#servantdesign

DON’T ENGAGE ME, BRO!Denver Startup Week

#servantdesign

Ryan Bell

Interface Developer/Lead@ a local digital/UX agency

@xeroply#servantdesign

ACME MOBILE SITE 3

Reason for Engagement

Project Overview

Acme wanted to convert online sales and generate leads from traffic originating on mobile devices.

•Lost revenue opportunity

ACME MOBILE SITE 4

Reason for Engagement

Project Overview

Acme wanted to convert online sales and generate leads from traffic originating on mobile devices.

•Lost revenue opportunity

ACME MOBILE SITE 5

Outcomes

Project Evaluation

Acme saw a major improvement across various Performance Indicators of commerce and engagement, including:

• 54.8% increase in Time on Site

• 22.8% increase in Click-through Rate

• 31.5% increase in Spend per Visit

#servantdesign

What’s missing?Click-through

Performance Indicators

Page Views

Traffic

Devices

Convert

EngageSpend

#servantdesign

What’s missing?

The visitor! And anything they care about.

#servantdesign

What’s missing?

Are they getting more value?Are they happy?Will they stick with this long term?Have we improved their lives at all?

#servantdesign

It’s not the client or the project team or the company – this is common in our industry.

#servantdesign

A brief word study

“This may seem like a small and insignificant detail that doesn’t matter, but the vernacular

and words we use… set a very strong and subtle tone for everything we do.”

- Jack Dorsey

#servantdesign

Compelling• not able to be resisted;

overwhelming

compel:• force or oblige (someone) to do

something; bring about (something) by the use of force or pressure

#servantdesign

Sticky• tending or designed to stick to things

on contact– (of prices, interest rates, or wages) slow

to change or react to change.

• involving problems; difficult or awkward

#servantdesign

Sticky

#servantdesign

Engage(ing)• (of fencers or swordsmen) bring

(weapons) together preparatory to fighting.

• enter into conflict or combat with (an adversary).

#servantdesign

Absorb(ing)• take in and assimilate• take control of (a smaller or less

powerful entity), making it a part of oneself by assimilation

• use or take up (time or resources)• take up and reduce the effect or

intensity of

#servantdesign

User• a person who takes illegal drugs• a person who manipulates others for

personal gain

#servantdesign

The underlying attitude

#servantdesign

People’s attention and business is increasingly hard to get.

#servantdesign

"Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day, compared with up to 5,000 today.”

New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/business/media/15everywhere.html

#servantdesign

“The average length of time a [college] student could concentrate for in lectures was 10 minutes, according to the survey carried last month… for the technology firm Olympus.”

BBC, Jan 12, 2010http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8449307.stm

#servantdesign

Our natural response

Compelling Absorbing Sticky

#servantdesign

Our natural response

Compelling Absorbing Sticky

Manipulation

#servantdesign

The problem*

*besides the little moral part

#servantdesign

#1: People will come to resent it

#servantdesign

#2: Diminishing returns

#servantdesign

“The massive inflation of global advertising impressions over any digital device – up from 172 billion in 1996 to over 5 trillion today – have decimated click through rates from an average of 7% in 1996 to less than 0.1% today. Consumers seem to be reaching a point of saturation.”

http://www.fourthsource.com/general/the-advertisers-assault-why-marketing-bombardment-will-not-work-with-consumers-8964

#servantdesign

A distinction

Entertainment Utility

#servantdesign

Beware the temptation to blur“If participating is clearly just a means to serve a brand, people are going to feel used. Rather than providing an organic experience for one's personal entertainment, gamification always has an agenda, which makes it difficult for users to want in.”

Chloe Della Costahttp://www.imediaconnection.com/content/31753.asp

#servantdesign

Compelling Absorbing Sticky

Manipulation

#servantdesign

Service

Helpful Empowering Delightful

#servantdesign

THEIR GOALSOUR GOALS

Customer Goal Fulfillment

LoyaltyProfitConversions

#servantdesign

The Servant As LeaderRobert K. Greenleaf1970

#servantdesign

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead…

The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.”

#servantdesign

Servant LeadershipLeadership

#servantdesign

Servant LeadershipThe practice of building products and services to help customers achieve their goals first and foremost

Design

#servantdesign

What does this actually look like?

#servantdesign

Servant Design is NOT:• Letting the customer run your

business• Abdicating decisions to focus groups• Trying to design infinitely flexible

products

#servantdesign

#servantdesign

Servant Design IS:A framework that affects every phase in the product or service lifecycle…

#servantdesign

1. Identify the “real” customer(s)Flow of value

#servantdesign

2. Nurture relationshipsPersonasPeople

#servantdesign

3. Choose success metrics wisely“Increase page views by 20%”“Drive lead generation though blah blah blah”“Improve conversion rates”

#servantdesign

3. Choose success metrics wisely“How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?”The Ultimate Question - Net Promoter System

#servantdesign

Measuring people can make them do funny things.

Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations Robert D. Austin

#servantdesign

4. Empower your implementersWhy are we doing this?Tradeoffs in view of the ultimate goal

#servantdesign

5. Live with the resultsGo beyond numbers in a dashboardUse it yourself

#servantdesign

1. Identify the “real” customer(s)2. Nurture relationships3. Choose success metrics wisely4. Empower your implementers5. Live with the results

#servantdesign

Spotting servant design mentality in the wild

#servantdesign

“Above all else, align with customers. Win when they win. Win only when they win.”

Jeff Bezos

#servantdesign

“…all of our work is in service of our customers. Period. Therefore, we

better damn well mention them in every conversation, review, meeting, goal, etc.”

Jack Dorsey

#servantdesign

“At Riot we serve each and every ‘player’ that has ever

experienced our game.”

Jason Oliver

#servantdesign

“When we have a great brand, because we're serving customers well, and they are talking about us, they create an army of promoters out there that literally acts as a sales force

for our company”

Lanham Napier

#servantdesign

A new frame of reference and a new vocabulary

ACME MOBILE SITE 54

Reason for Engagement

Project Overview

Acme wanted to convert online sales and generate leads from traffic originating on mobile devices.

•Lost revenue opportunity

ACME MOBILE SITE 55

Reason for Venture

Project Overview

Acme wanted to provide people on mobile devices a more effective way to learn about their offerings and obtain products that meet their needs.

•Lost opportunity to serve customers on mobile

ACME MOBILE SITE 56

Outcomes

Project Evaluation

Acme saw a major improvement across various Performance Indicators of commerce and engagement, including:

• 54.8% increase in Time on Site

• 22.8% increase in Click-through Rate

• 31.5% increase in Spend per Visit

ACME MOBILE SITE 57

Outcomes

Project Evaluation

Acme saw a significant improvement across key measures, including:

• 28% increase in mobile users likely to recommend the site

• 65% increase in mobile users who said they were able to quickly find what they were looking for when they came to the site

• 22% increase in Revenue per Visit

#servantdesign

The words we useUserCompellingStickinessConversionEngagingEngage

CustomerDelightfulSuperior valueActivityMeaningful / WorthwhileServe

#servantdesign

Users who are compelled, stuck, and converted into engaging with you

#servantdesign

Customers who are delighted, offered superior value, served well, and given something worthwhile in return for their active investment of time and money

#servantdesign

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