Week 9: Society and Purpose - Service Design and Saving the World.
Research Task:
In today's product and service design, the emphasis on user-centred approaches has become paramount. Understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviours of users is essential for creating successful and impactful solutions.
Using Customer Journey Maps, User Personas, and Prototyping methods provides designers with valuable insights into a user's experience, enabling them to develop solutions that truly resonate with a target audience.
An example of a clear Customer Journey Map is one created by the Coca-Cola company.
image sourced from: https://prezi.com/y6da8doxuybf/customer-journey-of-coca-cola/
The map focuses on touchpoints, the first being awareness and orientation. This involves advertising, promoting the Coca-Cola brand and all its products through its own channels to its customers. Whether this is through social media or product placement in stores by means of a POS display.
The next touchpoint would be consideration. Once a customer has been made aware of the product through marketing, customers might then consider purchasing the product. During this stage, factors such as cost, taste, and convenience would also come into play.
After consideration is made, the customer may decide to purchase the product. This could either happen online or in-store, depending on the customer's preference.
The experience after purchasing would include factors such as taste, packaging, and satisfaction. Positive experiences can lead to repeat purchases and loyalty towards the brand.
After customers purchase and experience a product, Coca-Cola may engage with customers through various channels, such as social media, email marketing, or loyalty programs. This ongoing correspondence helps maintain brand awareness and encourages customer feedback to evaluate its products.
The goal of Coca-Cola's customer journey map is to create long-term relationships with customers. Strategies for retention may include personalised offers, promotions, and rewards for loyal customers, as well as ongoing efforts to improve product quality and customer service.
A customer or user persona are also another great tool for designers to be able to understand a target audience more clearly. This can consist of of a number of factor on an individual. The designers aim is to then find some similarity or common ground in relation to users interests and how they align with a product or service they are advertising for.
I find The best way to understand a persona is to think of it like a CV but for a customer.
This process involves conducting research thorugh surveys, interviews, to gather insights.
Once personas are established, designers can create their designs to resonate with specific segments of the target audience.
image sourced from: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/buyer-personas-templates-and-examples/
Prototypes can range from sketches or wireframes to highly detailed mockups. By prototyping early and often, designers can gather feedback from users, and identify potential issues or improvements early in the design process. This approach helps ensure that the final product meets the needs and expectations of users.
