All that matters to customers is their experience So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

But the value of investing solely in these things has reached an end. For decades, businesses have sought technology, features, and optimizations to maintain or increase an advantage over their competitors. But the value of investing solely in these things has reached an end. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

the real differentiator is So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

the experiences people have with your products and services So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

When a person engages with your products, services, and environments, a set of distinctly human qualities comes into play. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

A person’s experience emerges from these qualities: So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Motivations: why they are engaged with your offering, and what they hope to get out of it Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Perceptions: the ways in which your offering affects their senses (see, hear, touch, smell, taste) Abilities: how they are able to cognitively and physically interact with your offering So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Motivations: why they are engaged with your offering, and what they hope to get out of it Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Perceptions: the ways in which your offering affects their senses (see, hear, touch, smell, taste) Abilities: how they are able to cognitively and physically interact with your offering So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Motivations: why they are engaged with your offering, and what they hope to get out of it Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Perceptions: the ways in which your offering affects their senses (see, hear, touch, smell, taste) Abilities: how they are able to cognitively and physically interact with your offering So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Motivations: why they are engaged with your offering, and what they hope to get out of it Expectations: the preconceptions they bring to how something works Perceptions: the ways in which your offering affects their senses (see, hear, touch, smell, taste) Abilities: how they are able to cognitively and physically interact with your offering So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Flow: how they engage with your offering over time Abilities: how they are able to cognitively and physically interact with your offering Flow: how they engage with your offering over time Culture: the framework of codes (manners, language, rituals), behavioral norms, and systems of belief within which the person operates. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Flow: how they engage with your offering over time Abilities: how they are able to cognitively and physically interact with your offering Flow: how they engage with your offering over time Culture: the framework of codes (manners, language, rituals), behavioral norms, and systems of belief within which the person operates. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

When someone says they've had a good or a bad experience, what they're talking about is how a product, service, or environment did or didn't satisfactorily address these qualities. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Competitive Advantage: A Little History

The early days of business management began with economic theory and an the obsession with optimization So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

"you can only manage what you measure," An old adage suggests that "you can only manage what you measure," So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Dell’s iterative cycle of Business Process Reengineering optimizes what the Dell business already does. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

But aiming to be better at an activity that everyone else has mastered isn't a strategy. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Strategy is about tradeoffs purposefully choosing tactics different than those used by your competition. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

and the result So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

products and services that are clearly distinguished in customers' minds, with meaningful differences that can't easily be replicated by others. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Escaping Parity So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

apples-to-apples and oranges-to-oranges, So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important By comparing you to your competitors apples-to-apples and oranges-to-oranges, you find where you're ahead, where you're lagging, and where you're absolutely not represented.

Unfortunately, So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important the typical response is to focus on the deficient or missing "features."

The natural response is to seek parity with your competition. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

But what is parity?

It's sameness

It's sameness It's removing differentiation between you and the competition.

It's sameness It's removing differentiation between you and the competition. It's looking only to your competitors for what defines your offering.

From your customer's viewpoint, if you've reached parity with your rivals then there's no discernable difference between you and anyone else. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Different is good. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Competitive strategy is based on doing things differently than your competitors, and demonstrating the worth of those differences to customers. So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

So Maybe what passes for design is really not all that important

Being the Best Isn't a Strategy

Being the Best Isn't a Strategy Striving to be the best at everything, to be the best in your industry, can be an all too common misstep.

Instead of just saying you want to be the best…

ASK

ASK How can you deliver a unique value to meet an important set of needs for customers?

The Escape of Novelty

It's easier to make something new than it is to make something that's useful or desirable. Thus many companies pander to novelty at the expense of more beneficial qualities.

The experience of riding on a Segway is new and different, but the Segway technology in its current form isn't relevant to the way people move through their lives.

Strategies of parity are low value and short-lived.

Strategies of delivering new offerings for novelty's sake won't survive.

These approaches center on features and technologies rather than focusing on the one thing that really matters

These approaches center on features and technologies rather than focusing on the one thing that really matters the experience

But even though experience matters to everyone, we almost always lose sight of it in product development.

This is a TRAGEDY

because to the customers the experience they have is the only thing that matters.

Maintaining Experiential Focus

There are a number of ways to encourage and maintain an experiential focus.

"experience strategy"

An experience strategy is a clearly articulated touchstone that influences all of the decisions made about technology, features, and interfaces. Such a strategy guides and ensures that the customer's perspective is maintained throughout.

Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use The vision for Google Calendar, was articulated from the perspective of how it could satisfy users' experiential needs: Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use

Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use The vision for Google Calendar, articulated from the perspective of how it could satisfy users' experiential needs: Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use Drop-dead simple to get information into the calendar

Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use The vision for Google Calendar, articulated from the perspective of how it could satisfy users' experiential needs: Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use Drop-dead simple to get information into the calendar More than boxes on a screen (reminders, invitations, etc.)

Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use The vision for Google Calendar, articulated from the perspective of how it could satisfy users' experiential needs: Fast, visually appealing, and joyous to use Drop-dead simple to get information into the calendar More than boxes on a screen (reminders, invitations, etc.) Easy to share so you can see your whole life in one place

An Experience Strategy Isn't a Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is practiced as a marketing function; it's about associating a company or its products with a set of values and qualities. Brand begins with the company. As such, it's very much an inside-out orientation.

In contrast to traditional brand strategy, experience strategy begins with the customer. It's about contributing to a desirable experience, helping people accomplish what they want to get done. Experience comes from the outside in.

An appreciation of customers' motivations, behaviors, and context leads to the development of a product, service, or system that can satisfy them.

Creating Effective Experience Strategies

Truly differentiate themselves from the perspective of the customer, connecting to something distinct about your offer; feature parity isn't an experience strategy.

Truly differentiate themselves from the perspective of the customer, connecting to something distinct about your offer; feature parity isn't an experience strategy. Are what matter most to customers to truly understand these experiences, you have to understand them from the context of the customer. The experiences are what they choose to engage in, not the nuts and bolts that create them.

Truly differentiate themselves from the perspective of the customer, connecting to something distinct about your offer; feature parity isn't an experience strategy. Are what matter most to customers to truly understand these experiences, you have to understand them from the context of the customer. The experiences are what they choose to engage in, not the nuts and bolts that create them. Should be invested in and managed just as you would manage any other opportunities. Business decisions should be made with consideration of the impact on experience.

Can be cultivated and nurtured Truly differentiate themselves from the perspective of the customer, connecting to something distinct about your offer; feature parity isn't an experience strategy. Are what matter most to customers to truly understand these experiences, you have to understand them from the context of the customer. The experiences are what they choose to engage in, not the nuts and bolts that create them. Should be invested in and managed just as you would manage any other opportunities. Business decisions should be made with consideration of the impact on experience. Can be cultivated and nurtured while keeping in mind that they arise not from the customer's perception of value.

As you have noticed, much of an experience strategy hinges upon how people perceive experiences.

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