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Preparing the stage for the customer contact

More than thousands of years, customers were met where they lived. Customer contacts took place on the market. The first mail-order catalogue was printed in the middle of the 19th century. Since then, new touchpoints for customers evolved. With the Internet we are today able to get in touch globally with everyone, as long as an Internet connection is available. As a result, one business model after the other is invented. In order to be able to convert every customer meeting into a business, good preparation is needed. The basis for this is a framework for the development of the Customer Journey: the stage for the customer contact.

The following cycle creates the framework to synchronize the required paths of customers and affair. In the illustration, the sequence begins in the lower part.

  • The Latency
    Hidden in the latency are proposals that companies develop in advance in order to win the required number of buyership. Providers have to make efforts early on to show these quotations. The unintentional wandering of the senses perceives these things, but they are often not connected with meaning. The frequency of attention-seeking stimuli results in a kind of subconscious habituation of a deliverable. With the beginning of the next phase, the entry, this preload is released.
  • The Entry
    The assortment develops an external effect that, at some point, attracts the attention of the customers. From now on, the deliverables will be noticed, but without any demand yet. At this moment possible uses, pros and cons, or the associated prestige should stimulate the longing. The desire grows subconsciously until one becomes aware of the need and comparisons are made with similar proposals. As soon as the decision has been made, the purchase is put into action and the next phase begins.
  • The Execution
    Depending on the procured deliverable, it may involve the possession of an object or the use of a service. The first step is the setup – be it the installation or the consent on how the service will be provided. Then the usage starts – the pleasure of the service, the use of the new thing or simply the fun of looking at an object as one’s own satisfaction. The deliverables can be adapted within the term of the contract – other services are used; accessories are added; the thing is placed somewhere else. This occurs until the end of the contract term.
  • The Exit
    Services are usually agreed for a certain period of time. If the perceived value continues to exist at the end of the useful life, it is highly probable that it will be extended before the end of the service time. If the opportunity to place alternative services has been missed, the business relation tends to come to an end. The exit is accelerated, if towards the end something does not function in the same way as it did initially. Things are often constructed in a way that it has a certain lifespan. If used properly, defects will only arise later. Now you have a good opportunity to sell your latest proposition. Satisfied customers will continue to build on the same brand. If a prestige object no longer provides the desired recognition, it ends up on the garbage or at best with the junk dealer. With the Exit the cycle ends and the original wishes and experiences disappear again in the subconscious – the latency.

The circle closes here. The proposals stay in the latency, until they’re revived. Thus, trends, tendencies and fashions are repeated with unpredictable intervals. With the arrow, leaving the latency left of the latency, the circular flow restarts.

Bottom line: This cycle is the framework that covers all life cycles of customers, users and suppliers. Whatever happens in the entry, the execution, the exit and the latency, is described in the respective Journey. The service framework provides the stage for all customer contacts.

Color – the third gateway into the mind of the audience

Hint! This text only unfolds its full effect in color.

Colors are an indirect, personal world of experience. Depending on the light source and its wavelength, the surfaces reflects in unexpected colors. Blue light lets blue, red light red and yellow light lets yellow disappear. The unconscious processing of colors sometimes leads to surprising effects.

Experience the difference.

  • Read section 1 of the illustration aloud!
    The text can usually be read fluently.
  • Make a second attempt with section 2!
    Although the lyrics have the same length, something is different. If you have not noticed the difference, read the two sentences again and pay attention to the required time.
  • Finally read the words in section 3 aloud!

Since we process the perceived colors unconsciously in another area than the conscious thoughts, you may have noticed some irritations – e.g. a faltering reading flow.

The influence of color takes place constantly – in every reading, in every picture, in every film, so in every artifact. For this reason it makes sense to be aware of these effects. The following colors are basic colors, which do not result from mixing colors, as for example green results from mixing blue and yellow 😉
(Attention! The following counts for many, but not for all.)

  • Red
    Red is a high-energy color – in a positive and a negative sense. It attracts attention and stimulates. For many it is attractive, arouses desire and passion and is usually attributed to love. At the same time it stands for aggression, danger and the forbidden.
    Red is suitable, wherever interest should be awoken – as a hint or warning.
  • Yellow
    Yellow is a disturbing color – with positive and negative symbolic effects. On the one hand it strengthens an optimistic mood, promotes creativity and prepares pleasure. On the other hand it represents jealousy and envy, poison and gall. Traditionally, pariahs were marked with yellow signs, such as the Jewish star.
    Yellow is useful in a pleasant, life-affirming environment. In a not-so-positive context, it seems obtrusive.
  • Blue
    Blue is the most popular color in Germany, although it does not affect quite emotionally. Its objectivity creates trust, reliability and strength – business images are predominantly bluish. At the same time, blue creates distance through its cool insensibility.
    Blue is appropriate, when competence, reliability and calmness are to be conveyed.

Bottom line: The color enters the audience’s mind through the back door. The individuals do not notice that they are receiving additional messages via the sense of color. The effects described will not happen in everyone to the same extent or sometimes even quite differently – especially in other regions of the world. With the above examples, you could experience the normally unconscious effects. The three primary colors seldom appear in their pure form and our color perception may vary. Therefore, it is not possible to define a reliable programming guideline for the design of content. However, you should avoid certain gaffes (e.g. red for a Call to Act) in order not to undermine your message. Eventually, colors are the third gateway into the mind of the audience.