Reflection:​ ​Visualization

Christopher​ ​Thorborg

Challenge

I​ ​work​ ​in​ ​software​ ​sales,​ ​focused​ ​around​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​the​ ​discussions​ ​that​ ​are​ ​had​ ​can  be​ ​quite​ ​complicated.​ ​The​ ​conversations​ ​occur​ ​in​ ​a​ ​discovery​ ​workshop​ ​and​ ​often​ ​include​ ​many  customer​ ​stakeholders​ ​in​ ​different​ ​roles​ ​ranging​ ​from​ ​doers​ ​such​ ​as​ ​marketers​ ​to​ ​high​ ​level  management​ ​like​ ​CMO’s​ ​and​ ​also​ ​multiple​ ​areas​ ​of​ ​the​ ​business​ ​like​ ​IT​ ​and​ ​Marketing.​ ​With​ ​this  comes​ ​a​ ​few​ ​challenges;​ ​how​ ​do​ ​I​ ​facilitate​ ​these​ ​discussions​ ​to​ ​uncover​ ​requirements​ ​and​ ​needs  while​ ​also​ ​capturing​ ​all​ ​the​ ​relevant​ ​detail​ ​in​ ​a​ ​way​ ​that​ ​makes​ ​it​ ​easy​ ​for​ ​me​ ​to​ ​process​ ​later.  Second​ ​to​ ​that,​ ​how​ ​do​ ​I​ ​then​ ​articulate​ ​those​ ​recommendations​ ​back​ ​to​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​in​ ​an​ ​effective  way​ ​that​ ​not​ ​only​ ​everyone​ ​will​ ​understand​ ​but​ ​also​ ​will​ ​buy​ ​in​ ​to.

Selection

I​ ​selected​ ​Visualization​ ​from​ ​Week​ ​1​ ​to​ ​help​ ​me​ ​through​ ​my​ ​customer​ ​discovery​ ​and​ ​workshop.  Visualization​ ​is​ ​the​ ​idea​ ​of​ ​using​ ​visual​ ​aids​ ​such​ ​as​ ​pictures,​ ​diagrams,​ ​slides,​ ​etc​ ​to​ ​stimulate​ ​and  use​ ​the​ ​right​ ​side​ ​of​ ​the​ ​brain​ ​to​ ​enable​ ​more​ ​creative​ ​thinking​ ​and​ ​imagination.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​important  when​ ​we’re​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​possibilities​ ​and​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​imagine​ ​what​ ​a​ ​new​ ​solution​ ​might​ ​look​ ​like.​ ​In​ ​this  case​ ​we’ll​ ​be​ ​using​ ​it​ ​to​ ​map​ ​out​ ​their​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​without​ ​using​ ​visualization​ ​it’s  extremely​ ​difficult​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​any​ ​gaps.​ ​It’s​ ​also​ ​a​ ​great​ ​way​ ​to​ ​get​ ​better​ ​understanding​ ​and  engagement​ ​from​ ​an​ ​audience.​ ​It​ ​allows​ ​us​ ​and​ ​even​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​to​ ​get​ ​a​ ​deeper​ ​understand​ ​their  requirements​ ​and​ ​often​ ​uncover​ ​requirements​ ​and/or​ ​gaps​ ​they​ ​didn’t​ ​even​ ​know​ ​they​ ​had​ ​as​ ​you’re  looking​ ​at​ ​the​ ​entirety​ ​of​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​not​ ​just​ ​specific​ ​parts.

Application

There​ ​were​ ​two​ ​main​ ​examples​ ​of​ ​when​ ​I​ ​used​ ​the​ ​tool;​ ​the​ ​first​ ​was​ ​in​ ​a​ ​Workshop​ ​when​ ​I​ ​was  doing​ ​Discovery​ ​for​ ​a​ ​prospect.​ ​We​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​where​ ​the​ ​gaps​ ​were​ ​in​ ​their​ ​Customer  Experience​ ​and​ ​how​ ​our​ ​solution​ ​and​ ​software​ ​could​ ​fill​ ​those​ ​gaps.​ ​The​ ​whiteboard​ ​and  visualization​ ​helped​ ​us​ ​map​ ​out​ ​the​ ​current​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​allowed​ ​us​ ​to​ ​easily​ ​find​ ​those  gaps​ ​by​ ​seeing​ ​the​ ​experience​ ​as​ ​a​ ​whole​ ​and​ ​then​ ​identify​ ​which​ ​parts​ ​needed​ ​attention.​ ​By  leveraging​ ​the​ ​whiteboard​ ​it​ ​really​ ​opened​ ​the​ ​discussion​ ​to​ ​all​ ​roles​ ​and​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​the​ ​business​ ​who  were​ ​then​ ​able​ ​to​ ​contribute​ ​and​ ​question​ ​the​ ​experience​ ​in​ ​a​ ​way​ ​they​ ​hadn’t​ ​been​ ​able​ ​to​ ​do  previously.​ ​The​ ​first​ ​image​ ​shows​ ​the​ ​different​ ​stages​ ​of​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​in​ ​blue​ ​and​ ​the​ ​customer  experience​ ​in​ ​red,​ ​the​ ​black​ ​oval​ ​highlights​ ​the​ ​area​ ​for​ ​improvement.

