Here a perfect impression what the Mania is all about…..

Never really realized until I was present during this MoMo Amsterdam talk from Joseph Pine III that his theories gave me the right ingredient to ponder on to get a complete new outlook on the world and improve myself. Never really read a book of Joseph Pine, just an excerpt was enough to put my imagination into motion and brake through a glass sealing.

In Mass Customization I realized that modern manufacturing was able to make personalized products again just as craftsman did before the Industrial Revolution. It made me start to see the value of cookies on the Internet and opening my eyes for CRM processes happening at the corner shop, resulting in the Cornershop Experience thoughts that where the basics for seeing the value of reading mobile barcodes on phones.

The Experience Economy learned me that there is more then object alone and opened my eyes for service design / experience design. Ideas I put in practice during the Schiphol project 2004/2005.

Authenticity marked to me the end of consumptionon as we know it where products either would become Icons like the Ipod or making life asierer like a dish washing machine, also marking the begin of a new development where products become carriers of services.

In the Metaverse Pine defines 8 different blends on the edge between the physical and virtual world an eye opener that again broke a glass ceiling in my thinking. Where my thinking is heading and what new products- and services I will create I don’t know. It is an exciting time where the mobile phone as carrier of services is a dominant communication device that will show a lot of Innovation in the 5 years that are ahead of us and I will be part of creating this new reality building bridges between users, innovation and business.

Get inspired, create and learn. 2010 will be an exciting year to look foreward to.

The creativity techniques I call the toolbox of UCIM are used in all my work right now: for example recently I started a design project where I developed personas that gave us such a new insight in the market, stakeholders and users that the whole project was converted from a design project into concept development that is giving the company a complete new perspective on the next 5 years of product development and innovation.

Seeing the statistics on Slideshare the UCIM methodology got a lot of viewers and just recently I learned that it became the benchmark for Airport Innovation projects, I was honored. Someone asked me why I share this and I answered its not the methodology, the techniques, etc. it is the experience and creativity to use all new insights that this give you and have the ability to translate this into compelling new products- and or services. Its this ability and talent that makes EYE-D unique and makes me a designer that already has a track of successful and operational products, services and product / service combinations.

When I started in 2004 I filled the toolbox with techniques I used already and named them names that made sense now 5 years later the market has evolved and got fancy names so I guess it was time to start talking service design. Have fun with the UCIM presentation.

Small update on the Schiphol Project. Although not involved anymore but as responsible for the creation of the innovative concept to check in luggage in a self-service proces I stay in touch with the current company that develops and markets it: www.bagdrop.com At this moment a complete row of bagdrops is installed right now so the pilot started in August 2008 now resulted in an adoption on a large scale. I am proud.

Designing the Customer Journey is a method to follow your customer and start looking through his or her eyes. Learn that the Customer Journey starts long before a company starts offering services, locate obstacles and see opportunities to create a seamless experiences, be a partner during this customer journey and create added value in your services and a better brand experience.

EYE-D has a toolbox of proven methods to observe, play and learn to get this customer perspective but also has the creative ability to redesign existing services or create complete new service concepts. In the past 10 years I use and optimised methods like observation, interviewing, crowd sourcing, personas, role play, prototyping, etc. to get a better understanding of the customer perspective. But most important, I showed over and over again the ability to translate this into redesigned services, new service concepts or unique product- service combinations.
Case: Multichannel Credit Concept to optimise the buying experience designed for De Lage Lande, a subsidiary of Rabobank. This is a case that is not implemented which is understandable in the current economic crisis but very interesting to explain the benefits of (re)designing the customer journey.

The initial question was to design Kiosks where customers could check- and close their finance credit while buying a new- car, kitchen, bathroom, etc. kiosks that should be placed in showrooms. In the first meeting I realised they wanted to compete with online credit companies and I suggested there should be a bigger scope. With the EYE-D method toolbox we learned that the buying experience starts when customers are orienting themselves on buying on the Internet. Stretching the focus from orientation- to actual closing the buy and after sales created a complete new perspective. At this stage we redefined the proposition that the service should become a partner for the customer from orientation to after sales, crossing channels from virtual- to physical services. Using the customer experience methodologies we found touch-points and obstacles and designed a multichannel concept where at every stage we created the service the customer needed. From an online calculator needed when orienting, personalised email, narrow-casting and kiosk interaction, to official forms to close the loan and good after-sales.

In this credit concept De Lage Lande becomes a parter during the customer journey by offering the right service at the right touch-point, are obstacles taken away and is the Brand in a positive way part of buying a new product. The possibility to lose the customer just at the moment the credit is closed in this concept is smaller because the service perception is higher. A kiosk in a showroom never would be giving the right effect, now the kiosk has a crucial role in the credit concept and preventing losing the customers.

Are you aware that your company is only offering services during a part of the customer journey? EYE-D is your partner in (re)designing the customer journey not only in creating new customer insights but also very successful in creating new service concepts. We have been active in new retail concepts, self-service solutions on airports, mobile services for airlines, etc. Get in touch with us to discuss the possibilities working with EYE-D to serve your customer better over his or her favorite channel on the moment the customer wants to be served.

On the iF Award ceremony I spoke with Apple Designers who received a load of awards for the IPhone, IPod, etc. and they also questioned the role of the awarded design since the succes was more based on the whole concept of IPhone, Istore, ICommunity of developers and the carefully build Apple Brand. Looking at Apple in a bigger picture the open Innovation Culture is one key ellement but most important in my view is its culture of being an innovator in connected interactive concepts. From the early start of Apple they did not stop at the software or hardware alone. Concepts with a high level of usability where hardware, design, software and user interface design carefully blend togheter into new products. Going back and forth during its history of the company Apple has been able to over and over again take new technological innovation and transform this into new connected concepts most of them being the benchmark of many folowers. Key with a strong developed infrastructure of wired- and wireless Internet now is the ongoing relationship between Apple and its community. Apple Stores, Online Communities, Products (offcourse as cariers), software, content, applications, etc. over and over again an Apple customer come back to interact with the brand. The service component of Apple’s proposition is extremly important: Istore and Itunes are service portals between content, software and applications and the hardware that are its carriers and the Apple customer over and over again makes small transactions being very satisfied with Apple serving him or her over his or her favorite channel, on the prefered moment on the location where it matters.

Now Apple is leading the way in product service combinations but good examples of succesfull services can be found anywhere. In retail many chains know how to build a relation with their customers, online there are many fantastic examples, airlines do, Disney does and there are many more excellent services where brands and customer are in an ongoing relation.

With EYE-D being a leader in product- service combinations working on new services, products or creating a product- service combination we get approached often to help companies in setting the first step in a new era. Product Design is dead, long live Product- Service combinations !

A couple of months ago I was approached by Philips Design about methodologies for service design, something EYE-D developed and practiced the past years sucesfully. The opportunities for Philips to me are very clear so I pro-activly made a presentation about what they should do. Unfortunatly the service design awareness is not caried throughout the whole organisation and the initial contact died in beauty. So its time I share my thoughts with the world.