The Office of Experience

🎙EPISODE 594:🎙 How can a single “moment of truth” with your brand exist when customers are unique, their experiences personalized, and the world continually changing? What if the success of your brand depends not on a single moment, but on an unlimited number of moments you might not even be aware of? This episode is brought to you by The Office of Experience, a design-driven, digital-first, vertically integrated and collaborative agency that believes in the power of ideas and the strength of people. Today we’re going to discuss how to design for infinite moments of truth. We’ll dive into how brands can manage the many "moments of truth" that define the customer experience and ultimately drive loyalty and trust. Host Greg Kihlstrom welcomes Stratton Cherouny, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The Office of Experience.

How to Make Sure Your Next Customer Journey Project Succeeds, Part 5 of 6 We've run dozens of customer journey assignments over the years. When done right, they can be a powerful tool in a customer experience toolset. We've noticed a few common themes time and again that, when taken into consideration upfront, make for a more successful outcome in the end. Below is the fifth in a series of posts I'm making about the topic. Happy reading! Part 5: Don't ignore the service layer.  Focusing solely on the customer's perspective provides an incomplete picture. Equally important is the service layer—the internal processes and resources required to deliver the desired customer experience. Understanding this dimension is critical for successful implementation. Service Maps delve into what it takes for your company to meet customer needs. They expose operational challenges and resource constraints that could hinder your efforts. Without this insight, proposed solutions might be unrealistic or unsustainable. You create a holistic view by examining the customer journey and the service layer. This dual approach ensures that your strategies are both customer-centric and operationally feasible, increasing the likelihood of lasting success. Stay tuned for Part 6! #UX #CX #CustomerJourney #JourneyMaps

I’m continuing to explore the topic of AI and creativity. Found another great piece from IBM titled,“Does AI Help or Hinder Creativity? ‘Nerds’ and Creatives Sound Off”, that offers a pretty balanced mix of opinions. One comment from Todd Cramer, Web Design Lead at IBM, stood out. He said, “Designers shouldn’t worry about gen AI taking their job. They should worry about designers who know how to leverage gen AI to work better.” Would you agree? IBM blog link for the comments section https://lnkd.in/gnD2uC9J

Get an exclusive, personalized tour of the Mack truck of your choice—right from your home or office. The #MackLiveTour pairs you with a dedicated Mack product specialist who will walk you through every angle and feature, answer your questions in real time, and show you why Mack is America’s preferred medium- and heavy-duty truck brand. No pressure, no sales talk—just a chance to explore Mack's innovation at your convenience. Experience the Mack Live Tour 👉 https://lnkd.in/dWah9j7d

How to Make Sure Your Next Customer Journey Project Succeeds, Part 1 of 6 We've run dozens of customer journey assignments over the years. When done right, they can be a powerful tool in a customer experience toolset. We've noticed a few common themes time and again that, when taken into consideration upfront, make for a more successful outcome in the end. Below is the first in a series of posts I'm going to make about the topic. Happy reading! Part 1: Be as clear as possible about the problem you're trying to solve. Too many organizations jump into customer journey work without knowing why they want to do it in the first place or how they expect it to contribute to their business. Why is this important? Because the problem you're trying to solve significantly impacts how you design the work and, ultimately, its usefulness. Is it to reduce friction in the buying process? Is it to improve customer retention? Is it to identify opportunities to innovate? Is it to enhance the service experience? Is it to drive cross-sell or upsell? Etc. The answer to that question should help drive the research methodology you choose, the audiences you engage with, and the depth and breadth of the touch points you include in your research. And all of that drives timelines and costs. It's okay if you're just starting your path to customer-centered innovation and need help figuring out what problem you're trying to solve. The best place to start, as always, is with your customer. Spend a little time with them, virtually or physically. Ask them questions about their buying experience. Conduct some ride-and-drives with them to see what it's like to be in their shoes. Stand up an evergreen survey online. Invite them to a virtual user testing session. Those initial insights will give you a good idea of what problem to tackle first and how broad and deep your scope needs to be. Stay tuned for Part 2! #UX #CX #CustomerJourney #JourneyMaps

Lightricks, in collaboration with YouGov, conducted an interesting survey last year that explored how the creator economy is evolving, especially in relation to AI. The creators that were surveyed were specifically those who created photos and videos, but I think it sheds light on how creatives, in general, are thinking about and using generative AI. I’m linking the full report on the comments, but wanted to share what stood out to me. • 74% of creators are worried about the potential use of AI for creating deep fakes • 58% are worried about copyright issues • 57% are worried about a decrease in authenticity BUT despite these concerns • 62% are already using AI as part of their content creation process! Another result I found fascinating, especially given the fact that much of the discussion around generative AI and creatives centers around how it will impact their livelihoods: • 40% of creators don’t think AI will impact their fees • 38% think it will cause their fees to increase! I’d love to hear what you think of the report. Specifically, do the findings reflect what you have found to be true in your own creative circles? Lightricks link for the comments section: https://lnkd.in/gjh4eRHK

AIGA Chicago will be extending our Toolkit Series to include information on how to build a UX design portfolio. Join us on Discord on Oct. 15th as Mackenzie Curran and Jason Bowman of The Office of Experience walk us through it. Visit https://lnkd.in/gm7DK-UW to register! #UXDesign #AIGAChicago #Portfolio #ToolkitSeries