However, when we are trying to discover opportunities to delight, it is important that we overcome this ignoring skill and really notice the details of the experience. To do this, we need to consciously take ourselves out of the experiences to observe all of these elements:
• Goals – what is the experience for? How is it attained?
• Setup/Context (when, why)
• Content (words, pictures, colors, designs, architecture, etc)
• Actions (steps in the task)
• Sensory Details (sounds, tastes, smells, tactile feeling)
• Emotions (are there elements that are specifically designed to evoke emotions?)
For example, consider the experience of me brushing my teeth in the morning. Normally, I don’t think about it at all. But when I paid close attention to the experience this morning, I was able to gather a large amount of information:
Goals:
- Get clean, smooth teeth, avoid cavities, and have fresh breath for my morning.
Setup/Context:
- I need to brush my teeth because I hate my breath, the taste in my mouth, and the feeling of my teeth first thing in the morning.
- I keep my toothbrush and toothpaste in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom, behind the mirror above the sink.
- I stand in front of the sink while brushing my teeth.
Content:
- Tools I use to accomplish this task: toothbrush, toothpaste, and water.
- My toothbrush is green and white, with nubs on the side and handle.
- My toothpaste tube has a cap that rotates off (kind of traditional for toothpaste).
Actions:
- I get up and walk to my sink, open up the mirror, reach in and grab my toothbrush and toothpaste. Then, I open the lid of the toothpaste and set it down on the counter. I squeeze the toothpaste onto the brush (in the middle of the tube, which irritates my husband), and then put the brush in my mouth. I put the lid on the tube of toothpaste and put it back in the cabinet. I brush my teeth (brush, brush, brush), spitting at some point in the experience when my mouth gets too full of foam. When I feel like I’ve thoroughly brushed, I rinse the brush, slurping up water with the brush to rinse my mouth, hit my brush against the sink a couple of times, and then put the toothbrush away.
Sensory Details:
- My toothbrush has a soft and rubbery handle, so it is squishy, which makes it pleasant to hold.
- While brushing my teeth, the experience is cool, wet and foamy. My mouth fills with foam, so I have to spit.
Emotions:
- I’m usually a bit grumpy and unconscious when I start this task.
- The toothbrush itself is soft and squishy, and also bright and cheery, which makes me a little happy. But, I only notice the squishiness every once in a while (this was probably intentionally designed to delight me).
- I experience very slight anxiety when my mouth fills with foam, until I spit. Then I feel a little relief.
- I’m always a bit more awake and perky after I’m through brushing.
My challenge to you:
Try going through your day and identify the specific experiences that you encounter. Take note of the context, content, actions and sensory details. Pay attention to your emotions. Ignoring information comes naturally… work at building the skill of switching your attention back on to the experience itself.
This skill is critical when we visit customers. We have a tendency to focus in on the actions (and challenges) in the current experience, but not necessarily the related details in the environment itself and the emotions experienced.
What would happen if you stopped ignoring all those cues? What would you learn about delighting your customers if you “listened” to them on a whole new level? Start by listening to yourself. Becoming an expert at switching on your attention to look for opportunities to delight – yourself and your customers!
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