Xperience This!

The first iPad advertisement from March of 2010 presents a primarily consumer-focused marketing effort. The ad shows a man viewing photos, accessing the internet, reading a book, and checking his e-mail – all from the comfort of his couch. Thus far, Facebook-browsing and YouTube-watching have been far more common activities in iPad advertisements than checking corporate e-mail or marking up a business proposal.

Yet the iPad has taken off in businesses, particularly in the financial services and health sectors.[1] Applications such as Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and Documents to Go were some of the top grossing apps in 2010, a strong indication that iPad users are seeking to perform work-related tasks in between completing Angry Birds levels[2]. And with companies such as JP Morgan Chase and Mercedes-Benz fully adopting the device, the iPad is clearly no longer confined to the realm of personal or recreational devices. Why is this happening? More »

Why don’t patients follow their doctor’s orders? Why do they fail to adhere to the prescribed behaviorial and/or medication regimens they know can help them maintain or regain their health?  

With so many questions, I think it’s time to start working collaboratively on answers. There are multiple disciplines currently looking at the changing face of the US healthcare system holistically as well as facet-by-facet. As experience designers, I and my colleagues at MISI are actively exploring and documenting what it means and feels like to be a part of this system, and what it should mean and feel like in the future.

FYI…There’s more to this blog post, but if you are interested in learning even more about today’s patient experience and why patient’s fail to follow their doctor’s orders, join MISI on 2/24/2011 in Philadelphia at the Patient Adherence Cocktail Convention hosted by MISI, WoolLabs, and Smart Brief. Visit Wool Labs for more information or to register

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Over the past few months, the topic of Patient Experience has come up more and more in my client meetings. Everyone seems to know that there are huge issues when it comes to providing people with a great healthcare experience, but no one seems to be able to put their finger on exactly what the problem is.  

All the players in the experience are taking their lumps. Pharmaceutical companies are accused of inserting themselves into a process in which they don’t belong in; Payers are accused of only caring about what will save them the most money; Physicians are scolded for not taking a more proactive role in improving the experience; Pharmacies…well, no one really seems to know exactly what to do with pharmacies these days as they actively search for the right way to redefine their role.  In my experience as both a consumer of healthcare products and services and as an experience design professional who has done a great deal of research on various interactions among these players, the root cause doesn’t fall on any one, rather on all of them collectively.

FYI…There’s more to this blog post, but if you are interested in learning even more about today’s patient experience and why patient’s fail to follow their doctor’s orders, join MISI on 2/24/2011 in Philadelphia at the Patient Adherence Cocktail Convention hosted by MISI, WoolLabs, and Smart Brief. Visit Wool Labs for more information or to register

More »

An organizational change management (OCM) group I’m part of was having an interesting discussion last week. Someone posed the question, “How do you address change sabotage?” He admittedly chose the word “sabotage” to be provocative, and it got me thinking. Sabotage is much more than just resistance to change. The dictionary definition of sabotage is “destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations.” It’s active, intentional, and does damage. It’s not simply intent or internal ill-will. It’s an effect. There’s a critical difference between a saboteur and a plain-old complainer.

Every organization has some small percentage of complainers: those stalwart curmudgeons who don’t like anything. But what is it that gives that complainer enough power to transform them into a saboteur? To answer that, you have to look at things from your employees’ perspective. More »

A few weeks ago, I was asked by a company marketer – let’s call the company High-End Department Store - to participate in their first attempt at viral marketing activity as a brand influencer for Sam Edelman, a popular shoe designer.  To participate, all I had to do was write interesting blog posts about my experiences wearing a pair of Sam Edelman shoes.  They provided the shoes and a list of “hot spots” for me to go wearing them.  This assignment lasted 2 weeks and culminated in a private shoe party for those in my network, the networks of the other 3 influencers, and some of their “key” clients. 

I volunteered not just because I love shoes and social media, but because I figured I’d learn a thing or two about the burgeoning world of influenced viral marketing. And boy did I learn some things. I decided to write a brief white paper on my experience, Turning the Tables on SM Viral Marketing.  Below I’ve summarized the lessons I learned during my brief time as a product influencer about the do’s and don’ts of running a viral marketing strategy.  More »