Service Design-in’ at Gruppo Animalia
An asynchronous interview with Silvia Siviero, Marketing & Customer Experience Manager at Gruppo Animalia.
Q: Ciao Silvia, please introduce yourself.
A: I am Silvia Siviero, Marketing & Customer Experience Manager at Gruppo Animalia.
I studied Service Design at Politecnico di Milano when the field was still emerging in Italy. With a decade of experience in consultancy across diverse industries including automotive, fashion, and utilities, I transitioned to an in-house role at Animalia in the veterinary sector.
Currently, I spearhead the marketing and communication strategies and oversee activities at the corporate level and for our network of over 40 clinics across Italy. My primary objective is to enhance our customers’ experience, both in physical spaces and through digital channels, by implementing a seamless and gratifying omnichannel journey.
Q: What does Gruppo Animalia do?
A: Animalia was established in Italy in 2019 to integrate excellent veterinary clinics into a single group. The aim is to contribute to the evolution of the veterinary sector. We are a group where all veterinarians and collaborators share the same passion for the care and well-being of animals and the desire to improve every day by providing quality service to all pet owners.
Q: How do you define Service Design?
A: For me, Service Design is a field with undefined boundaries. It’s a way to approach services and projects with two different yet complementary perspectives: creative and engineering.
As a designer you can envision new scenarios giving shape to ideas, testing and improving them, involving direct users; this could be driven by creativity. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to analyse and consider every element and step, with an engineering approach. It’s a discipline that helps cultivate a flexible and collaborative mindset. Service Design can be applied to any sector and industry, and this is the most enjoyable and challenging aspect of being a service designer.
Q: What’s the current Service Design setup at your company?
A: I am the first and only service designer at Animalia. My responsibilities encompass not only service design but also marketing and communication.
However, my background played a crucial role in my hiring. The group, along with the entire sector, recognizes the need to invest in enhancing the service and overall customer experience in our clinics. This is a comprehensive journey that involves numerous stakeholders, particularly veterinarians and front office staff, focusing on organizational improvements, communication strategies, and raising awareness. The approach also considers various channels, both physical and digital, as well as technological advancements to support the customer experience.
Service design, in collaboration with other disciplines and areas, is instrumental in shaping and implementing this journey, not only in terms of design but also in the execution phases such as implementation, training, communication, and more.
Q: What’s the relationship between Service Design and the other disciplines at Gruppo Animalia?
A: I typically collaborate with the Educational Specialist, who oversees training initiatives, the HR team, Operations Managers (serving as the liaison between the headquarters and clinics), IT, and the business development team.
Animalia operates like a startup, with over 30 professionals working collaboratively on diverse projects aimed at innovating and enhancing efficiency across various areas. The complexity arises from our ongoing business expansion involving the integration of new structures. Simultaneously, we are tasked with designing, consolidating, and standardizing processes and experiences. We actively share our expertise and tools, working collectively to tailor solutions that align with the unique needs of each clinic.
Q: Let’s talk about your Service design work. What are the typical initiatives you work on?
A: I engage in diverse projects that encompass a wide range of activities, spanning from marketing and communication to digital website management, customer journey optimization, and the organization of events like fairs or annual meetings with our collaborators.
To give a couple of examples, I am working on the mapping of the actual journey in our clinics, designing the ideal one and identifying priorities and gaps to work on.
We started a pilot to test the sensibility of our customers to commercial marketing campaigns on different services. We will work with the front office team to give them better tools and elements to interact with customers and improve their overall experience.
My role is notably hybrid, occasionally straying from pure Service Design due to the inherent nature of the company’s requirements. Nevertheless, there is a significant design aspect to shaping both the services we offer to our clients (from a B2C perspective) and our collaborations with partners (from a B2B standpoint). Prioritizing and aligning goals is crucial, a process conducted in collaboration with the management. This involves taking into account the needs and expectations of customers, as well as monitoring the evolving landscape of the market and competitors.
Q: How do you prove the impact of Service Design?
A: It’s currently premature to discuss the impact. The initiatives we’re implementing are not yet sufficiently consistent or widespread. Nevertheless, we have tools in place to gauge customer satisfaction across our various clinics. We start from a positive baseline, but there is ample room for improvement, especially given the rapidly changing landscape in this sector. This includes evolving expectations regarding both digital and physical experiences, as well as the dynamics in the relationship between pets and their owners.
Q: How do you educate your organisation on the Service Design approach?
A: It’s an intriguing question because it prompts me to reflect on an aspect of my job that I haven’t had the chance to fully consider yet. I acknowledge that I’ve introduced some valuable tools and methodologies to the team based on my prior experience in consultancy, although it still needs to become more structured. Conversely, we’re initiating discussions about customer experience and customer-centricity with clinic staff (vets and front office). The goal is to encourage a shift in their perspective, fostering greater empathy and a service-oriented approach. It’s a gradual process, but we are committed to continuing this kind of training and discussions to raise awareness among our clinic collaborators.
Q: What’s the future of Service Design in your organisation?
A: There is no formal plan outlining the evolution of Service Design in Animalia. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that reinforcing this discipline and role will be crucial for our future endeavours. The quality of the experience we provide and the value we can offer will be essential differentiators from our competitors.
Q: A service you wish you had designed…
A: I believe that the Erasmus Program could be considered a service, and it’s one that I wish I had the opportunity to design or perhaps redesign, especially given the significant changes that have occurred since its inception in 1987. This valuable project requires ongoing maintenance and could benefit from a reimagined design, focusing on enhancing the overall experience for students. Improvements in terms of support, channels, and interactions throughout the journey could contribute to its continued success.
Q: How can people follow you?
A: You can add me on LinkedIn - Silvia Ottavia Siviero.
Service Design-in’ is a collection of thoughts and interviews with Designers that adopt a service-design mindset working within organisations. If you want to share your views, please reach out.
