The human element in service proposition

Engine is just finalising a really interesting project with a major UK utility provider. The utilities industry is one that has a limited connection with its customers, a relationship that could be hugely improved upon.

A service should emotionally engage with its customer and build a relationship based on trust, mutual understanding and respect. It should then consistently deliver on this as the relationship evolves, much like we aspire to achieve in all our human relationships.

We believe in designing a personal service at all points of interaction. There was a strong leaning in this project to both empower the service users and also the company’s front line representatives to help a customer select the best features for them.

In our contextual research phase, we asked the participants to film themselves using their own opinions and circumstances, illustrated by cultural probes.

Our cultural probes

These techniques enabled a very intimate view into the lives of the service users and helped to make their customers real in the eyes of the stakeholders. When service users are recognised as individuals, options can be tailored for the individual’s needs and requirements, whether joining or deciding to stay with a service provider.

A persona of a customer who has specific needs for her energy provision

The techniques we used for our contextual research are similar to those explored in an article from the most recent edition of Touchpoint, the journal of Service Design produced by the Service Design Network.

The article, How sticky research drives Service Design, by Bas Raijmakers, Andreas Sommerwerk, Julie Leihener and Indri Tulusan, is a great and in-depth exploration of the methodology and results of intimate and emotional research.

Current edition of Touchpoint