Design Thinking for Innovation

Final Assignment: Reflection –Visualization

Challenge and Selection

I am a freelance Digital Marketing Consultant, with focus on Social Media. I used the  Visualization tool in a project of a client of mine; let’s call him Health Shop (for Privacy  reasons). Health Shop is a well-established physical retail store in a small town. Health Shop  sells everything you need for your well-being, from head to toe, and they specialize in  alternative fitness methods as well as oral hygiene. Two years ago they launched an online  shop, with poor sales so far. The consulted me in order to figure out their Omnichannel   Marketing strategy as the team wasn’t in the digital natives category (all of them in their 50s)  and neither did they know how nor did they want to use the new media.

It was a difficult task for me, because before I could even start and plan out a digital strategy  for them, I had to convince the Management and make them understand that the Marketing  of today is different than the Marketing they had learned a couple of decades ago. Most of  them were also reluctant to Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter; they had  Privacy and Security concerns, didn’t use them in their free time and thought it was just  “something for the kiddies”.

I decided to set up a meeting with all the stakeholders: owners, management, employees  and to make it more of a workshop than a traditional gathering. I knew that before I could lay  out my digital strategy for their business, I first had to make them understand how Marketing  and Social Media “tick” nowadays. They were a tough crowd, and I decided that instead of  having me talk for one hour straight or even more, I would have them participate in a  workshop about Social Media and Digital Communication. Visualization would help them  understand this new, exciting world much better, the tool would make sure that we are all  talking about the same thing and stay focused and in line.

Application

All stakeholders of the Health Shop participated in the workshop; I gathered the small team  of five in the shop on a Saturday afternoon.  A big, round table was moved and placed in the  middle of the shop in order for every participant to have an open and flowing communication  with everybody else. I set up two white boards, each of them equipped with markers and  post-its in different colors.

Part I of the workshop: On the top of the left white board I placed a sign with the word  “classic” on it. On the right board the sign had written the word “digital” on it. I then drew a  simple, big stickman, on  both of those boards and asked each of them to think about their  customer life cycle and write each thought that comes to mind (I set a maximum of three  words) on a post-it note. Every participant was assigned to a specific color of post-its, in  order to keep them apart. I gave them 10 minutes and then they put their notes onto the  drawing of the stick man and connect their post-its (thoughts) with an arrow in order to have  the full cycle.

We discussed every created cycle shortly and then grouped the similar thoughts in patterns:  explore, consider, buy, use and so on. This was also done with the help of visualization tools,  as I drew a map of this customer journey on the board and placed the post-its with a similar  meaning together in groups.

Part II: Then, it was my turn to focus on each of those groups we had created and stress out  the few similarities, but most importantly, the differences between the classic marketing and  the digital one. For this purpose I used again visualization in form of video and images from  social media channels and successful strategies of well-known brands which were in the  same business as my client. Along the way, I re-explained important keywords such as  “reach”, “engagement”, “virality”, “digital authenticity”, “community” and so on.

Part III (final): We repeated the first part of the workshop on the right board, the “digital” one,  but now the team used the knowledge and insights they had gathered from the discussion in  Part II. The ideas and thoughts that were shared after completing this part were more than  amazing! The team appeared to understand that Social Media are not just a game or a  means to share cat content, that communication is now a two way street, with much more  customer touch points and that in order to succeed in the Omnichannel business they had to  re-think and re-set their marketing approach.

Insight and Approach

To be honest, it was the first time I used Design Thinking Tools, and the first time I had a  workshop like this! It surely won’t be the last time! The visualization tool helps to bring your  point across, everyone jumps onboard and participates; no matter if it is the boss of the  company or the intern, they all work together and brainstorm as a group. The visuals help  stakeholders to focus on the task at hand, it supports them in their thinking process and I  believe it simplifies the problem, regardless of its complexity. It also helps identify weak  areas of an organization or team, as it makes deficiencies or difficulties more clear. I will use  surely use this tool again, in combination with storytelling especially if I have to solve a  problem on multiple levels.


