The Why:
Organisations today while focused on delivering superior customer experience and intend to have the customer in the centre of everything they do, the approach is still very traditional and is driven by what product the organisation or its partner must sell.
It’s still primarily inside – out.
But with the surge in XTechs and with GAMA (Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon), not only are the traditional boundaries blurred (or rather non-existent), but these players are also reimagining the traditional business models and redefining the way customers are
served.
These disruptors are impacting the higher engagement – higher margin side of business, while the industry incumbents lose their share on this side and continue to maintain the Low/No engagement – Lower Margin side of the business. They are not only staring
at the risk of becoming invisible but becoming invisible with shrinking margins.
The What:
Incumbents need to stop selling products and start delivering experiences – The Circle of Experience.
The intersection where an organisation orchestrates its and its partner(s) product and services to deliver on the Customer Jobs to be Done is called ‘The Circle of Experience’.
Incumbents should focus on creating such Circle of Experience(s) to deliver on the End-to-End needs of the customer and not just a pointed product/service sell. Go truly boundaryless and ensure maximum Jobs to be done are addressed by its ecosystem for an
experience for an improved and sustainable engagement with customers.
For example – The Home Circle of Experience.
When a family or an individual onboards on a journey to buy a home, the entire journey comprises of varied jobs to be done before purchase (viz: research, arranging equity, advisory services, etc..), during purchase and post the purchase (viz: packing, shifting,
resell, recycle, interiors, etc.)
Depending on the stage of life and the persona of the user, the needs and depth of each job to be done may vary, but it is important for organisations to look at the end-to-end chain and deliver a connected experience – a complete Circle of Experience to
the user by orchestrating self and partner products and services.
The Circle of Experience Index:
The Circle of Experience Index acts as a guiding indicator for organisations to work towards delivering a complete Circle of Experience.
By mapping the customer jobs to be done for a Circle of Experience (for example: Home) to the company’s and partner products and services we can get a ratio of Jobs to be done which are addressed by the company and its partners to the total jobs to done.
This ratio is what we call the ‘Circle of Experience Index’ and every company should aspire to take the Circle of Experience Index as close to 100%.
The How:
Using tools like the Business Model Canvas and the Pioneer – Migrator – Settler Map and a design led approach organisations can put structure to identify the Circle of Experience and increasing the Circle of Experience Index for an Experience.
The flow below depicts an approach which incumbents can take to achieve the above:
STEP 1:
STEP 2:
To realise this vision, organisations need to focus on building The Digital House.
The Digital House has set 5 Key platforms –
The Connected Customer Platform to have a 360 view of the customer,
The Connected Things Platform to get data from sensors connected to things,
The Connected Enterprise Platform to get a consolidated view across the silos within the Enterprise
The Connected Partner Platform to get the Partner Ecosystem integrated and
The Intelligence Platform which gets data from the 4 Platforms and derives intelligence and makes it consumable across the ecosystem.
There is the Orchestrator layer which wires / rewires the underlying services / building blocks to deliver on a particular job to be done or an experience.
What do we see already today:
We have been observing the Banking Financial Services and Insurance providers are reimagining themselves and going boundaryless. They are creating newer business models, delivering superior and simplified experiences for end customers by leveraging one or
more levers from the following –
- Technology,
- Partnerships with XTechs & other players,
- Co-opetition with other players, and
- Becoming a Platform
Technology
Leveraging digital technologies and the power of data, incumbents are transforming themselves to deliver a superior and simplified experience which is contextualised and personalised.
Also, in industries like insurance where the touchpoints are limited (primarily during sales and claim), technology like IoT and data intelligence are used to improve on the engagement frequency, quality, and increased value to the consumer.
With data and the intelligence, it can deliver, organisation can be more humane and deliver the services in the context of the customer in a more humane and sustainable manner. Better Insights, Better Experiences.
Partnership with XTechs and other players
Incumbents are partnering with XTechs to accelerate on the digital ambitions and reach the market faster.
Co-opetition with other players
The magic is always at the intersection of two industries. We have observed a trend where two industries are collaborating to create a new model and cross sell making it a win-win in a particular segment while competing in the other.
Becoming a platform
Incumbents are also actively pursuing building platforms which cater to a larger need and deliver a complete Circle of Experience. For example, end to end mobility services.