More Than a Product: It's User op-quartile companies embrace the full (the digital dimension) and providing physical user experience; they break down internal mementos aimed at encouraging customers barriers among physical, digital, and to rebook. The reception team of one big hotel service design. The importance of user-centricity, chain we know gives departing guests a rubber demands a broad-based view of where design duck adorned with an image of their host city Experience can make a difference. We live in a world where (such as clogs and tulips for Amsterdam). The your smartphone can warn you to leave early team includes a note suggesting that guests might for your next appointment because of traffic, like to keep the duck at home as a reminder of and your house knows when you’ll be home their stay and could build a collection by visiting and therefore when to turn on the heat. The the group’s other properties. This small touch led boundaries between products and services to a 3 percent improvement in retention over time. are merging into integrated experiences. "Only 50% of the companies In practice, this often means mapping a customer we surveyed conducted user journey (pain points and potential sources research before generating their of delight) rather than starting with “copy and paste” technical specs from the last product. first design ideas or specifications" This design approach requires solid customer insights gathered firsthand by observing Design-driven companies shouldn’t limit and—more importantly—understanding the themselves to their own ecosystems. The best underlying needs of potential users in their businesses we interviewed think more broadly. own environments. These insights must be For example, ready-made meals are popular with championed at every meeting. Yet only around the hard-working singles who grab them on their 50 percent of the companies we surveyed way home. A retailer of these meals has considered conducted user research before generating teaming up with Netflix to devise a one-click their first design ideas or specifications. meal-ordering system, which would come into play two hours into an evening’s binge viewing Combining physical products, digital tools, and when the customer would receive a screen prompt. “pure” services provides new opportunities for Mobile-payment services such as Google Pay companies to capture this range of experience. and Apple Pay were the result of a willingness to A hotel, for example, might do more than just think across boundaries to devise easier ways to focus on the time between check-in and check access cash. A piece of plastic in your wallet is one -out (the service element) by promoting early solution, but how much easier is it to use a device engagement through social media or its own apps you already carry in your pocket? The Business Value of Design 10