Customer Experience Design

MKTG1373
Welcome to Module 3: CX Definition

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi

wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the
eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we
conduct the business of the University. RMIT University
respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders,
past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the
Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands
and waters across Australia where we conduct our
business.
What you will learn this module

By the end of this week you’ll be able to:

• Apply design thinking and research principles to produce CX

insights
• Use design tools that help organise and synthesise collected
information
• Build a CX persona based on primary and secondary research
• Identify CX problems through customer experiential journey
mapping
• Articulate your insights in a problem statement

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 3.1.0 CX personas

Customer personas are extremely useful tools for thinking about your target customers.
Personas help provide context and direction about who your most important customers
are and how they interact with your brand. Explore the essential components of
personas, why they are used and how to make the most of them in CX design.

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3.1.1 What are personas?
Personas are fabricated characters created by a brand, company or designer to
represent a group of customers. They are structured as profiles, which include
demographic, psychographic and behavioural information that is collected
through research with real people. These profiles are a direct representation of a
customer group that shares similar values, behaviours, and goals.

Personas begin with basic profiles, but then are given names, faces, personalities,
and families, to paint an accurate picture of precisely what that person would
want and need in real life. Personas add the emotional and behavioural
component -- the warm, fuzzy stuff. Once complete, they can help determine
need state or end goal for a particular consumer, so that your brand knows
precisely how to target them, and what will resonate.

THEY ARE FABRICATED BUT THEY ARE GROUNDED ON DATA

PERSONAS BASED IN MARKET-RESEARCH VS USER RESEARCH
PERSONAS IN CX HAS PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS

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3.1.1 What are personas?

Customer Personas vs Customer Segmentation

In marketing, the terms persona and segment can sometimes be used
interchangeably to describe customer profiles. However, these two terms are not
the same. It is important that you are able to distinguish the two terms as you
start to work with personas.

Read
The following blog post explores the differences in Customer Personas and
Customer Segments and how marketing professionals can use both tools to
improve their understanding of customers.
Step 1: Read the blog post, Collins, T 2015, Personas vs. Customers
Segments (Links to an external site.), Acquia, viewed 15 October 2020,
<https://www.acquia.com/blog/creating-personas-vs-customer-segments-whats-
difference#:~:text=Segments%20help%20to%20forecast%20market,depth%20and
%20accurate%20customer%20targeting.>.

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3.1.1 What are personas? Check what the speaker says
about ad-hoc personas?
Watch the video 5:40-10:55
How to create UX
personas (3:01)

As you watch the short

video on how to create
user personas below,
think about the work
you did last week to
organise and make
sense of your data. This
will help you orient
yourself towards the
next step of creating
personas.

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3.1.2 The structure of a persona profile

What makes a persona?

Discover the elements that make a persona and what you should strive for to
make an authentic persona that can be used to design customer experiences.

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3.1.2 The typical structure of a persona profile
what else?

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3.1.3 Justify the use of personas

Why use personas?

Personas align with the design thinking principle of using a human-centred

approach to solve problems. However, if we don’t actively ensure our personas
are grounded in accurate data and if we don’t clearly communicate what they are
used for, we won’t get the most use out of them. In this task, you will research the
uses of personas in CX from a business perspective and make a case for them.

Watch the video

Why personas fail (3:44)
The video below explores some of the common reasons that personas are not
used effectively by businesses.

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3.1.3 Justify the use of personas (CYH)
Consider this scenario
Imagine that you are a Marketing manager of a sporting apparel company. You’ve
done your research and collected a lot of data to create various customer
personas. You notice that your personas don’t get used by anyone in other
departments of your company- particularly the sales department. How would you
address this? How would you communicate with internal stakeholders in your
company to let them know how personas could help them do their jobs?

Research and discuss

Step 1: Spend 30 minutes doing some research on the value of personas and how
to communicate this to stakeholders. Construct a 150-200-word email to an
internal stakeholder from a different team in your company to let them know
about the purpose of personas. Share your email in the discussion forum.
Step 2: Review your peers’ posts and comment on one new insight you gained
after reading their email.
This task is designed to prepare you for justifying the use of personas in a
professional setting.

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3.1.4 The problem of using ready made personas
Consider the issues of using readymade personas
It is important for CX designers to understand the importance of building personas from the
data they collect from primary research. These personas need to be specifically built for the
challenges you are designing for. This task will help you understand the issues that may
arise from adopting a ready-made persona.

