User Experience Strategy Workshops

"Just be yourself online!" 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁. 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿. Your digital persona needs a strategy. Here's why: • 89% of consumers buy from brands they follow on social media • 78% of purchase decisions are influenced by social content The art? Aligning authenticity with business goals. I've helped brands boost engagement by 65% with this approach 1. Define core values 2. Create content pillars 3. Develop a consistent voice 4. Engage genuinely 5. Measure and adapt Your brand's online presence is an asset. Treat it like one. What's your biggest challenge in crafting your digital persona? #BrandStrategy #SocialMediaMarketing #DigitalPresence #ContentStrategy

Why Buyer Personas Are Often Useless (Unless You Do Them Right) Buyer personas. Every marketer talks about them, but how many of us actually use them to drive real results? Too often, buyer personas are treated as an exercise in check-box marketing: Create a template, fill in some basic demographics, and call it a day. But this is a recipe for wasting time and burning calories. The real power of buyer personas lies in the depth of insight they provide about the emotional, psychological, and behavioral triggers of your target audience. When done right, personas become your roadmap for everything—product decisions, messaging, marketing strategies, and sales enablement. But when done wrong, they’re useless. So, how should you approach Buyer Personas? 1. Go Beyond Demographics It’s easy to create personas based on age, job title, and income. But that’s not what actually drives a purchase decision. You need to understand why your customers buy your product—what pain points are they solving, what motivates them, and what stands in their way. 2. Focus on Behavior and Needs Instead of just a “one-size-fits-all” persona, segment by behavior and customer journey stage. Are they early-stage prospects or ready to buy? How do they interact with your product? Behavior speaks volumes. 3. Constantly Evolve Your personas shouldn’t be static! The market, technology, and customer needs evolve—so should your personas. Continuously gather feedback from your users, sales teams, and customer support. Buyer personas done right can drive growth, shape product development, and create hyper-targeted marketing strategies. But done poorly? They’re just another file on the shelf. #growthmarketing #buyerpersonas #marketing

A critical part of journey management in any large organisation is measuring how your journeys perform. 📊 By setting clear goals, monitoring performance, identifying gaps, and measuring improvement impact, you create a continuous cycle of management and enhancement. Measurement surfaces opportunities and kickstarts improvements. 🚀 Yet many organisations struggle: data sits in silos, teams measure inconsistently, and dashboards report numbers without a coherent story. Product, marketing, sales, service, and digital teams collect valuable insights, but without a common language, they never combine into a unified performance view. The result? Plenty of activity, little clarity on what actually improves customer experience and business performance. Measuring performance along specific journeys—rather than isolated KPIs—provides the right context: the journey itself. 🗺️ This approach transforms your journey framework into an engine for improving both customer experience and business performance holistically, creating a shared structure and language where different KPIs unite. 🧭 Inspired by the Balanced Scorecard, this pragmatic 3x3 Matrix structures performance measurement across two dimensions: 👉 First, it distinguishes 3 performance metric categories: - Customer performance (behavior and sentiment) - Commercial performance (conversion, customer base, revenue) - Operational performance (cost, efficiency, reliability) 👉 Second, it distinct three journey hierachy levels: - Overall customer lifecycle - End-to-end product or service journey - Individual customer tasks These intersecting dimensions ensure each metric sits logically within a complete, coherent view. The visual below shows example metrics for all nine sections, helping you build a balanced measurement framework for journeys. This matrix delivers three immediate benefits: ✨ 1. It aligns siloed KPIs and contextualizes them into a shared journey 2. It enables drill-down and aggregation through connected KPIs across journey levels 3. It surfaces trade-offs and synergies between performance metrics A few quick tips to take into account when drafting or structuring your own journey-driven measurement framework 👇👇👇 🐌 Consider both leading and lagging indicators for a robust measurement approach that balances early warning signs with outcome metrics.  🤲 Don’t collect everything. Start with a North Star KPI for each journey, and add a small set of supporting metrics. Less is more. 💬 Always mix performance metrics with more qualitative feedback and insights that will help you determine why performance is down and how to fix it. Happy measuring! 🎉

Are there better ways to build your personas? Recently we have been improving the way we create behavioral archetypes for some of our projects - for the sake of clarity - there is not one way to build that beats them all. (I know personas and archetypes are not the same thing and it has been written many times over by other people before) For us archetypes are the place where we are able to bring together our insights, patterns, models and theories. Of course you can then create "characters" or "personas" if you want to bring those alive and if they serve your context a purpose. In any project research is going to be key - sometimes time and budget may hinder you, so you need to have a way of still bringing it in research when time and resources are constrained - this takes critical thinking to know how much and where to look. There are many places where you can look for inspiration aside from your internal data - think about things like literature or theories like Self Determination or the Big 5 personality traits. You can also find inspiration in the work of practitioners like Indi Young or Amber Westerholm- Smyth and countless other fantastic people. Amber wrote a quite popular piece on a while ago and said of building personas that you should have: -No ages -No photographs -No salaries -No names -No genders You should instead be thinking about patterns that they share in getting their job done/needs met or in getting to their intended outcome or purpose. I like to think about those from a behavioral perspective and look at things like beliefs, norms, decision-making, memory, motivation quality, attention, fears, anxieties, as well as other attributes... (cognition, capability, environment). These can serve as a foundation and from there you can add anything else that will add context. Amber also described the process she and her team took to build her personas: (maybe you would call these archetypes) A five-step framework 1. Ask rich questions, not dumb questions 2. Write a codebook 3. Code your data 4. Map your data 5. Form your personas (or archetypes) It's important to think critically about how we design experiences for our customers and employees - and to re-evaluate if we are doing so in the best way possible - and not to let them be static pages on a presentation. How are you accounting for your customers and employees?