The​ ​second​ ​example​ ​was​ ​going​ ​back​ ​to​ ​show​ ​our​ ​findings​ ​and​ ​recommendations.​ ​In​ ​this​ ​session​ ​we  took​ ​what​ ​we​ ​had​ ​on​ ​the​ ​whiteboard​ ​and​ ​made​ ​it​ ​digital​ ​and​ ​presented​ ​in​ ​a​ ​easy​ ​to​ ​read​ ​format.​ ​This  diagram​ ​not​ ​only​ ​captured​ ​what​ ​was​ ​on​ ​the​ ​whiteboard​ ​but​ ​also​ ​included​ ​our​ ​recommendations  which​ ​were​ ​the​ ​boxes​ ​that​ ​were​ ​filled.​ ​By​ ​having​ ​the​ ​unfilled​ ​and​ ​filled​ ​boxes​ ​it​ ​was​ ​very​ ​easy​ ​for  everyone​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​much​ ​our​ ​software​ ​could​ ​improve​ ​their​ ​customer​ ​experience,​ ​and​ ​you​ ​don’t  even​ ​need​ ​to​ ​look​ ​at​ ​the​ ​specific​ ​experiences​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​much​ ​of​ ​an​ ​improvement​ ​out​ ​software​ ​and  solution​ ​would​ ​be.​ ​(Examples​ ​are​ ​blurry​ ​because​ ​there​ ​real​ ​customer​ ​use​ ​case)

Insight

The​ ​whiteboarding​ ​session​ ​in​ ​the​ ​workshop​ ​allowed​ ​the​ ​Customer​ ​and​ ​me​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​that​ ​their  customers​ ​experience,​ ​once​ ​they​ ​became​ ​a​ ​customer,​ ​was​ ​really​ ​lacking.​ ​Because​ ​it​ ​was​ ​visualized,  not​ ​only​ ​were​ ​we​ ​quickly​ ​able​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​specific​ ​areas​ ​of​ ​improvement​ ​but​ ​it​ ​really​ ​opened​ ​their​ ​eyes  across​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​customer​ ​experience.​ ​Visualizing​ ​the​ ​experience​ ​also​ ​helped​ ​facilitate​ ​discussions  not​ ​only​ ​about​ ​the​ ​current​ ​experience​ ​but​ ​also​ ​the​ ​future​ ​experience.​ ​For​ ​example​ ​they​ ​immediately  identified​ ​they​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​start​ ​sending​ ​Birthday​ ​and​ ​Anniversary​ ​emails​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​their​ ​customers  engaged​ ​throughout​ ​the​ ​year.​ ​Having​ ​this​ ​insight​ ​now​ ​meant​ ​I​ ​could​ ​come​ ​back​ ​with​ ​a  recommendation​ ​that​ ​focused​ ​on​ ​improving​ ​their​ ​customer​ ​engagement​ ​once​ ​they​ ​became  customers.​ ​Also,​ ​because​ ​we​ ​identified​ ​that​ ​together,​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​knows​ ​they​ ​need​ ​a​ ​solution​ ​that  solves​ ​for​ ​that.

Approach

Next​ ​time,​ ​I​ ​would​ ​leverage​ ​Storytelling​ ​when​ ​I​ ​go​ ​back​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​my​ ​findings​ ​and  recommendations​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Customer.​ ​I’ve​ ​highlighted​ ​how​ ​important​ ​Visualization​ ​was​ ​to​ ​capture​ ​and  present​ ​back​ ​the​ ​gaps​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Customer​ ​Experience,​ ​but​ ​then​ ​taking​ ​that​ ​to​ ​the​ ​next​ ​level​ ​using  Storytelling​ ​would​ ​really​ ​help​ ​elevate​ ​the​ ​conversation.​ ​Then​ ​it​ ​goes​ ​beyond​ ​just​ ​talking​ ​about  specific​ ​experiences​ ​and​ ​becomes​ ​more​ ​of​ ​an​ ​overall​ ​vision​ ​of​ ​what​ ​the​ ​new​ ​Customer​ ​Experience  might​ ​look​ ​like​ ​and​ ​this​ ​is​ ​much​ ​easier​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Customer​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​in​ ​to​ ​especially​ ​when​ ​presenting​ ​to  higher​ ​level​ ​management​ ​or​ ​the​ ​c-suite.


