VOICES
Essay
on). All other jobs were poorly thought of. In contrast,
the Protestants believed any job – if done well, with
thought and care – was a good job. It was the beginning
of career paths. If you thought Lin kedIn or your educat ion
is the foundation of your career, then think again. The
Protestants started your career. You should bring this
up at your next job interview (or maybe not).
And lastly attitudes to investment changed. People
were now free to invest in businesses. These three
religious changes echoed through the centuries. Then
they were energised by the Industrial Revolution.
You see, the consumer lifecycle in pre-industrial times
was simple. And circular. The waste from the kitchen
table was given to the animals. The waste from the
animals was put on the land. The abundance and harvest
from the land ended on the kitchen table. It was
understandable, actionable and visible to pre-industrial
consumers. The Industrial Revolution turned that in to
a linear narrative. And over centuries, we have split
beginning from end.
The beginning of the consumer lifecycle got faster.
More emot iona l. More soph ist icated. T he end, in cont rast,
became more complicated. More distant. It faded in
interest for the consumer and industry alike.BOTHERED?
What does this mean to you dear reader, centuries later,
sitting in your office developing products? Design an
end, save the world? Well, maybe.
The problems of consumerism should be resolved
inside the consumer lifecycle, regardless of sector –
digital, service or physical product – in a bonding of
consumer and provider. The end is key to achieving this.
Absent in most consumer experiences, overlooked as
something meaningful, a well-designed end can be
powerful. Inspiring responsibility, reflection and action
in the consumer.HOW TO DESIGN AN ENDING
In the work I have been doing over the last few years I
have developed techniques, models and approaches that
help create consumer endings. Some are based on the
research from the Ends book, others on new work
focusing on the application of better endings in industry.
Much is on the andEnd website. Here are three I use in
workshops when teaching companies about endings.- AFTERMATH TARGETS
We often use targets in product development, such as
growth targets or acquisition targets. These targets are
focused on on-boarding and usage periods. Why don’t
we target the end? The off-boarding?
This would involve setting an ambition for the post
customer e x perience – a sor t of af termath target to help
companies see and target the best possible outcome for
the consumer experience. And this helps reveal issues
that you k now l itt le about in your business. How do your
customers experience the data delation? How problematic
is rec ycl ing your product? Issues l i ke this rarely come up
in normal product development.- ENDING TYPES
Everything ends. Considering how it ends improves the
chances you can prepare the best ending. There are seven
different endings commonly experienced by consumers.
Each one has dimensions that your product team will
need to consider and create for.
O Time out – eg t wo-week hol iday, sel l by date, one-year
software subscription.
O Exhaustion / credit out – eg pay as you go, battery flat,
no gems in Clash of Clans
O Task / event completion – eg parcel delivered, used
disposable cup, game complete
O Broken / withdrawal – eg broken contract, product
broken, provider shut down
O Lingering – eg unused gym contract, old phones in
draws, unused email accounts
O Proximity – eg move outside covered area, items in
loft, move from Apple to Android
O Style – eg writing letters, Kindle, MySpace- A GOOD ENDING...
There are four broad characteristics of a good ending:
O It should be something that is consciously connected
to the rest of the experience.
O Through emotional triggers, like the emotional triggers
used in advertising and marketing.
O These should be actionable by the consumer so they
feel involved and have influence at the end of the
consumer lifecycle.
O This should be done in a timely manner so products,
data and services don’t linger on in the background,
lost in cupboards, bank accounts and old forgotten
digital services we no longer use.
IN CLOSURE
The end happens. Across all sectors. To all products.
Consumers experience them. Designing them does not
threaten a business: it improves it and makes it more
resi l ient. I dare you to speak about it once today. See how
adverse your product team or business is to the idea that
your product will end someday, somehow.P
ROFI
LE Macleod is founder of andEnd, the world’s first
business dedicated to helping companies end
their customer relationships. He is also author
of the book Ends.
w: http://www.andend.co