Knock-off your next CX strategy instead.
Find a starting point where aspirational brands left off, and how I use other people’s brands.
Other people’s personas
Every transformation project starts with one big question: where do we begin? For organisations with deep-rooted systems and complex customer interactions, pinpointing the most critical areas for improvement can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Traditional methods, like surveys and focus groups, often fall short. They miss the bigger picture. What if we could sidestep these limitations by borrowing insights from brands that have already mastered customer experience? This is where "other people's personas" (OPP) come into play—a fresh, innovative way to reimagine CX transformation.
Meet the client
Meet the Medical Defence Union (MDU), a cornerstone of medical defense in the UK for over 150 years. The MDU provides crucial medico-legal support to healthcare professionals, but like many legacy organizations, it struggles with outdated processes and a complex service offering. These challenges make understanding customer experience and identifying starting points for change both daunting and resource-intensive.
The game plan
Humans love stories. We use analogies, similes, and metaphors to make sense of complex ideas. Why not apply the same principle to service design? That’s exactly what we did. Instead of starting from scratch, we borrowed personas from brands that our clients admired. We used these "other people's personas" as a foundation to build our own customer experience strategy. The idea was simple: find a brand that resonates with your audience, learn from their success, and adapt it to fit your needs.
A real-world example
Enter FIGS, a brand that revolutionised the medical workwear industry by truly understanding the needs of healthcare professionals. FIGS became a masterclass in customer experience by listening to its customers and making their lives easier. The MDU and FIGS share a common customer base—medical professionals. By reverse engineering FIGS' success, we could decode what worked for them and find ways to build similar relationships with MDU's customers. The goal wasn’t to copy but to learn and adapt. If FIGS could transform something as mundane as workwear into a personal statement, why couldn't MDU do the same for its services?
Ethics of using OPP
Now, you might wonder, is it ethical to use another brand’s work to inform your own strategy? The answer is yes—if done with respect and acknowledgment. We didn’t just take FIGS’ success at face value; we studied it, understood it, and used it as inspiration to create something uniquely tailored for MDU. In the world of design and innovation, building on the shoulders of giants is not only acceptable but encouraged, provided we do it with integrity.
Step-by-step guide
Here’s how we put OPP into action:
Identify a brand that shares the same customer base as your own.
Gather information about their brand, products, and customer journeys.
Talk to your customers about this identified brand.
Analyze the brand's customer journeys and note key activities and interactions.
Infer design choices to understand the brand’s approach and priorities.
Compare these insights with your own customer journeys.
Develop new personas based on these findings.
Use these personas to inform your design and strategy.
By following these steps, you can create a bridge between your current state and the aspirational state defined by the brands your customers already love and trust.
Why OPP works
The OPP approach is grounded in the same principles as reverse engineering—something well-documented in both science and industry. By deconstructing successful customer experiences, we gain strategic insights that help us innovate. It’s about learning from what already works, providing a solid starting point for creativity. This method offers context, clarity, and a springboard for developing new and better ways to serve customers.
Conclusion
The concept of using "other people's personas" challenges the status quo of service design and CX transformation. By learning from aspirational brands, organizations can bypass traditional, resource-heavy methods and gain quicker, deeper insights into what truly matters to their customers. This approach is particularly beneficial for complex organizations, offering a strategic advantage in navigating entrenched processes and cultural challenges. In the end, it’s about finding new ways to connect, engage, and succeed.
Final thought
Next time you face a daunting CX challenge, remember: you don’t always need to start from zero. Look around at the brands that inspire you, learn from them, and let their success guide your path. By borrowing a little brilliance, you can create something truly your own.
References
Reverse engineering in service design: A strategic approach to customer experience. Journal of Service Research, 23(3), 345-360. (2020).
Analogical reasoning in customer understanding and product development. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(2), 267-284. (2019).
Artificial intelligence for the real world. Harvard Business Review, 96(1), 108-116. (2018).