Measuring Customer Experience Maturity From Assessment to Sustainable Improvement Customer Experience maturity is not about running surveys or launching isolated initiatives, it is about building an institutional capability that evolves over time. The methodology illustrated in this model presents a structured and practical approach to assessing and advancing CX maturity through a continuous improvement cycle. The journey starts with selecting the right assessment framework. This step defines what will be measured and how, ensuring alignment with the organization’s strategy, operating model, and context. A clear framework provides consistency, objectivity, and a shared language across the organization. The second step focuses on assessing the core CX dimensions across maturity levels. These dimensions typically include leadership and governance, strategy, customer journeys and service design, voice of the customer, measurement and insights, culture and employee enablement, and supporting technologies. The assessment is conducted through data reviews, interviews, workshops, and evidence-based evaluation rather than perceptions alone. Once the assessment is completed, the current maturity level is identified. This step reflects the actual state of CX practices, not the desired or perceived one. Honest diagnosis at this stage is critical, as it forms the foundation for meaningful improvement. The fourth step is gap analysis. Here, the organization compares its current maturity level with the target state, identifying specific gaps in capabilities, processes, governance, and execution. This step translates assessment results into clear and actionable insights. Based on the identified gaps, a structured improvement plan is developed. This plan prioritizes initiatives, defines responsibilities, sets timelines, and establishes measurable outcomes. The focus is on practical actions that deliver impact, not theoretical recommendations. The final step is ongoing monitoring and periodic reassessment. CX maturity is not a one-time project, it is a continuous cycle. Regular follow-ups ensure progress is tracked, outcomes are measured, and adjustments are made as the organization evolves. Together, these six steps form a closed-loop maturity model that helps organizations move from fragmented CX efforts to a sustainable, data-driven, and customer-centric operating model. True CX maturity is achieved when customer experience becomes embedded in strategy, governance, operations, culture, and decision-making, not treated as a standalone function. #CustomerExperience #CXMaturity #CXStrategy #ServiceDesign #VoiceOfCustomer #OrganizationalExcellence #ContinuousImprovement

When reporting on your impact as a UX Researcher, here are the best → worst metrics to tie your work to: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 Every company is chasing revenue growth. This is especially true in tech. Tying your work to new (or retained) revenue is the strongest way to show the value that you’re bringing to the organization and make the case for leaders to invest more in research. Examples: - Research insights → new pricing tier(s) → $X - Research insights → X changes to CSM playbook → Y% reduction in churn → $Z 𝟮. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 This might not be possible for many UXRs, but if you can, showing how your work contributed to key decisions (especially if those decisions affect dozens or hundreds of employees) is another way to stand out. Examples: - Research insights → new ideal customer profile → X changes across Sales / Marketing / Product affecting Y employees' work - Research insights → refined product vision → X changes to the roadmap affecting Y employees' work 𝟯. 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 If you can’t directly attribute your work to revenue, that’s ok! The majority of research is too far removed from revenue to measure the value in dollars. The next best thing is to tie your work to core user engagement metrics (e.g. “watch time” for Netflix, “time spent listening” for Spotify). These metrics are north star metrics because they’re strong predictors of future revenue. Examples: - Research insights → X changes to onboarding flow → Y% increase in successfully activated users - Research insights → X new product features → Y% increase in time spent in app 𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 For tech companies, a dollar saved is usually less exciting than a dollar of new (or retained) revenue. This is because tech companies’ valuations are primarily driven by future revenue growth, not profitability. That being said, cost savings prove that your research is having a real / tangible impact. 𝟱. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 Hot take: The biggest trap for researchers (and product folks generally) is focusing on user experience improvements that do not clearly lead to more engagement or more revenue. At most companies, it is nearly impossible to justify investments (including research!) solely on the basis of improving the user experience. Reporting on user experience improvements without tying them to any of the metrics above will make your research look like an expendable cost center instead of a critical revenue driver. — TL;DR: Businesses are driven by their top line (revenue) and bottom line (profit). If you want executives to appreciate the impact of (your) research, start aligning your reporting to metrics 1-4 above.