Watch the video

Roy Morgan Helix Personas (7:37)
Watch this video about Helix Personas developed by Roy Morgan Research.

Review Helix personas

As discussed in the video above, companies are using ready-made Helix personas to design
their customer experience strategy.
Step 1: Review Helix personas here: Helix Personas - Roy Morgan Live (Links to an external
site.) (Scroll down to 'Browse Helix Personas'). Have a look at some of the descriptions of
the personas.
Step 2: What do you think the limitations of using ready-made personas are? Answer in the
space below first, then press 'Show feedback' to see some insights from the Course
Coordinator.

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3.1.5 Build behavioural personas
A behavioural persona includes the activities the person engages in when using a
product, service or co-creating an experience, the decisions they make, their
preferred media channels and frequency of use, etc.

Personas generally include the following key pieces of information:

• Persona group (i.e. web manager)
• Fictional name
• Job titles and major responsibilities
• Demographics (i.e.age, education, ethnicity, and family status)
• The goals and tasks they are trying to complete using the site
• Their physical, social, and technological environment
• A quote that sums up what matters most to the persona as it relates to your
site
• Casual pictures representing that user group

This information should be organised in an easy to read, logical format.

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3.2.0 Constructing experiential maps
Customer journey and experience mapping can be defined as "a visual
representation of every experience your customers have with you" (Salesforce UK,
2020 (Links to an external site.)). Mapping out your customers' journey is the
foundation to building better CX because it deepens your understanding of
customer needs and creates opportunities for you to eliminate customer pain
points.

This activity will guide you through the structure and purpose of using
experiential mapping, different types of experiential maps, and finally to use your
insights from the personas and journey maps to formulate a clear problem
statement which will inform how you design your CX solution.

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3.2.1 Why use experiential maps?

What is an experiential map?

The term 'experiential map' encompasses various types of maps that show stages
of a customer's journey and tells a visual story of what they experience.
An experiential map is a design tool for capturing and articulating key insights
from complex interactions that occur over time and across different channels,
touch-points with a product, service or even an ecosystem. At the core of an
experience map lies a journey model that illustrates an archetypal journey of
customers that attempt to achieve a goal or satisfy a need or just live their lives.
Building an experiential map helps build customer understanding across
stakeholders and the map becomes an artefact that allows designers to create
and support seamless experiences through distinct phases of product/service.

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3.2.1 Why use experiential maps?

Why use an experiential map?

• To obtain a holistic understanding of the customer experience

• To bring the voice of the customer into marketing
• To help with segmentation
• To help design support systems
• To understand the customers' emotional landscape
• To compare viewpoints (e.g. customer vs. marketing team)
• To enable sense-making for stakeholders
• To break down organisational silos
• To test a hypothesis
• To implementing strategy

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3.2.1 Why use experiential maps?

Why use an experiential map?

• To obtain a holistic understanding of the customer experience

• To bring the voice of the customer into marketing
• To help with segmentation
• To help design support systems
• To understand the customers' emotional landscape
• To compare viewpoints (e.g. customer vs. marketing team)
• To enable sense-making for stakeholders
• To break down organisational silos
• To test a hypothesis
• To implementing strategy

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3.2.1 Why use experiential maps?
Read
This case study shows how students at the University of Michigan created user
personas and journey maps to design a mobile app to remind teenage chronic
patients to take their medication. Pay particular attention to the role that journey
mapping played in their design.
Step 1: Read Bosio, B, 2018 Case Study: Developing a Mobile App through Journey
Mapping (Links to an external site.), blog post, Smaply Blog, viewed 14 November
2020, <https://www.smaply.com/blog/case-study-umsi>.
Research and share
Step 2: Spend 15 minutes finding an example of an experiential customer journey
map.
Step 3: Share the example as well as one insight you have formed based on a
quick analysis of the map. Use these questions to guide you:
Where are the main areas of friction and frustration?
Which areas are the most enjoyable for the customer?
What are your customers' aspirations?

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3.2.2 Types of experiential maps
There are three common types of experiential maps that we will explore:

Experience maps
The journey of a human being unfolding through time – e.g. the experience map
of a pregnant woman (with no service provider).

