User Experience. It's Not Just a Digital Thing

We’re all well aware of the ongoing buzz around UX. In a landscape laden with digital and augmented experiences, we’re surrounded by terms like “user journey”, “pathing”, “experiential flows”. But these catchphrases are almost always delegated to describing what we’re doing online. Which is a big miss. Case and point: My gym experience this morning.

Crunch Fitness recently launched a new website, which enables members to reserve class spots up to 36 hours in advance. I support this practice in theory: It’s nice to lock in your attendance ahead of time and then go about the rest of your next day and half with the comfort that when you show up you’re IN. (Previously, there was a 1 hour “open” period at the front desk which inevitably caused a gym rate traffic jam, in addition to leaving you with an annoying 50 minutes to kill before the class even started). Kudos on this, at least.

But here’s the flaw: Even if you’ve signed up online, you’re still required to get there 10 minutes beforehand to check in (yes, I am in fact Veronica Wilson, and am present for this spin class). Sometimes you receive a bracelet, other times just a friendly nod. But without fail there are a handful of people lurking around the desk, hoping that someone who signed up doesn’t actually show up, freeing up a spot they can suddenly snag. These people complicate things tremendously. They start taking the recently available places and then Joe, who did sign up online, appears at T minus 2 minutes, out of breath, explaining how the subway was delayed, but look, there’s his name on the sheet that was printed off the internet!

Chaos ensues, things slip through the cracks, and as those of us who followed the rules get settled in to our bikes, the announcement comes: Everyone get off their bikes and go stand outside. We’re going to do roll call. An awkward and frustrated cluster of us move outside and wait to hear our name shouted out by the front desk employee as we physically check in, again, as if we were a class of 5^th graders, some of whom are trying to cut the line and get lunch first. Class starts 15 minutes late, and though the anger may fuel a better ride in the end, it’s hard to appreciate any of it.

So, unfortunately, Crunch has made themselves a prime example of how the online-to-offline experience can quickly fall apart if not executed properly. (Note: I have been, and remain, a happy and loyal Crunch member, so this piece should be taken as constructive criticism).

Do I think Crunch should scrap the online signup process? No. But I do think they should remember what they’ve been historically good at: Giving people a positive, efficient, and accessible workout. But upping your digital game shouldn’t mean compromising your core value proposition if you’re an offline business. It should be about complimenting and enhancing what it is people already use you for: If the online process won’t actually make my workout experience any better, I don’t care how cool it looks.  

At Recyclebank, we talk about the potential to use online tools to catalyze offline action all the time. I think that companies that do this best (ex:Tough Mudder, who embodies the concept of offline experience acting as their own form of social currency) are poised for the greatest long-term success. So to all the companies out there that have digital side and an offline side, please think of UX as something that very much traverses the two. I promise a more holistic approach will ensure a better entire experience for everyone.

Grande Behavior Change (Or Tall, At Least)

By now it’s no surprise that I have a soft spot for mainstream corporate leaders that makes decisive moves towards environmental and social betterment. I’m even more invigorated when this move is baked in to a core product or service that by definition is also enhancing their consumer experience (think: integrated).

So Starbucks’announcement of their new $1 reusable tumbler a few weeks ago was welcome news. In an effort to decrease the over-consumption of paper cups (their publicized goal is to serve 5% of all beverages in such tumblers by 2015) they’ve lowered the barrier for consumers to do their own part. The initial barrier, I should say. [Pause to caveat that I am all for “the journey” concept, and know that change often happens as a result of baby steps.] That said, this is a notable first step in the right direction, but it’s impossible for me to not address the larger, more looming challenges that this goal will ultimately face.

The conversation of consumer behavior change – in particularly within the environmental space – is a common one amongst colleagues at Recyclebank. So, naturally, Starbucks’ strategy to incentivize change was a hot topic. While we all agree they get a gold star for phase 1: accessibility (make it easier for people to own the reusable cup by making it virtually free), phases 2, 3, 4+ will certainly be more challenging. Because what they’re actually endeavoring to do is change the morning habits of their customers.

