Mapping Experiences, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6. Investigate: Grounding in Reality

You can observe a lot just by watching.

—Yogi Berra

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Reviewing existing information
• Interviewing internally
• Creating a draft map
• Contextual inquiry and analysis
• Quantitative research
• Collaborative methods for research

Just over two decades ago, Bain & Company uncovered a remarkable gap. Surveying 362 firms, it found that 80% believed they delivered a superior customer experience. Yet only 8% of customers felt that way.^* The disconnect made waves.

In my experience, that gap hasn’t closed much. Most companies still misunderstand what customers actually experience. Sure, they may have detailed data, comprehensive purchasing statistics, and other voice-of-the-customer (VoC) metrics, but they fail to understand core experiential aspects—emotional states, needs, motivations—at a deeper level.

Peter Drucker recognized this back in the 1950s. He wrote: “The customer rarely buys what the company thinks it sells…. Nobody pays for a ‘product.’ What is paid for is satisfaction.”^†

These days, we equate Drucker’s “satisfaction” with the customer experience of getting a job done. But that’s a messy business. People’s behaviors are often irrational; they act on emotions and subjective beliefs. These are harder to understand and quantify and are generally not part of the business vernacular.

As a result, many organizations have a low appetite for understanding the customer experience as a whole. They may be willing ...