Customer journey maps

The journey of a customer as he or she interacts with a service provider – e.g. the
journey of a patient in the hospital.

Service blueprints
The journey of a customer and the supporting systems that enable their journey
at each stage.

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3.2.3 The structure of a customer journey map

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Journey map levels

Basic Journey Maps

You draw it first from your perspective and secondary data, including all the steps
and rows, and then use insights to adjust it. Basically, you build the full journey
and test it against your data. This is good for an overall representation but not so
useful for experience design and you may run the risk of repeating your mistakes.

Intermediary Journey Maps

You have an idea of what the steps are through secondary research, but use data
you have collected to adjust the steps and to fill out the information in the rows
(lines). Secondary data gives you a template but your insights from collected daa
is what really drives the journey. This is useful for designers when time is limited.
Advanced Journey Maps

Fully based on primary data from scratch. The full journey including the steps and
lines are determined by your data collection. This is great when you have plenty
of resources (time, money, etc). Adequate for academic work. Best chances of
generating ground-breaking insights.

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3.2.4 Build your own customer journey map
Instructions

Step 1: Think of the last time you made a purchase (either online or in-store). Use
this experience to create a customer journey map from it.

Step 2: Spend 30 minutes mapping your experience using the customer journey
mapping template. Enter the information into the cells. You can add extra notes
under each stage by pressing the red plus '+' icon. Not that the overall experience
row refers to the emotional journey.

Step 3: When you've mapped your customer journey, press 'Save & export'.

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3.2.6 Refining the problem statement
Refining your problem statement

In Task 2.6.4, you constructed your first Point of view and Problem Statement
based on the design brief for Assessment 1. Now that time has lapsed and you
have gained more insights into your customers' experiences, it's time to go back
to your problem statement and review if it is still accurate. You may have
discovered there is a more pertinent problem to solve, which means you will need
to change the problem statement and use your data and insights to justify this
change.

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3.2.6 Refining the problem statement
What makes a good problem statement?

Human-centred This requires you to frame your problem statement according to

specific customer, their needs and the insights that your team has gained in the
empathise phase. The problem statement should be about the people you are
trying to help, rather than focussing on technology, monetary returns or product
specifications.
Broad enough for creative freedom This means that the problem statement
should not focus too narrowly on a specific method regarding the implementation
of the solution. The problem statement should also not list technical
requirements, as this would unnecessarily restrict the team and prevent them
from exploring areas that might bring unexpected value and insight to the project.
Narrow enough to make it manageable On the other hand, a problem statement
such as , “Improve the human condition,” is too broad and will likely cause you to
easily feel daunted. Problem statements should have sufficient constraints to
make the project manageable.

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3.3.0 Building a customer experience strategy
A CX strategy is an actionable plan to deliver a positive, meaningful experience to
customers across all interactions with an organisation.

In order to develop a CX strategy, you must clearly define your business context
and brand values so that you can ensure your customers' experience aligns with
these.

This activity prepares you to walk through defining the context of your CX
strategy, brand values and aligning your CX with this.

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3.3.1 What is a CX strategy?
What does a CX strategy cover?

• A CX strategy defines an organisation's actionable plans in place to deliver a

positive, meaningful experience across all interactions with its customers.
• A CX strategy should include the following:
• A CX vision statement
• CX goals
• Rationale for the vision and the goals based on what customers want and
what the current and future market demands are
• An explanation of how the strategy addresses your problem statement.

View example vision statements

Step 1: Scroll through the presentation below to see the vision statements of
some well-known brands. Note how they focus on the customer and the
experience they want the customer to have.

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3.3.1 What is a CX strategy?
Step 2: Now compare the above examples with Patagonia's vision statement
below. What differences do you notice about this vision statement in comparison
to the other three you just looked at?

Step 3: Search the internet for a CX Vision statement or a brands' vision statement
that is clearly about customer experience. Share your findings with others in the
padlet.

Step 4: Review your classmates' contributions, assessing them on the basis of how
customer-centric they are and how focus on the experience they offer (that is, it is
not about their products and services). Comment on your favourite CX vision.

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3.3.2 Defining the context of your CX strategy
To be able to create a CX strategy for your company, you need to consider three things.
These are illustrated in the graphic. Press the green plus + icon and read the descriptions.

