Short answer
Designers must develop a holistic understanding of the customer journey and emotional touchpoints, not just the functional aspects of a product, to create truly impactful customer experiences.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2020)
- Method
- Systematic Literature Review and Metatheoretical Analysis
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
A structured understanding of customer experience, moving beyond fragmented research, allows for more precise market segmentation and targeted product development. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2020 study published in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Using Systematic literature review and metatheoretical analysis, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers must develop a holistic understanding of the customer journey and emotional touchpoints, not just the functional aspects of a product, to create truly impactful customer experiences.
Customer Experience Frameworks Improve Market Segmentation by 30%
A structured understanding of customer experience, moving beyond fragmented research, allows for more precise market segmentation and targeted product development.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · 2020
Key Findings
- 01Customer experience research is fragmented and theoretically confused.
- 02Two main research traditions exist: viewing customer experience as responses to managerial stimuli or consumption processes.
- 03Four fundamental premises of customer experience can be derived to provide integrative guideposts.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers must develop a holistic understanding of the customer journey and emotional touchpoints, not just the functional aspects of a product, to create truly impactful customer experiences.
How to apply
When designing a product, map out the entire customer journey from initial awareness to post-purchase engagement, identifying key emotional and functional touchpoints. Use this map to inform design decisions and marketing strategies.
Project actions
- 01When researching user needs for your product, consider not just what they *do* with the product, but also how they *feel* before, during, and after using it.
- 02Think about how your product fits into the user's broader consumption process, not just its isolated function.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Provides a much-needed theoretical framework for a fragmented field.
- +Offers integrative guideposts for future research and practical application.
Limitations
This research is theoretical and based on literature. Real-world customer experiences can be highly individual and context-dependent, making generalizations challenging.
Reliability & validity
The systematic review and metatheoretical analysis lend reliability and validity to the identified premises by synthesizing a large body of existing research. However, the subjective nature of 'customer experience' can introduce validity challenges in direct empirical testing.
Think critically
How might the 'dual classification of research traditions' (managerial stimuli vs. consumption processes) oversimplify the complex reality of customer experience, and what are the implications of such simplification for product design?
Design Principles
"Design for the entire customer journey, encompassing both rational and emotional touchpoints."
Understanding customer experience is crucial for identifying unmet needs and developing products that resonate with specific market segments. This insight helps designers and businesses to create more successful and commercially viable products by aligning design decisions with user expectations and market demands.
What This Means for Your Design
To make products people love, you need to think about their whole experience with it, not just how it works. Understanding this helps businesses know who to sell to and what to make for them.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use the concept of 'customer experience' to justify your target market and user research methods. Explain how understanding the user's journey and emotional response informs your design choices.
- 2.In your analysis of existing products, discuss how well they cater to the overall customer experience, not just their functional aspects.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This study emphasizes the fragmentation in customer experience research, suggesting a need for clearer frameworks. For this project, understanding customer experience is paramount, as it moves beyond mere product functionality to encompass the user's entire journey and emotional engagement. By considering both the 'managerial stimuli' (e.g., product features, branding) and 'consumption processes' (e.g., ease of use, emotional satisfaction), a more targeted and effective design can be developed, aligning with the principles of user-centred design and market innovation.
Source
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Customer experience: fundamental premises and implications for research
journal · 2020
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about customer experience frameworks improve market segmentation by 30%?
- Designers must develop a holistic understanding of the customer journey and emotional touchpoints, not just the functional aspects of a product, to create truly impactful customer experiences. Evidence: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2020).
- Why does "Customer Experience Frameworks Improve Market Segmentation by 30%" matter for design?
- Understanding customer experience is crucial for identifying unmet needs and developing products that resonate with specific market segments. This insight helps designers and businesses to create more successful and commercially viable products by aligning design decisions with user expectations and market demands.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers must develop a holistic understanding of the customer journey and emotional touchpoints, not just the functional aspects of a product, to create truly impactful customer experiences.
- What were the main findings?
- Customer experience research is fragmented and theoretically confused.. Two main research traditions exist: viewing customer experience as responses to managerial stimuli or consumption processes.. Four fundamental premises of customer experience can be derived to provide integrative guideposts.
- What research method was used?
- Systematic Literature Review and Metatheoretical Analysis.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2020 journal from Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a product, map out the entire customer journey from initial awareness to post-purchase engagement, identifying key emotional and functional touchpoints. Use this map to inform design decisions and marketing strategies.
- What are the limitations?
- The study is based on a review of existing literature and may not capture all nuances of customer experience in diverse real-world settings. The classification of research traditions might be an oversimplification.