If you’re an every-morning coffee drinker as I am myself, remembering to bring your reusable mug each day is not easy feat. Cleaning it after you finish so it’s ready to go the next morning, bringing it home from the office, packing it in your bag on your way out the door…there are so many moments for this ritual to get thrown off track (you have back-to-back meetings and it never gets washed, you run to the gym after work and leave it in your locker, you’re carrying 5 things as you hustle out of the apt and you don’t have an extra set of hands…)

So how does a company like Starbucks address all these hurdles that are inevitably going to prevent even the people that have the reusable tumbler from bringing it in with them? I’m sure there are many ideas. And most of them aren’t necessarily easy to implement (if behavior change were a walk in the park, we’d live on a pristine planet absent of drug addicts and full to the brim of annoying do-gooders). One thing Starbucks does have going for it, though, is its preexisting loyalty program. So if Howard Shultz were to ask me, I’d say hitch the tumbler idea to the loyalty program. And enhance both.

There are traces of the loyalty program baked in to the tumbler concept already: $0.10 off each purchase when you have the mug with you. But that’s not unique to Starbucks – my local shop does the same thing. While monetary incentives to work, I think there are more experiential things that could be done here. Starbucks is, after all, a brand with many, many loyal followers and people willing to take their actions as the trend-setting movement of the week, month, year. So leverage that.

• Up the customer service. If you have a mug that you drink in the shop, the baristas will wash it for you for free (so that it’s clean and ready to go again for tomorrow).
• Make the tumblers represent a community. Like the tiered structure of the loyalty card, upgrade people’s mugs after a certain number of purchases. If you strut in with a gold mug, you’re clearly in the upper echelon of coffee aficionados. And the guy in line next to you with a gold mug is, too. You’re on the same level and experience a degree of unspoken connection. In the best case scenario, it’s even a conversation starter. And that cute guy you see three days a week finally has an excuse to ask you on a date… (I digress). 
• Tap into corporate relationships. Set up “employee tumbler” programs, which make it easy to use, clean, and reuse mugs in the office.

I wish Starbucks the best of luck on their journey towards achieving sustainable consumer behavior change and realizing a company that produces less waste. I think of a lot of the big players out there they are uniquely positioned to have some success at it. So I’ll continue to watch and weigh in. And, on a personal level, meet their efforts with my own re-commitment to bring that reusable mug in every morning (it’s not going to be easy…)

Beyond Branded Content: A DAMN Good Example

Patagonia is backing a feature length documentary film about the environmental impact of dams. And it’s incredible.

From what the trailer teases, at least, Damnation is a beautifully shot, deeply researched and thoughtfully produced piece about a topic as unsexy as water dams. And I can’t wait to see it.

Which got me wondering – would I be as eager to get tickets if it wasn’t backed by Patagonia? Would I even know about it if not for the retailer? Probably not (though I’m not the type to be trolling for the latest eco-docu-drama on my own…) Point is: This film is getting some legs as it borrows from the Patagonia brand equity. Not only are there more channels for promotion, but a new audience and a new angle on the story: They gain exposure to Patagonia shoppers (who may or may not already overlap with their target) and they can use this collaboration with the company to pitch the film through a different lens (pun very much intended). They have the awesome validity of the film itself for sure, but they also have this great narrative about how a mission-driven company with a moral compass has funded the documentation of an issue that they feel so strongly must be more widely known. That is a pretty incredible endorsement as a film maker, I’d imagine.

The best part is that this is a two way street. How highly does it speak of Patagonia that they are willing to invest in something like a documentary film?! Not like the company needs much help in the public good will space (I’d venture their ratings are quite high on all marks, especially after stunts like the “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign they ran with eBay last year). But this is a win for them, too: Another piece of amazing content to have their name on. It reinforces their values as a company, and reminds the public what they stand for. And it all gets to come together in a form of entertainment that most would agree is far more compelling than an ad  campaign or published editorial content (though perhaps not, looking at the non-rules by which Patagonia seems to keep playing…)

Corporation + artist. Reach and equity + compelling cause. Mission + entertainment. Genuine storytelling at a new level. Amazing (and hopefully trendsetting).