Design Thinking for Innovation Final Assignment : Reflection – Visualization Challenge and Selection I am a freelance Digital Marketing Consultant , with focus on Social Media . I used the Visualization tool in a project of a client of mine ; let ’s call him Health Shop ( for Privacy reasons ) . Health Shop is a well - established physical retail store in a small town . Health Shop sells everything you need for your well - being , from head to toe , and they specialize in alternative fitness methods as well as oral hygiene . Two years ago they launched an online shop , with poor sales so far . The consulted me in order to figure out their Omnichannel Marketing strategy as the team was n’t in the digital natives category ( all of them in their 50s ) and neither did they know how nor did they want to use the new media . It was a difficult task for me , because before I could even start and plan out a digital strategy for them , I had to convince the Management and make them understand that the Marketing of today is different than the Marketing they had learned a couple of decades ago . Most of them were also reluctant to Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter ; they had Privacy and Security concerns , did n’t use them in their free time and thought it was just “ something for the kiddies ” . I decided to set up a meeting with all the stakeholders : owners , management , employees and to make it more of a workshop than a traditional gathering . I knew that before I could lay out my digital strategy for their business , I first had to make them understand how Marketing and Social Media “ tick ” nowadays . They were a tough crowd , and I decided that instead of having me talk for one hour straight or even more , I would have them participate in a workshop about Social Media and Digital Communication . Visualization would help them understand this new , exciting world much better , the tool would make sure that we are all talking about the same thing and stay focused and in line . Application All stakeholders of the Health Shop participated in the workshop ; I gathered the small team of five in the shop on a Saturday afternoon . A big , round table was moved and placed in the middle of the shop in order for every participant to have an open and flowing communication with everybody else . I set up two white boards , each of them equipped with markers and post - its in different colors . Part I of the workshop : On the top of the left white board I placed a sign with the word “ classic ” on it . On the right board the sign had written the word “ digital ” on it . I then drew a simple , big stickman , on both of those boards and asked each of them to think about their customer life cycle and write each thought that comes to mind ( I set a maximum of three words ) on a post - it note . Every participant was assigned to a specific color of post - its , in order to keep them apart . I gave them 10 minutes and then they put their notes onto the drawing of the stick man and connect their post - its ( thoughts ) with an arrow in order to have the full cycle . We discussed every created cycle shortly and then grouped the similar thoughts in patterns : explore , consider , buy , use and so on . This was also done with the help of visualization tools , as I drew a map of this customer journey on the board and placed the post - its with a similar meaning together in groups . Part II : Then , it was my turn to focus on each of those groups we had created and stress out the few similarities , but most importantly , the differences between the classic marketing and the digital one . For this purpose I used again visualization in form of video and images from social media channels and successful strategies of well - known brands which were in the same business as my client . Along the way , I re - explained important keywords such as “ reach ” , “ engagement ” , “ virality ” , “ digital authenticity ” , “ community ” and so on . Part III ( final ): We repeated the first part of the workshop on the right board , the “ digital ” one , but now the team used the knowledge and insights they had gathered from the discussion in Part II . The ideas and thoughts that were shared after completing this part were more than amazing ! The team appeared to understand that Social Media are not just a game or a means to share cat content , that communication is now a two way street , with much more customer touch points and that in order to succeed in the Omnichannel business they had to re - think and re - set their marketing approach . Insight and Approach To be honest , it was the first time I used Design Thinking Tools , and the first time I had a workshop like this ! It surely wo n’t be the last time ! The visualization tool helps to bring your point across , everyone jumps onboard and participates ; no matter if it is the boss of the company or the intern , they all work together and brainstorm as a group . The visuals help stakeholders to focus on the task at hand , it supports them in their thinking process and I believe it simplifies the problem , regardless of its complexity . It also helps identify weak areas of an organization or team , as it makes deficiencies or difficulties more clear . I will use surely use this tool again , in combination with storytelling especially if I have to solve a problem on multiple levels .