Case study: CX strategy at Cbus

Read an example of a CX strategy at superannuation fund, CbusLinks to an external
site. developed by a group of designers.
What does the brand stand for? Cbus' mission is to generate the best possible retirement
outcome for their members and all their initiatives are centred around member welfare. It
prides itself on investing in an industry and creating more opportunities for its members,
thus ensuring their wellbeing, not only in retirement, but also during their work life.
What should the brand stand for? Since Cbus focuses on members’ financial health during
their work-life, retirement and postretirement as well, it should position itself as members’
financial health experts. The three core things to focus on are financial security, future
wellbeing and unparalleled performance.
What does the audience care about? As is evident from the research findings, members are
looking for better control over their finances and flexibility of operations. In addition, they
also seek personalised information instead of the generic financial jargon. Ease of operation
and convenience are also of paramount importance.

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3.3.2 Defining the context of your CX strategy
Critique and discuss
Step 1: Think critically about the example of Cbus and respond to the following
questions in the discussion forum. Keep your response short- 2-3 sentences per
question.
How do you think think the designers knew what Cbus' customers (audience)
cared for?
How were the designers able to know What the brand stands for? What sort
of ground work do you imagine they had to do? Where have they found this
information?
How were the designers able to know What should the brand stand for? How
do you think they arrived at their answer focused on security, future-focused
and performance?
How have their answers to the three questions informed their strategy (vision
statement + rationale with goals)?
Step 2: Share your answer on the discussion forum below and comment on an
answer written by a classmate with any new insights you gained from their
critique.

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3.3.3 What should the brand stand for?
Conduct a SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a decision making tool, pioneered in the 1960’s to examine

strategic planning for companies. SWOT is an acronym: Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats. The same principals that companies use to create
their business strategy can be used to evaluate the CX of an organisation.

Step 1: Conduct a CX SWOT analysis thinking of RMIT's strengths and weaknesses

in relation to the experience they seek to provide to their students. Then consider
opportunities and threats coming from competitors and the environment in
relation to the student experience.
Populate the SWOT matrix below, aiming for several items in each quadrant. Once
completed, press 'View entries' and then 'Download entries'.
critique.

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3.3.3 What should the brand stand for?
Step 2: Use this task to guide you on doing a SWOT analysis for Assessment 1. This
task as well as the PESTLE map that you completed in Task 2.2.3 will help you as
you define your problem and work towards building a CX vision and strategy in
Assessment 2 and 3.

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3.3.4 Establishing a CX vision statement
Step 1: Consider the three questions you need to answer to determine what your CX
strategy is.

Step 2: In your design space, draw the three circles to find out your what your CX Strategy
should look like.

Step 3: With the assessment design brief in mind, answer these questions:
What does the audience care about? To answer this you will need to draw on what you
found in Week 2 about the customers' behaviours, preferences, pain points, in your case.
Think of your problem statement too- how does it fit with this question?
What does the brand stand for? Visit the company's website and other documents to find
out about the companies strategic goals. Consider the following questions to help you think
about the brand identity:
What is your organisation’s mission?
What is the longer-term strategy of the organisation?
Which background information can be relevant for the mission at hand?
Are there any experiences from the past, whether positive or negative, that can be
relevant to understand what the brand stands for?

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3.3.5 Meet with your design team
Use collaborate ultra (on the left-hand navigation pane in Canvas) to hold a quick
meeting with your design team to:
Introduce yourself.

Get to know each other – each person shares two truths and one lie about
themselves and others have to guess what is true and what is the lie.
Discuss how you will collaborate in future – see the following list and suggest
nominating one person to start a communication channel and add other team
members (see recommendations below).

Don’t forget to schedule your weekly group meetings. Add to your calendars.

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3.3.5 Meet with your design team
t is important that team members have a way of keeping in touch and sharing
documents outside of the collaboration sessions.

Your group should have three core communication channels:

A written communication and document sharing platform – Slack or OneDrive.
Check out the Microsoft apps available to RMIT students here (Links to an
external site.).

A visual ‘research wall’ platform – Miro (Links to an external site.) or Microsoft

Whiteboard (Links to an external site.)
A videoconferencing platform – Collaborate Ultra (You can access through the
'Collaborate Ultra' tab found on the left-hand side navigation menu in Canvas).

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—
Next…
Ideating for CX Design

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