Users live in the digital world, customers in the digital and physical. But acustomer is always a customer and only a user when they interact with a system. Even the word 'system' harks back to technology in its infancy, as consumers interact with more and more technology can we as a company finally put the term User to bed? And instead always focus on the customer; it is not that big amindset change; is it?
Bad user experiences are detrimental to a companies brand image, that iswithout question, but customers now have so many touch points with a brand both offline and online (Face-to-face, telephone, letter, IM chat, email, Internet) that they do not distinguish between being a user and a customer: they are always a customer.
This post has been fuelled by an article written by Greg Nudelman on UXMatters he has tried to redefine the term User Experience to better incorporate how the customer perceives himself or herself. He states that '“The term user lets designers and businesspeople alike describe products in terms of their featuresinstead of customer goals—and in doing so, avoid making difficult designchoices.” In opposition Nudelan proposes the term Experience partner as a new way of thinking about customers when designing experiences.
Rather than focusing on product features, Experience partner asks that we as designers conceptualise holistic product experiences and embody our understanding of how to design products that create delight and become integral, harmonious parts of peoples lives and interactions with our clients.
The article is an interesting (albeit long read so only skim it) and raises some questions about how we should be designing for our client’s customers. So world what do you think? Is Experience partner a term we should adopt or just someone out to make a name for himself?