“Mapping Experiences: Creating Value through Services Design” by Jim Kalbach

“Mapping Experiences: Creating Value through Services Design” is a book written by Jim Kalbach, a user experience consultant and speaker. The book is a guide to using design thinking and service design techniques to create valuable experiences for customers.

The book covers various topics including how to create a customer-centric approach, how to map out the customer journey, and how to design and test new service concepts. It also includes case studies and examples to demonstrate the concepts discussed in the book.

One of the key takeaways from the book is the importance of understanding the customer journey and identifying pain points that the customer experiences. By understanding and addressing these pain points, companies can create more valuable experiences for their customers.

The book is an important resource for product managers and entrepreneurs because it provides a framework for designing and improving products and services. It shows how to create a customer-centric approach and how to use design thinking and service design techniques to create valuable experiences for customers. The book’s emphasis on understanding the customer journey and identifying pain points can help companies create more effective products and services that better meet the needs of their customers.

Overall, “Mapping Experiences” is an invaluable guide for anyone looking to create valuable experiences for customers by using design thinking and service design techniques. It provides a clear and actionable framework for understanding customers and creating products and services that meet their needs.

Key concepts

The book “Mapping Experiences” covers several concepts that are important for product designers, product managers, and entrepreneurs. Here is a list of some of the key concepts explained in the book, along with detailed explanations and examples:

1. Customer-centric approach: This concept involves designing products and services around the needs and wants of customers, rather than around the capabilities of the company. It involves understanding the customer journey and identifying pain points that the customer experiences. For example, A company like Qonto, a business bank account provider, could create a customer-centric approach by understanding the pain points of SMEs in terms of accounting and bookkeeping. They could then design their product to provide a seamless and simplified solution to these pain points.
2. Mapping the customer journey: This concept involves creating a visual representation of the steps a customer goes through when interacting with a product or service. This includes identifying key touchpoints, such as the first time a customer hears about a product, when they decide to purchase, and when they use the product. For example, Qonto can map the customer journey of a SME by understanding the different steps a customer goes through when interacting with the company’s service. This can include understanding when a customer first hears about Qonto, when they decide to open an account, and when they start using the service.
3. Service design: This concept involves designing a service in a way that creates a positive experience for the customer. This includes understanding the customer journey, identifying pain points, and designing solutions to address these pain points. For example, Qonto can use service design to create a more positive experience for customers by understanding the pain points of SMEs in managing their finances, and designing solutions to address these pain points.
4. Empathy mapping: This concept involves creating a visual representation of a customer’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. This can help companies understand how customers think and feel about a product or service, which can help them design solutions that better meet the needs of customers. For example, Qonto can use empathy mapping to understand the thoughts, feelings and actions of SMEs when it comes to managing their finances and banking. By understanding this, they can design solutions that better meet the needs of these customers.
5. Co-creation: This concept involves involving customers in the design process, in order to create a product or service that better meets their needs. For example, Qonto can use co-creation by involving SMEs in the design process of their service. By getting feedback from these customers, Qonto can design a service that better meets the needs of SMEs.
6. Rapid prototyping: This concept involves quickly creating a basic version of a product or service in order to test it with customers and get feedback. This can help companies iterate on their designs and improve them before launching the final product. For example, Qonto can use rapid prototyping to test new features with a small group of customers before rolling them out to the entire customer base. This can help Qonto get feedback and iterate on the feature before making it available to all customers.

Customer VS User VS Business

There are different ways to define customer experience, business experience, and user experience, but generally speaking, they refer to different aspects of the interaction between a company and its customers.

1. Customer experience (CX) is the overall perception that customers have of a company, product, or service. It encompasses all aspects of the customer’s interaction with a company, including the pre-purchase research, purchase, and post-purchase experience. CX is the sum total of all the interactions between the customer and the company, and it shapes the customer’s perception of the company. For example, a customer who has a positive experience with a company’s customer service may have a positive perception of the company overall, even if the product itself is not perfect.
2. Business experience (BX) refers to the experience of the company’s employees and stakeholders in providing or supporting a product or service. It encompasses all aspects of the company’s internal processes and systems, such as the company’s culture, policies, and procedures. BX is the sum total of all the interactions of the company’s employees and stakeholders with the company. For example, a company with a strong culture of innovation and customer focus may be better equipped to provide a positive customer experience.
3. User experience (UX) refers to the experience of the end-user when interacting with a product or service. It encompasses all aspects of the user’s interaction with the product, including the design, usability, and accessibility. UX is the sum total of all the interactions of the end-user with the product. For example, a product with a well-designed and intuitive user interface may provide a positive user experience, even if the customer service is not perfect.

All three concepts, CX, BX, and UX, are interrelated, and each one of them can have a significant impact on the customer’s perception of the company and the product. A company that focuses on providing positive experiences for its customers, employees, and end-users is more likely to have satisfied customers, engaged employees, and successful products.

Service blueprint VS user journey map

A service blueprint and a user journey map are both tools used to understand and improve the customer experience, but they serve different purposes and have different formats.

1. A service blueprint is a visual representation of all the elements involved in a service and how they interact. It is a tool used to understand and improve the overall service design and delivery. A service blueprint typically includes the following components:

• The front stage: the visible and tangible parts of the service that the customer interacts with, such as the physical location, products, or website.
• The back stage: the invisible and intangible parts of the service that the customer does not see, such as the employees, processes, and systems that support the service.
• The customer actions: the steps that the customer goes through when interacting with the service, such as arriving at a location, ordering, or using a product.
• The points of contact: the touchpoints where the customer interacts with the service, such as the phone, website, or physical location.
• The support processes: the invisible processes that support the service, such as training, inventory management, or data analysis.

For example, a service blueprint for a restaurant could include the front stage (the physical location, the menu, and the servers), the back stage (the kitchen, the inventory management), the customer actions (arriving, ordering, eating), the points of contact (the phone, the website, the physical location), and the support processes (training, inventory management).

2. A user journey map is a visual representation of the steps that a customer goes through when interacting with a product or service. It is a tool used to understand and improve the customer experience by identifying pain points and opportunities for improvement. A user journey map typically includes the following components:

• The touchpoints: the points where the customer interacts with the product or service, such as the website, the phone, or the physical location.
• The customer emotions: the emotions that the customer experiences at each touchpoint, such as frustration, confusion, or satisfaction.
• The customer actions: the steps that the customer goes through when interacting with the product or service, such as researching, purchasing, or using the product.

For example, a user journey map for a customer opening a business bank account with Qonto could include the touchpoints (the website, the phone, the physical location), the customer emotions (frustration, confusion, satisfaction) and the customer actions (researching, applying, using the account).

In summary, a service blueprint is a tool used to understand and improve the overall service design and delivery, while a user journey map is a tool used to understand and improve the customer experience by identifying pain points and opportunities for improvement. Both tools are important for creating valuable experiences for customers.

Jim Kalbach

Jim Kalbach is a user experience consultant and speaker, who specializes in information architecture, design thinking, and service design. He is the author of several books, including “Mapping Experiences: Creating Value through Services Design” and “Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience”. He has worked with clients such as Adobe, Cisco, and IBM, and he is a frequent speaker at conferences and events on topics related to user experience and design.

Jim Kalbach is known for his work in the field of information architecture and service design. He has written extensively about the importance of mapping experiences and creating customer-centric approaches to product design. He has also been an advocate for using design thinking and service design techniques to create more valuable experiences for customers. He has a background in information architecture and user experience, and over the years, he has been able to help many organizations to create more effective products and services by using design thinking and service design techniques.