Reflection:​ ​Visualization Christopher​ ​Thorborg Challenge I​ ​work​ ​in​ ​software​ ​sales,​ ​focused​ ​around​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​the​ ​discussions​ ​that​ ​are​ ​had​ ​can be​ ​quite​ ​complicated.​ ​The​ ​conversations​ ​occur​ ​in​ ​a​ ​discovery​ ​workshop​ ​and​ ​often​ ​include​ ​many customer​ ​stakeholders​ ​in​ ​different​ ​roles​ ​ranging​ ​from​ ​doers​ ​such​ ​as​ ​marketers​ ​to​ ​high​ ​level management​ ​like​ ​CMO’s​ ​and​ ​also​ ​multiple​ ​areas​ ​of​ ​the​ ​business​ ​like​ ​IT​ ​and​ ​Marketing.​ ​With​ ​this comes​ ​a​ ​few​ ​challenges;​ ​how​ ​do​ ​I​ ​facilitate​ ​these​ ​discussions​ ​to​ ​uncover​ ​requirements​ ​and​ ​needs while​ ​also​ ​capturing​ ​all​ ​the​ ​relevant​ ​detail​ ​in​ ​a​ ​way​ ​that​ ​makes​ ​it​ ​easy​ ​for​ ​me​ ​to​ ​process​ ​later . Second​ ​to​ ​that,​ ​how​ ​do​ ​I​ ​then​ ​articulate​ ​those​ ​recommendations​ ​back​ ​to​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​in​ ​an​ ​effective way​ ​that​ ​not​ ​only​ ​everyone​ ​will​ ​understand​ ​but​ ​also​ ​will​ ​buy​ ​in​ ​to . Selection I​ ​selected​ ​Visualization​ ​from​ ​Week​ ​1​ ​to​ ​help​ ​me​ ​through​ ​my​ ​customer​ ​discovery​ ​and​ ​workshop . Visualization​ ​is​ ​the​ ​idea​ ​of​ ​using​ ​visual​ ​aids​ ​such​ ​as​ ​pictures,​ ​diagrams,​ ​slides,​ ​etc​ ​to​ ​stimulate​ ​and use​ ​the​ ​right​ ​side​ ​of​ ​the​ ​brain​ ​to​ ​enable​ ​more​ ​creative​ ​thinking​ ​and​ ​imagination.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​important when​ ​we’re​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​possibilities​ ​and​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​imagine​ ​what​ ​a​ ​new​ ​solution​ ​might​ ​look​ ​like.​ ​In​ ​this case​ ​we’ll​ ​be​ ​using​ ​it​ ​to​ ​map​ ​out​ ​their​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​without​ ​using​ ​visualization​ ​it ’s extremely​ ​difficult​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​any​ ​gaps.​ ​It’s​ ​also​ ​a​ ​great​ ​way​ ​to​ ​get​ ​better​ ​understanding​ ​and engagement​ ​from​ ​an​ ​audience.​ ​It​ ​allows​ ​us​ ​and​ ​even​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​to​ ​get​ ​a​ ​deeper​ ​understand​ ​their requirements​ ​and​ ​often​ ​uncover​ ​requirements​ ​and / or​ ​gaps​ ​they​ ​didn’t​ ​even​ ​know​ ​they​ ​had​ ​as​ ​you’re looking​ ​at​ ​the​ ​entirety​ ​of​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​not​ ​just​ ​specific​ ​parts . Application There​ ​were​ ​two​ ​main​ ​examples​ ​of​ ​when​ ​I​ ​used​ ​the​ ​tool;​ ​the​ ​first​ ​was​ ​in​ ​a​ ​Workshop​ ​when​ ​I​ ​was doing​ ​Discovery​ ​for​ ​a​ ​prospect.​ ​We​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​where​ ​the​ ​gaps​ ​were​ ​in​ ​their​ ​Customer Experience​ ​and​ ​how​ ​our​ ​solution​ ​and​ ​software​ ​could​ ​fill​ ​those​ ​gaps.​ ​The​ ​whiteboard​ ​and visualization​ ​helped​ ​us​ ​map​ ​out​ ​the​ ​current​ ​customer​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​allowed​ ​us​ ​to​ ​easily​ ​find​ ​those gaps​ ​by​ ​seeing​ ​the​ ​experience​ ​as​ ​a​ ​whole​ ​and​ ​then​ ​identify​ ​which​ ​parts​ ​needed​ ​attention.​ ​By leveraging​ ​the​ ​whiteboard​ ​it​ ​really​ ​opened​ ​the​ ​discussion​ ​to​ ​all​ ​roles​ ​and​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​the​ ​business​ ​who were​ ​then​ ​able​ ​to​ ​contribute​ ​and​ ​question​ ​the​ ​experience​ ​in​ ​a​ ​way​ ​they​ ​hadn’t​ ​been​ ​able​ ​to​ ​do previously.