Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Shiny customer experience from Aus. bank

Kind of like the Genius bar of banks, this bank has stepped up the digital experience in person. Great way to get customers across the chasm in a way that is comfortable and appropriately engaging. The obvious investment in branch design definitely ups the game in terms of overall customer experience and its implications for bank branding.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia opened a high tech bank in Brisbane that combines iPads, iMacs, Asus Touchscreens, a coffee bar, and traditional bank services in a well thought out and carefully designed user experience. Patrons have the option of using multichannel technology to complete banking activities in the most efficient means possible.

As soon as customers walk in the bank, they see a row of iMacs waiting to be used for banking services. A concierge greets them, and helps them figure out the fastest way to achieve their banking goals, i.e. using one of the iMacs, iPads, and Windows Touchscreens, or speaking with a bank associate. They can complete many typical banking activities, such as open accounts, check balances, transfer funds and pay bills online at the iMac terminals, and staff members hover nearby in case they have questions or issues. They also teach customers how to use the new online options available from CBA in order to get faster results. On any given day, 50-plus staff are on-hand to help out. I guess this works a lot like airport kiosks, which are self serve, but which always have attendants nearby to help out in case there is an issue.

The teller is in the back of the branch, so that customers feel more comfortable trying out the technology before making their way to the human service organization.

See more at www.digitaldesignstrategy.net
 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Dream rangers...bank ad by Ogilvy Taiwan

Created by Ogilvy Taiwan



Creative Director: Jennifer Hu

Copywriter: Jennifer Hu, Justin Chia

Art director: Leah Chen

Producer: Abby Ku

Director: Thanonchai


10 things you can learn from musicians

Mike over at Crowdspring builds on his things you can learn from kids and things you can learn from dogs posts with a thoughtful posts on what musicians do right. Being a musician I was really taken by this post because I tend to completely separate my 'music life' from my 'day job'. After reading this I am thinking that a little more blurring of the lines and a lot more keeping of the beat is a good thing...

Amplify’d from blog.crowdspring.com

1. Musicians cooperate.

As with all great teams, great musicians have to work together seamlessly and in cooperation. Choosing the proper key, playing at the same tempo, and selecting the proper instrumentation, pitch, and levels are all a given to any group of musicians. Entrepreneurs can learn a great deal about teamwork from this example and businesses must be able to work in much the same way; teams of people functioning in unison to achieve a goal or create a meaningful product or service.

2. Musicians keep a beat.

Teams need drive and incentive to work effectively and entrepreneurs can use the example set by musicians to help their team be more effective. One way to apply the musical metaphor is to imagine the rhythm that drives a song and think of a project or effort as having a similar underlying rhythm  which moves it forward. Establish a beat to the team’s work, maintain that beat, and use it to accomplish the goal you;’ve set.

3. The orchestra follows the conductor.

In a large ensemble or even a small group there is one person who establishes and maintains the rhythm, drives the emphasis, and controls the tone of the piece being played. In a rock band this is often the drummer or other percussionist and in an orchestra it is the conductor. In business there also is a need for an effective leader who provides much the same function – driving the team, establishing the priorities, and clearly articulating goals, strategy, and tactics. A baton is optional.

4. Musicians play with joy (or something else).

Musicians are motivated by their innate love for the music itself and the joy of making it. Great entrepreneurs are much the same – driven by their dedication, motivated by the sheer fun of the work, and hooked on the sheer exhilaration of creating something unique.

5. Musicians listen to one another.

Musicians have to be able to hear what their bandmates are doing in order to adjust their own performance based on what they are hearing. Entrepreneurs can learn to pay greater attention to their team – listening, responding, and adjusting are all key elements of the collaborative process and strong teams constantly respond and adjust based on what other members are doing at any given time.

6. Musicians are weird.

While every rock band, in particular, has it’s own identity as a band, they are also made up of individuals with their own priorities, unique characteristics, prerogatives, and idiosyncrasies. Great bands celebrate each member’s individualism, and at same time identify as members of the group. Great entrepreneurs also must create an environment that allows people to flourish as individuals and at the same time maintain deep connections to the company and the team.

7. Musicians try different things.

The greatest band often overcome barriers that keep them from getting their music in front of an audience. Artists are constantly being rejected and the strongest among them respond by trying something different or simply just keeping at it. Many bands labor for years before landing that first recording contract or that breakthrough tour. Great entrepreneurs have to exhibit the same level of perseverance to get that business off the ground or to try another when the first one fails. There is a reason that we hear the term “serial” entrepreneur so often – the tenacity to keep at it is as much a part of a good entrepreneur as their ability t raise capital and manage projects.

8. Individual notes are just that.

In a complex piece of music (as in a complex ventrue) mall components add up to a greater whole. In music it is the individual notes and the individual players. In entrepreneurism it is the individual components of a business as well as the individual people involved. Great entrepreneurs recognize that their venture, like a great symphony, should be greater than the sum of its parts and that, on their own, those parts are just components of the whole.

