In the first article within our Gulf Region Series, Mr. Elbadawy started covering topics related to experience transformation within the context of the GCC area with its challenges and complications. Here’s the second article of the series, with more useful insights related to Customer Experience transformation.
Upon writing my first article of this series, I asked myself one difficult yet important question: where to start? Although I think I have many answers to this question but mentioning all possible answers and solutions will complicate the idea behind this whole initiative which is meant to simplify the actions and steps in this journey, so I decided to move with only one solution that, in my opinion, will open doors for tons of other solutions. But before talking about the solution, I’d like to mention the reason behind the keyword “Transformation” that’s at the center of this initiative.
In business and commercial contexts it can be accepted to talk about service and experience as the basis of transaction between the company and its customers. However, in a context of a country and its citizens, this would be improvident. A transformation is what every person really desires and it’s what Pine and Gilmore referred to as a distinct economic offering, the fifth and final one in their Progression of Economic Value.
To further elaborate on the importance of Transformation as the ultimate economic offering, I’d like to refer to this important excerpt from Pine and Gilmore’s The Experience Economy:
“While commodities are fungible, goods tangible, services intangible, and experiences memorable, transformations are effectual. All other economic offerings have no lasting consequence beyond their consumption. Even memories of an experience fade over time. But buyers of transformation seek to be guided toward some specific aim or purpose, and transformations must elicit that intended effect.
That’s why we call such buyers aspirants; they aspire to be someone or something different. Without a change in the attitude, performance, characteristics, or some other fundamental dimension of self, no transformation occurs. And this change should be not only in degree but also in kind, not only in function but also in structure. The transformation affects the very being of the person.”
I believe the experience transformation will happen in every GCC country when every family and family member living in these countries is familiar with and able to use the Human Centered Design, also referred to as Design Thinking, with some differences that can be mentioned in an Academic context approach and mindset in each day-to-day communication activity.
I mentioned the family as it is the foundation of society and the common platform for every person of the society be a service provider, policy maker, teacher, nurse, patient, student, minister, physician, parent, son or daughter, brother or sister to name a few. Usually every family member will take her/his perceptions, experiences and inherits to their interactions with the outside community members whether as service providers or receivers.
In Design Research activities, you face many touching stories that you sympathize and engage with but I still remember one old and calm gentleman who was participating in a design research activity concerning some failure aspects of a healthcare system. He was among three other interviewees telling their cases. When it was his turn, he told us about his beloved young daughter’s painful case that was full of details and suffering moments. When he was done with telling the story, we discovered that his daughter has died and that he only came to the interview in case this can help in saving someone else’s daughter.
What that gentleman did in the design research activity mentioned above is the highest level of transformation or can even be of a higher degree which is to contribute for the good of the others even if your own need is impossible to be met.
The vision of the solution is to facilitate building a “Co-Design Innovation Lab, CDIL” in each city of the GCC countries. This CDIL should be on the city level not on the ministry or municipality level to avoid the silo and selfish initiatives and to be people centered not government or ministry centered. Every CDIL will be the hub for research, concept development, testing and prototyping ideas and solutions for the communicated problems and challenges. Therefore, people (citizens, policy makers, decision makers, expats…) will meet in this place to talk, discuss, and work together for co-building a better future.
We will follow the human centered design mindset and approach to be the umbrella for the whole initiative. This will be a long journey but for making this happen, we’ll start with small initiative to be the enabler and facilitator of the ultimate vision.
The next article will describe the CDIL initiative in details and will provide the possible ways of contributions and support for anyone who is interested in supporting or being part of this initiative.
Interesting links:
- Gulf Region Series: Episode 1 – the Power of Good Customer Service
- How Designers Are Helping HIV Researchers Find A Vaccine
- How CIOs can deliver a breakthrough business transformation