There is a reason that in UX and agile we use terms like user stories and customer journeys, its to make it personal.
The goal of any business is to connect with a customer on an emotional level to gain rich deep interaction. Every business values the repeat customer and the advocate. How does that engagement deepen a customer’s experience with the brand to take them from being passive to being a champion and out front doing the work of marketing themselves.
In the time of social the economy of trust is paramount and a brands personal connection with a customer is the way to foster that trust.
We tell our children bedtime stories. Structured journeys with a beginning, middle and end that can take a child’s imagination from his/her bed to catching tigers in jungles to meeting fantastical beasts.
Small digestible stories are played out every day with customers. The customer who hears about a product then researches it online reading reviews comparing prices to walking into a storefront and hopefully buying. And each one of those moments can lead into the next to play out a story of either positive reactions or negative.
Digital gives business the greatest opportunity of crafting these stories through understanding the customer at each touch point and where possible remembering choices and preferences to enhance the next stage in the journey. The seamless and effortless transition between these spaces is the ultimate goal.
Controlled collision
What’s amazing about customer experience is that it’s an organic, ever-changing story. It starts with the first chapter of an opportunity, that with the right data can create the stories theme, is it a lullaby, an action adventure or a horror story?
As the story is played out the impact the customer has and how adaptive you can be and how smoothly the customer flows from one channel to the next keeps the story moving forward.
If you get it right the best part is the customer is engaged and they can start writing their own choose your own adventure through reviews and recommendations all which will broaden the reach of your business’ story.
Remember that fantasy stories and fiction are all well and good but if unauthentic your story will not resonate with the customer nor engender repeat business.
Craft your stories so that your customer comes away feeling as well cared for as the child being gently read to before bed at night.
