, idea generation and prototyping prior to launch and scaling provides deeper customer insights and helps brands connect with customers throughout their journeys in a seamless end-to-end experience.

As our Executive Chairman, Enrico Donati, wrote in a recent article, an effective redesign of the customer experience organization and operating model is a crucial success factor for every CX transformation. However, redesign requires seamless cross-functional collaboration, new ways of working, clear design principles, processes, and target setting in line with defined CX ambitions. Embedding customer experience within the organization means to take a holistic approach by combining Customer Experience practices, Design and Change Management.

At Assist Digital we have a long and consolidated experience in CX and Design, and we know very well that in order to move from the concept of CX transformation to practice, i.e. to make it a real widespread and integrated strategy at all company levels, it is always necessary to start from a very important first step: listening.

Step 1: listening to customers to collect their real experience on the different channels / touchpoints.

Listening means collecting, analyzing, understanding, and recognizing people's true needs and expectations. Listening is the discriminating element in designing solutions and services that truly produce value for the people to whom they will be offered. This is the only way to truly put the user at the center of design, going beyond marketing slogans. Only then does user-centered design become the cornerstone of an effective customer experience.

At Assist Digital, listening is common practice and an important part of the whole framework of combining Design and Customer Experience. We do this through:

·??????Implementing solutions with which we do periodic and systematic quantitative and multichannel surveys.

·??????Through UX Research that with small samples of customers or prospects allows us to qualitatively assess the real experience of the customer interacting with a specific app, page, service, or channel or with the whole set of digital assets of the brand.

·??????Through Analytics systems that give us useful insights to improve processes and make more effective decisions.