Understanding Experience Ecosystems
Animals, plants, and other organisms in the Amazon rainforest exist in an environment where they are dependent on the existence of each other in order to maintain that environment. This environment constitutes an ecological ecosystem, the larger environment which they co-create and exist in. The example of the rainforest is a simple one to understand but the reality is that all things exist in relation to “other things”. That includes products and services. The relationship to those “other things” can also be referred to as context.
To be an ecosystem minded designer means to be a designer that understands the importance of context at scale, the context immediately surrounding a product, and the much larger context in which that product/ service exists. Therefore, to develop a successful customer experience ecosystem is to understand the larger context that surrounds the product or service being provided from the customers point of view. There are multiple models through which designers can seek to better understand this larger context.
One such example is the development of systems maps. These types of maps can help designers to understand the actors, artifacts, places, interactions, and relationships that exist around a product, service, or customer. They range from more simple approaches to much more complex approaches, providing different lenses, but the goal is the same.
Another popular tool to understand larger contexts or ecosystems surrounding customer experiences is the philosophy of Jobs to be Done. This approach seeks to understand what “jobs” customers are hiring, or might hire a product/ service to do. It’s about helping customers to make progress in completing that job. Once you’ve understood what that main job is, the focus can shift from the product or service, to understanding the best solutions to help the customer to get that job done. This approach not only focuses on the main job and the context that surrounds it but also allows the designer to understand the emotional and social jobs the product or service might provide as well as other peripheral jobs that might be related to the main job.
A great example of a business that has taken a customer ecosystem approach to developing their value proposition is Airbnb. Where many people initially saw Airbnb as simply a business that provides access to travel lodging in competition with hotels, Airbnb understood the “job” they were doing as something more than that. They were not only competing with hotels, they were competing against staying with friends, or not going on a trip at all. As Airbnb is a complex platform, it also is performing the job of helping individuals to earn passive income through the use of fixed assets (homes) by allowing guests to stay in their homes. Their initial solution reflected these multiple “other” contexts. Individuals could rent the houses of other individuals or even rent out a single room for a night. As time went on, Airbnb understood the even larger contexts that exist around their service and have now shifted from a company that focuses on accommodations to one that provides “experiences” and “adventures” around travel (contexts outside of a person’s home). A look at the website will show you that in addition to lodging they are now connecting customers to local activities and attractions, curated travel experiences around customer interests, as well as online experiences that allow customers to experience things in different contexts. Airbnb has been very intentional about understanding the contexts that surround its customers. This is what it means to create value through a customer experience ecosystem approach.
