ProductCamp SoCal 2011

Last weekend I got to attend my first ProductCamp.  The pcSC (ProductCamp SoCal) took place at Cal State Fullerton and there were over 300 people who attended.  One of the sessions I got to sit in on was with Sean Van Tyne.  Here are my notes for those who didn't get to attend it:


Ask watch and listen - The Customer Experience Revolution

• Have you heard the Betty Crocker cake mix story?  They made instant cake mix so you just needed to add water, but no one was buying it.  Turns out, after asking the customers why they weren't buying it, they learned that people wanted to feel like they were doing more and to have "the experience of baking." So, they adjusted the mix and made it so people would add eggs and water.  And, it sold.

• According to JD Power, only 9% know what they're doing in regards to the customer experience. (WOW!)

• Donald Norman wrote about emotional design.  An emotional connection is so important.

• The difference between customer experience and user experience:

Customer experience - very long, totality from seeing first message through to the end
User experience - when they use/ touch the product

• 5 is the magic number of target users to get feedback from -- gives you about 80% of things you'll need to change (the key is these people must be your target).

• The things you learn in observation, you will not learn with any other methodology.

• Creating a customer profile is so important.  You need to know who you are talking to so you can know what to say.

• Trust the data... Let the data lead you where to go.  Don't guess... You don't know what is in the mind of the customer.

• Analytics do a great job of telling us what the problem is, but observing our customers will tell us why.


It was a great session and I look forward to checking out his book when it comes out.  Sean co-wrote The Customer Experience Revolution with Jeoffrey Bean, which will be available in January.  Check it out here.