​ ​The​ ​first​ ​image​ ​shows​ ​the​ ​different​ ​stages​ ​of​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​in​ ​blue​ ​and​ ​the​ ​customer experience​ ​in​ ​red,​ ​the​ ​black​ ​oval​ ​highlights​ ​the​ ​area​ ​for​ ​improvement . The​ ​second​ ​example​ ​was​ ​going​ ​back​ ​to​ ​show​ ​our​ ​findings​ ​and​ ​recommendations.​ ​In​ ​this​ ​session​ ​we took​ ​what​ ​we​ ​had​ ​on​ ​the​ ​whiteboard​ ​and​ ​made​ ​it​ ​digital​ ​and​ ​presented​ ​in​ ​a​ ​easy​ ​to​ ​read​ ​format.​ ​This diagram​ ​not​ ​only​ ​captured​ ​what​ ​was​ ​on​ ​the​ ​whiteboard​ ​but​ ​also​ ​included​ ​our​ ​recommendations which​ ​were​ ​the​ ​boxes​ ​that​ ​were​ ​filled.​ ​By​ ​having​ ​the​ ​unfilled​ ​and​ ​filled​ ​boxes​ ​it​ ​was​ ​very​ ​easy​ ​for everyone​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​much​ ​our​ ​software​ ​could​ ​improve​ ​their​ ​customer​ ​experience,​ ​and​ ​you​ ​don’t even​ ​need​ ​to​ ​look​ ​at​ ​the​ ​specific​ ​experiences​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​much​ ​of​ ​an​ ​improvement​ ​out​ ​software​ ​and solution​ ​would​ ​be.​ ​(Examples​ ​are​ ​blurry​ ​because​ ​there​ ​real​ ​customer​ ​use​ ​case ) Insight The​ ​whiteboarding​ ​session​ ​in​ ​the​ ​workshop​ ​allowed​ ​the​ ​Customer​ ​and​ ​me​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​that​ ​their customers​ ​experience,​ ​once​ ​they​ ​became​ ​a​ ​customer,​ ​was​ ​really​ ​lacking.​ ​Because​ ​it​ ​was​ ​visualized , not​ ​only​ ​were​ ​we​ ​quickly​ ​able​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​specific​ ​areas​ ​of​ ​improvement​ ​but​ ​it​ ​really​ ​opened​ ​their​ ​eyes across​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​customer​ ​experience.​ ​Visualizing​ ​the​ ​experience​ ​also​ ​helped​ ​facilitate​ ​discussions not​ ​only​ ​about​ ​the​ ​current​ ​experience​ ​but​ ​also​ ​the​ ​future​ ​experience.​ ​For​ ​example​ ​they​ ​immediately identified​ ​they​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​start​ ​sending​ ​Birthday​ ​and​ ​Anniversary​ ​emails​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​their​ ​customers engaged​ ​throughout​ ​the​ ​year.​ ​Having​ ​this​ ​insight​ ​now​ ​meant​ ​I​ ​could​ ​come​ ​back​ ​with​ ​a recommendation​ ​that​ ​focused​ ​on​ ​improving​ ​their​ ​customer​ ​engagement​ ​once​ ​they​ ​became customers.​ ​Also,​ ​because​ ​we​ ​identified​ ​that​ ​together,​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​knows​ ​they​ ​need​ ​a​ ​solution​ ​that solves​ ​for​ ​that . Approach Next​ ​time,​ ​I​ ​would​ ​leverage​ ​Storytelling​ ​when​ ​I​ ​go​ ​back​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​my​ ​findings​ ​and recommendations​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Customer.​ ​I’ve​ ​highlighted​ ​how​ ​important​ ​Visualization​ ​was​ ​to​ ​capture​ ​and present​ ​back​ ​the​ ​gaps​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Customer​ ​Experience,​ ​but​ ​then​ ​taking​ ​that​ ​to​ ​the​ ​next​ ​level​ ​using Storytelling​ ​would​ ​really​ ​help​ ​elevate​ ​the​ ​conversation.​ ​Then​ ​it​ ​goes​ ​beyond​ ​just​ ​talking​ ​about specific​ ​experiences​ ​and​ ​becomes​ ​more​ ​of​ ​an​ ​overall​ ​vision​ ​of​ ​what​ ​the​ ​new​ ​Customer​ ​Experience might​ ​look​ ​like​ ​and​ ​this​ ​is​ ​much​ ​easier​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Customer​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​in​ ​to​ ​especially​ ​when​ ​presenting​ ​to higher​ ​level​ ​management​ ​or​ ​the​ ​c - suite .