I’m curious to know what differences you’re seeing between customer experience insights in the US market versus the rest of the world (bearing in mind that so many companies are global now). I’m not so much thinking about differences in scores, but qualitative differences in how customers thnk about the organizations that serve them. Thanks in advance!
How do you see the application of specific psychological principles, such as behavioral economics or cognitive biases playing a more significant role in the design of EX programs?
I'm particularly interested in understanding the effort needed to drive genuine behavioral change.
Thank you so much.
What is the psychology behind the use of QR codes? Is it placement? Is it difficult to use? We have extreme challenges in some of our patient populations to use QR codes and as a result have very low response rates. Wondering if you can shed some light on how we can encourage responses through this mode.
Thanks!
What is the psychology behind the use of QR codes? Is it placement? Is it difficult to use? We have extreme challenges in some of our patient populations to use QR codes and as a result have very low response rates. Wondering if you can shed some light on how we can encourage responses through this mode.
Thanks!
I’d love to unpack this a bit. We were workshopping a potential information use case this morning and a very serious issue came up, specifically around generational or cultural issues that may result in a lack of awareness or comfort about QR codes.
What is the psychology behind the use of QR codes? Is it placement? Is it difficult to use? We have extreme challenges in some of our patient populations to use QR codes and as a result have very low response rates. Wondering if you can shed some light on how we can encourage responses through this mode.
Thanks!
I've seen particular success using simple NFC chips to initiate a website load as customers seem comfortable with these due to the popularity of contactless payment on mobiles.
It's essentially the same thing but seems faster.
How do you see the application of specific psychological principles, such as behavioral economics or cognitive biases playing a more significant role in the design of EX programs?
I'm particularly interested in understanding the effort needed to drive genuine behavioral change.
Thank you so much.
I love this topic. Some friends and colleagues of mine, Drs. Shonna Waters and Erin Etough, coined the term “psychological ergonomics” and they suggest that organizations design experiences with the ways in which the human mind works (not just for our physical bodies, i.e., ergonomics). To me, this is a perfect term to encompass things like behavioral economics and cognitive biases (how people think). I am noticing a lot more general discussion about the alignment between human psychology and neuroscience in business adjacent fields, such as change management. I am excited about all this because it suggests we’re getting “smarter” about the organ that makes us smart and applying it to work (‘bout time).
Similarly, one of the fascinating trends we project (and we’re seeing some evidence of) is that as workplace (and consumer) experiences become more automated and AI-driven, peoples’ demand for real, authentic human interaction and experiences will increase. I don’t think this will diminish peoples’ demand for quicker, easier experiences, but I do think we’re going to see a premium placed on human-driven, emotional experiences. Moreover, many of the design principles we’re discovering about successful AI-driven experiences all point to fundamental human needs and motives (a few below).
Taken together, I think we’re going to see an increase in focus around “psychological ergonomics” within the EX programs and specifically the ways in which experiences are designed and measured (i.e., apply those same principles to measurement).
In terms of driving genuine behavior change, here are some principles we’ve seen recently that have good theoretical backing:
- If you want people to do something, make it easy for them. (Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s book Nudge provides a great overview).
- People react especially strongly when they feel things or control are taken away. We’re seeing this play out with AI-driven experiences - when people feel forced through them without any choice, they don’t like them much. Similarly, many people forced back into the office via RTO policies reacted especially forcefully, especially at first (classic loss aversion). This recalls Kahneman and Tversky’s prospect theory.
Get people doing something specific and explain the WIIFM. When it comes to new experiences for people, such as a big change or driving AI adoption, many organizations are running around with a solution looking for a problem. Because of this, they’re going on massive campaigns to convince people to do it/ use it. For many employees, they want to know “what’s in it for me?” My advice: flip this script. Get people using specific applications for specific purposes and then let their attitudes follow. This recalls Festinger’s theory of Cognitive Dissonance and Robert Cialdini’s principle of Commitment and Consistency from his classic, Influence.
I’m curious to know what differences you’re seeing between customer experience insights in the US market versus the rest of the world (bearing in mind that so many companies are global now). I’m not so much thinking about differences in scores, but qualitative differences in how customers thnk about the organizations that serve them. Thanks in advance!
Between country comparisons are a little tough because of the cultural differences we know sometimes affect scores. So I tend to look at within group trends over time. From this perspective, American consumers are generally becoming a little less satisfied with their consumer experiences over time, less likely to advocate for companies they do business with, and are little less trusting of them. Compared to other regions and countries, Americans are sort of middle of the road when it comes to their overall satisfaction and trust in the companies they do business with and buy from. Here’s a good resource that covers these trends in more detail.
Qualitatively, though, trust keeps coming up (frequently) in the client conversations I’m having on a regular basis. Although this isn’t specific to the U.S., there is a ton of evidence across our research, Pew, Edelman, and elsewhere, that trust has been dropping over the last few years. I suspect that, in general, trust will be harder to earn and maintain given how fast and volatile the external market is, i.e., many people view all of these sudden changes as threats, which generally gears people to be less trusting.
