Customers expect to FEEL safe as much as BEING safe
Safety is paramount at every step of the customer journey. CDC requirements for safety are just the starting point. A space has to be more than safe– it has to feel safe. We’ve always been affected emotionally by the environments that we’re in. People have always felt better in a room with natural ventilation and better spacing, but now it’s seen as a matter of life or death.
Action Points:
Start with low hanging fruit
There are a lot of ideas about making spaces safe that are just stakes: plexiglass shrouds over transactional spaces, consistent mask and glove policies, staged queuing– we don’t need to repeat them all here. Customers will expect these to be in place immediately and will make their choices accordingly.
Rethink each moment in the customer journey, and the connections between them
Map out the current customer journey and identify any signifiers that customers would identify as being unsafe– whether it’s actually a concern or not. Include real customers in the process to understand their point of view. Co-create an approach that satisfies their needs and perceptions.
Consider how SIMPLE digital tools can improve safety, and the perception of safety
Digital tools can offer safer ways to connect with customers– both online and in real life, but deployment of new digital properties can be daunting on a tight schedule. Consider the minimum viable product, on the simplest platform first. For a recent project, we helped a client shift from using touchscreens in their space to letting customers access all features from a simple web app– no shared surfaces and a quick path to deployment.
“Customers don’t want to wait in lines anymore – they didn’t before and now it’s not safe to.”
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