A simple customer experience is a beautiful thing. As CX professionals, we strive to tap into our customers’ intuition. We want to shape the way customers interact with our company in such a way that they know what to do next, simply because the design is so effective. This is especially important for B2B relationships as you are dealing with busy people that become aggravated when their valuable time is wasted.
I like to test each experience with the Rule of 3 to see if it meets our customer experience standards.
The CX Rule of 3:
To start, simplify customer tasks to no more than 3 steps. Yes, this is easier said than done, but you stand to realize huge gains in adoption by reducing the burden on customers. For example, if you want your customers to register for an online portal, make sure the process is not cumbersome and that they have access to all the information they need to complete the task. Getting customers to participate in a referral or rewards program, order additional products or services, or provide you with valuable feedback — all should be as effortless as possible, especially the processes that drive revenue.
The next step is to make sure the steps are intuitive. Diligence in usability testing is critical. When setting up a process, internal testers and developers might think something is intuitive while a customer does not as it is difficult to remove personal bias and existing knowledge. External usability testing must be performed to truly understand if the experience makes sense to customers.
Lastly, close out the process. The customer should not be left to wonder what happens next. If there are more steps to be taken by your company, clearly set (and deliver on) the expectations.
- Easy (No more than 3 steps)
- Intuitive (Float right through it without thinking)
- Closed (Not left wondering what’s next)
If the process passes the CX Rule of 3 test, you’re on your way to providing a great experience!
Go forth and simplify.