I’d say this is certainly true in the U.S. right now, given all that’s going on. The biggest aspect of trustworthiness that consumers (and employees) are most skeptical about is Benevolence (the implied motive of the company). In other words, most American consumers think the companies they do business with are competent at what they do and most believe those companies engage with some integrity. But many wonder about company motives and question whether the companies they do business with really care about them and their interests.
Here’s a good piece we published earlier this year on trust which might be helpful. To me, trust is absolutely foundational to maintaining long-term relationships with customers. I’d also add that I believe it’s impossible to build and maintain trust (long term) with customers if it doesn’t first exist inside the organization.
What is the psychology behind the use of QR codes? Is it placement? Is it difficult to use? We have extreme challenges in some of our patient populations to use QR codes and as a result have very low response rates. Wondering if you can shed some light on how we can encourage responses through this mode.
Thanks!
I've seen particular success using simple NFC chips to initiate a website load as customers seem comfortable with these due to the popularity of contactless payment on mobiles.
It's essentially the same thing but seems faster.
Interesting! I am not familiar with any research on this off the top, but let me do some digging and circle back.
I’m curious to know what differences you’re seeing between customer experience insights in the US market versus the rest of the world (bearing in mind that so many companies are global now). I’m not so much thinking about differences in scores, but qualitative differences in how customers thnk about the organizations that serve them. Thanks in advance!
Between country comparisons are a little tough because of the cultural differences we know sometimes affect scores. So I tend to look at within group trends over time. From this perspective, American consumers are generally becoming a little less satisfied with their consumer experiences over time, less likely to advocate for companies they do business with, and are little less trusting of them. Compared to other regions and countries, Americans are sort of middle of the road when it comes to their overall satisfaction and trust in the companies they do business with and buy from. Here’s a good resource that covers these trends in more detail.
Qualitatively, though, trust keeps coming up (frequently) in the client conversations I’m having on a regular basis. Although this isn’t specific to the U.S., there is a ton of evidence across our research, Pew, Edelman, and elsewhere, that trust has been dropping over the last few years. I suspect that, in general, trust will be harder to earn and maintain given how fast and volatile the external market is, i.e., many people view all of these sudden changes as threats, which generally gears people to be less trusting.
I’d say this is certainly true in the U.S. right now, given all that’s going on. The biggest aspect of trustworthiness that consumers (and employees) are most skeptical about is Benevolence (the implied motive of the company). In other words, most American consumers think the companies they do business with are competent at what they do and most believe those companies engage with some integrity. But many wonder about company motives and question whether the companies they do business with really care about them and their interests.
Here’s a good piece we published earlier this year on trust which might be helpful. To me, trust is absolutely foundational to maintaining long-term relationships with customers. I’d also add that I believe it’s impossible to build and maintain trust (long term) with customers if it doesn’t first exist inside the organization.
Thanks, @BenGranger -- this is very insightful. The Edelman Trust Barometer has been on a downward trajectory for many years. I’ll look forward to diving more deeply on this topic.
What is the psychology behind the use of QR codes? Is it placement? Is it difficult to use? We have extreme challenges in some of our patient populations to use QR codes and as a result have very low response rates. Wondering if you can shed some light on how we can encourage responses through this mode.
Thanks!
I've seen particular success using simple NFC chips to initiate a website load as customers seem comfortable with these due to the popularity of contactless payment on mobiles.
It's essentially the same thing but seems faster.
Interesting! I am not familiar with any research on this off the top, but let me do some digging and circle back.
@Lina Reid I did a little digging. A few thoughts:
1). The value of soliciting feedback. One of the potential problems with QR codes is that aren’t always accompanied by an ask for feedback. There is a big difference between having a QR code in a location for anyone to scan at any time vs. asking someone if they’d be willing to provide feedback and directing them to the QR code on the wall or on a receipt, etc. You may be way ahead of me on this but I would take a serious look at the process of requesting feedback and pointing them toward the code. Key psychological factor here is basically - “ask, and you shall receive”
2). Give people options. Another thing to consider is whether the QR code is the only way (or perceived to be the only way) to access the feedback form. Generally speaking, people do not like or appreciate being forced into a path, especially if there is no immediate value for them (a WIIFM). We’re seeing this in many half-baked, automated or AI-driven experiences where people can’t get out of the loop. QR codes may be a really good way to direct most people (via a solicitation) but perhaps adding another option (e.g., SMS, email, etc.) to anyone who might not be familiar or feel comfortable (perhaps from a lack of experience or exposure or something else). The key psychological factor with this one is choice and making people feel like they have options.
And then finally, for any solicitation, I would be careful not to pressure people into providing certain ratings. Invite their honesty and embed a message or tone that you’re asking because you want to make sure you provide a good experience for them in the future. In fact, there is research around asking people to fill out 360 review feedback (which are usually very time consuming, much more so than a typical transactional feedback survey) and one trick is to frame it as “a personal investment”.
I hope these help but also very curious what others think and whether there are other specific issues you’re struggling with around these QR codes.