9. Great music establishes an emotional connection.

When musicians are playing a song or piece they often have their eyes closed, trancelike, under the music’s spell. This emotional connection to their work infuses it with passion, energy, and significance. In the world of entrepreneurism and startups it should be the same for you and your team.  Without personal investment, commitment, and dedication te venture can not succeed; when a business breaks through everyone should be yelling with joy, when it fails we should all have tears streaming.

10. Musicians love to party.

Never overlook the importance of a party! Rock musicians are  famous (notorious) for their ability to cut loose and revel wildly and so too should entrepreneurs. Celebrate wins wherever they occur, take the team out for a drink, bring in a special meal, hire a magician to put on a private show! Always be ready to  whoop it up! Just don’t trash hotel rooms doing it.

Read more at blog.crowdspring.com
 

Sunday, March 06, 2011

The satisfaction/loyalty disconnect #cem

Irving Stackpole uses the example of considering a seniors' community to explore the different factors affecting loyalty and satisfaction. There is growing realization and acceptance that these two traditionally connected themes may be correlary but are still exclusive.



There is a frightening disconnect between measured satisfaction
and customer loyalty. For many years, senior living managers have
performed customer satisfaction surveys to measure how happy various
customers and consumers are with their communities. These surveys
have taken many forms, but the results have been remarkably similar
- customers and consumers seem quite satisfied, or happy. Another
fact, however, is that satisfied customers are not predictably loyal
- too often they walk away to another senior living community. Why?
And if happy customers walk away, why bother trying to find out
if they're happy in the first place?

Three theories may explain this situation:


  1. Customers of high vulnerability services (such as senior housing)
    don't tell the truth about their level of satisfaction;

  2. Satisfaction and loyalty are not correlated in the markets for
    these services;

  3. Service dissatisfaction is not the only reason for disloyalty.

There is good evidence that each of these provide at least part
of the explanation, and can be helpful in guiding what to measure
and how.

Regarding surveyed persons telling the truth, little can be done,
although there is some evidence that having an outside person, vendor
or agency perform the measurement is useful. Surveyors often must
work harder to obtain negative responses through one-on-one interviews,
for example. What is clear, however, is that the survey respondents
who provide negative responses are offering the surveyor precious
information. It is my experience that negative responses are too
frequently either dismissed with a roll of the eyes, or rationalized
away to the margins. It is human nature to take pride in, and therefore
be defensive about, our work, but this human quality does not serve
the management of senior living communities in this circumstance.

Model Value Map

The relative importance placed on features and price change with
time. Of importance to measure, therefore, on a regular basis, are
the relative satisfaction with, and the perceived value of, a communities'
services. How can we do this?

Shoppers for, and consumers of, high vulnerability services evaluate
these services in a highly comparative manner. Perceived satisfaction
alone does not predict buying behavior or loyalty. By asking shoppers
and customers to make comparisons of competitive positions in both
service areas and price, it is possible to create a far more useful
and predictive model.



Read more at www.stackpoleassociates.com
 

Saturday, March 05, 2011

The pencil, the pen and #UX wireframes

Great examples of different styles of sketches from a bunch of reasonably famous projects - interesting to note the differing levels of detail and also the similarities to the actual final projects.



More and more after the jump...

Amplify’d from inspirationfeed.com

5 Years of Firefox

sketched wireframes 21 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

iPad app sketch

4575190482 751d1d26741 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Viget Labs Wireframes

Viget Labs Wireframes 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Early Ember Sketches

sketched wireframes 121 500x368 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

OnlyJames Wireframe Sketch of Article Detail

09 sketched ui wireframe1 500x474 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

CommLogix Wireframe

sketched wireframes 111 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Early BusinessWeek.com Design Sketch

Early BusinessWeek 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Website UI Sketch

4803582708 8499571550 z1 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

UI Flow Sketch

UI Flow Sketch 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Dew Tour Wireframes

4066790442 01100cff351 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

HBO SATC UI wireframe

HBO SATC UI wireframe 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Web Sketch Interface v2 – Graffletopia

original1 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Sqetch

ada2f 28 31 sqetch1 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches

Verify Home Screen

Verify Home Screen 25 Examples of Wireframes and Mockups Sketches
See more at inspirationfeed.com
 

Friday, March 04, 2011

Nielsen visualizes the smartphone market

Original post - TechSpot - http://www.techspot.com/news/42674-android-first-in-us-market-share-apple-rim-tied-for-second.html

Nielsen has posed the question "Who is winning the US smartphone battle?" and has answered it in two ways. Then the company put it all into a nice chart to help you understand, which you can see below.





The first answer is Google's Android, if we're looking at smartphone OS market share. The second is Apple's iPhone tied with Research in Motion's BlackBerry, if we're looking at smartphone manufacturer market share.

Let's look more closely at the numbers. Android has 29 percent share (broken down into 12 percent for HTC, 10 percent for Motorola, 5 percent for Samsung, and 2 percent for Other). Both iPhone and Blackberry have 27 percent. Microsoft, HP, and Symbian are not a threat, yet.





(If anyone knows of a higher res source for the image that is not a content farm, please share)