"We're not talking to a persona, we're talking to a mindset."  - feedback during a narrative review call. I immediately wrote it down with a +1000000000 next to it. Here's why it hit so hard: The client is building for both now and next. The buyers today? We know them. But the buyers tomorrow? Their roles might not even exist yet. Their org structure? Still evolving. Their future tech stack? One giant line of ?????????? So, do we just wait for change to happen? Absolutely not. Instead: > Define the type of person, not just the persona.  The function they sit in might shift, but their mindset—the way they think, evaluate, and push for change—stays consistent. > Build language that resonates across today and tomorrow.  Whether they're in marketing today and leading a new cross-functional team tomorrow, your message should make them nod: Yep, I need this. > Create content that speaks to both believers and the curious.  The ones who already get it will feel validated. The ones who aren't there yet will start to see what they're missing. Curious folks are your testing ground—what sparks their interest, makes them feel "in the know," and helps them level up from eager participant to confident decision-maker? Is this new? Nah. But I'm seeing more brands lean into this approach—connecting with forward-thinkers before org structures and titles catch up. Can't wait to share more as we refine this messaging.

Most organizations measure employee experience as a satisfaction exercise. The ones that outperform treat it as a business performance system. That distinction shows up across every stage of the employee lifecycle, and the metrics you choose at each stage tell you exactly which camp you're in. Employee experience is not one moment. It's a chain of decisions, signals, and outcomes that begins before someone accepts your offer and continues through the day they leave. If you're only measuring it at the engagement survey, you're reading the last chapter and ignoring the entire story. The stages that matter and what to measure at each: → Hiring. Candidate NPS, offer acceptance rate, and time to hire are not recruiting metrics. They're your first signal on employer brand strength and market competitiveness. → Onboarding. Time to productivity and new hire satisfaction scores tell you whether your investment in talent acquisition is converting into actual execution capacity, or evaporating in a poor first 90 days. → Performance. 360 feedback data and manager effectiveness metrics reveal whether your leadership layer is developing people or depleting them. → Engagement. Voluntary turnover rate and employee retention ROI quantify the financial cost of the experience you're creating. Engagement isn't soft. It's measurable margin impact. → Recognition and advancement. Internal promotion rate and career path ratio show whether your top talent sees a future inside the organization or is already looking outside it. → Wellbeing. Absenteeism rate and employee wellbeing index are leading indicators of burnout, performance degradation, and the kind of quiet attrition that doesn't show up until it's too late. → Offboarding. Exit interview completion rate and offboarding score close the loop. How people leave determines whether they become advocates or detractors, and whether you learn anything from the loss. Here's the executive framing that matters: Every stage of the employee lifecycle either builds or erodes your organization's execution capacity. Measuring experience without connecting it to business outcomes is just data collection. The metric isn't the point. The decision it enables is.

Our CFO validated $120M+ in CX value creation in 5 years. Here’s the exact system we built. Most “CX strategies” stop at a half-baked Signal Model capturing surveys and dashboards without ever moving the business. The Experience Performance System (EPS) goes further. It’s a complete operating system that translates customer and employee signals into measurable business outcomes: revenue growth, cost efficiency, and risk reduction. Here’s how it works: 1/ Signal → Friction → Case Maker: Capture signals, value the friction in dollars, and frame it as a 1-page business case executives can’t ignore. 2/ Champion → Close Plan → Prioritization: Build internal champions, map influence, and align work to the company’s strategic priorities. 3/ Pod → Scaling → Feedback Loop: Execute through agile pods, expand wins across the business, and evolve continuously with closed loops. 4/ Agentic Model: Only when an organization is fully functional in decision-making, champion driving, and execution is it ready for agentic AI pods that predict and resolve friction in real time. EPS isn’t about surveys. It’s about embedding experience into the way your company prioritizes, funds, and executes growth. The question for executives isn’t “Do you have CX?” It’s “Do you have a system to convert CX into validated business value?”

Most ag retailers track ROI. But almost no one is tracking RoX (Return on Experience). And we should be. In retail, experience is the only thing that sets you apart. RoX doesn’t measure how customers feel. It measures what they do, and whether those actions are driving margin, loyalty, and growth. Here’s the formula: RoX = (High-Value Customer Impact × Category Capture × Pricing Power Behavior) ÷ Experience Investment Let’s break that down: 1. High-Value Customer Impact Are your top customers growing faster, spending more, and sticking longer because of the way you serve them? Look at: • % of revenue from your top 10% of customers • Growth rate of those customers year over year • How many of them are upgrading to higher-margin products 2. Category Capture Are you actually gaining share in the market or just hoping to ride the wave? Look at: • New demand in your region, how much are you winning? • Per capita sales by zip code • Share of wallet within your best customer segments 3. Pricing Power Behavior Are your customers choosing you when they could buy cheaper? Look at: • % of revenue from premium-priced SKUs • Average price per unit compared to others in your market • How often customers reorder without incentives 4. Experience Investment How much time, money, and energy are you spending to actually earn those behaviors? Think about: • Agronomist time per grower • Resources behind onboarding, in-season support, and field-level trust • Tech, tools, and training that make your offer worth paying more for. ——————————- This isn’t a feel-good score. It’s a business metric built for a market where sameness is the default and only differentiation gets rewarded. Because if you’re not earning the right to be chosen, you’re just one competitor away from being replaced. Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers. #agretail #agtech #marketing