In July 2021, author, customer experience strategy director and behavioural scientist Jen Clinehens posted a video to her YouTube channel titled '10 ways Peloton used psychology to make exercise addictive' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8AwPABozxw&t=134s]. 

The video is a fascinating insight into the behavioural science concepts and tricks Peloton leans on in designing an experience that encourages addiction in its users, as well as focusing on the value of designing addictive experiences and questioning whether designing an addictive experience is always fundamentally a negative action. 

Addiction is of course a complex and serious topic and fundamentally the idea of addiction is not one to take lightly. However, in this podcast we speak with Jen to address the idea that brands are actively ‘designing’ addictive experiences, what addictive experiences actually are, whether there are pros as well as cons to an addictive experience. We also discuss:

- Why Peloton is an example of a brand that blurs the lines between a positive and negative addictive experience
- If Netflix, Amazon, Facebook and other megatech companies are arguably examples of the opposite 
- If addictive experiences differ from 'dark patterns' created by brands such as Netflix and Amazon
- Why ‘ethical habit loops’ are a vital part of creating experiences that are addictive, but for the benefit of the user rather than the detriment.

We also discuss whether there are positive, ethical ways CX and service leaders can design experiences that encourage habitual, repetitive actions in their customers.

Peloton and the addictive experience dilemma

In the latest episode of MYC'D UP WITH CX LEADERS, we speak to Abdul Khaled, head of digital and CX at E.ON Next, about the importance of immediacy in delivering great CX – and how technology can help achieve this.

"Customers want their problems solved today"

Driving urgency and impact: E.ON Next’s Head of Digital and CX

In the latest instalment of MYC'D UP WITH TECH LEADERS, we speak to Colin Crowley of Freshworks about all things chatbots.

Balancing efficiency and quality: Freshworks’ Customer Experience Advisor

In the latest instalment of our podcast series, MYC'D UP with Tech Leaders, we speak to Jim Davies, chief experience officer at Calabrio, about the experience gap between customers and companies and why digital transformation has been over-hyped.

Closing the experience gap: Calabrio’s chief experience officer

In our latest episode we speak with Tom Kirby – Senior Customer Experience Manager at nutrition specialists and vegan enthusiasts, Huel. 

Tom speaks openly about how he fell into the CX sector; his transition from customer service to customer experience, and the benefits and challenges that posed, and how he manages to incorporate Huel’s very strong brand ethos into the CX team.

From service to experience: HUEL’s Senior CX Manager

In the latest instalment of MYC'D UP with Tech Leaders, we speak with Cristina Fonseca, VP of Product at Zendesk.

Before arriving at Zendesk, Cristina was already something of an AI expert – having previously founded and run two successful AI-focused companies. 

With a strong background and passion for customer service alongside her expertise in the AI field, Cristina is perfectly placed to provide insights and wisdom on the hottest topic in the CX sector.

Drawing upon her considerable experience and success in both the AI and customer service arenas, Cristina provides detailed analysis of precisely how to get the best out of your AI programmes – including what you should and should not be automating, how to build trust in your AI offerings, and how AI could be the key to lowering agent turnover rates.

"When we think about automating CX inquiries, the first task of AI for me, is understanding what should and should not be automated."

AI-powered customer experience: Zendesk’s VP of Product

In the latest instalment of MYC'D UP with Tech Leaders, Sabine Groven speaks with Léonie Watson, Director at Tetralogical.

Improving CX through digital accessibility: TetraLogical’s Director

In the latest episode of MYC'D UP with CX Leaders, we had the pleasure of speaking with Ilenia Vidili, a customer-centricity advisor, keynote speaker, and author of the book 'Journey To Centricity: A customer-centric framework for the era of stakeholder capitalism'.

The power of customer-centricity

Adrian Swinscoe on the importance of exploring and understanding the customer journey rather than claiming expertise.

Can you be an expert on someone else's experience?

Iqbal Javaid discusses Zoom's journey from a video conferencing giant to a comprehensive customer experience solution.

From video conferencing to CX excellence: Zoom's EMEA CX SE Leader

In the latest episode of MYC'D UP with CX Leaders, Clare Muscutt, CEO of Women in CX, discusses the community's growth, challenges conventional CX norms, and reveals plans for the future.

The future of Women in CX

In the most recent episode of MYC'D UP with Tech Leaders, MyCustomer spoke with Phil Heltewig, the CEO of Cognigy. He shares the journey of Cognigy and discusses the pivotal role of conversational AI in revolutionising customer service experiences.

The impact of generative AI on customer interactions: Cognigy's CEO

When the coronavirus crisis first hit the Western world, one thing many experts and those in the media prophesised was that the negative word association with the pandemic would lead to Corona beer sales falling sharply. 38% of Americans said they would not buy Corona beer "under any circumstances." 

Behavioural scientists, however, predicted the exact opposite would happen. They were right. Sales of Corona quietly grew 28.8% in the US alone, by April 2020.

This example is one that highlights how irrational consumer behaviour can be, and that irrationality is something many customer experience professionals should be factoring into CX design. 

In this Connecting the Dots podcast, we speak to author Jen Clinehens about this exact topic, whilst also discussing the thesis behind her new book Choice Hacking – How to use psychology and behavioural science to create an experience that sings. 

The book covers off an array of psychological and behavioural science theory whilst providing CX professionals with the means to put theory into practice. Among the topics covered in the book and discussed in the podcast include: 

The pros and cons of offering customers choice
Why we need to provide more simplified experiences  
The importance of defaults and understanding default bias 
The benefits of designing experiences with customer emotion in mind 
How to understand irrational behavior and ‘irrational experiences’.
Jen heads up experience for the global agency, The Marketing Store, who include a number of massive brands as part of their clientele, including McDonald’s and Adidas. She resides in London but has lived all over the world, and has a background in advertising, product design, user experience, having previously worked with AT&T for 5 years on all of those things and more.

Link to the book: https://choicehacking.com/
MyCustomer's customer emotion hub: https://www.mycustomer.com/hub/how-to-serve-your-customers-emotional-needs

The science of choice and irrational customers

At the end of July, a new bit of research landed from LiveArea titled Selling Sustainability: Adapting to the New Conscious Consumer. In that research, it was highlighted that over a third of UK & Irish shoppers had become more ‘conscious’ about their shopping habits since March’s COVID lockdown, citing the need for the products they bought to be more naturally and locally sourced, sustainable and recyclable.

In this podcast we discuss what we mean by conscious consumers, and why COVID-19 has seen a rise in conscious consumption. We also explain why this relates not just to the design and marketing of your products but also the the ethics and responsibility of your business, its impact on the environment, the way it treats its employees as well as its customers, the type of communication it puts out and its approach to health and safety.

Crucially, we also discuss why all of this matters to CX and customer service professionals, and how to design better experiences and offer exceptional customer service that tap into a more conscious consumer.

Speakers: 
- Dave Pattman, Managing Director, CX Services, Gobeyond Partners
- Victoria Taylor, CX & digital marketing consultant, VictoriaTaylUK
- Rebecca Pinn, Associate Director, Innovation Strategy EPAM Continuum

Related resources: 
- Selling Sustainability: Adapting to the New Conscious Consumer whitepaper from LiveArea: 
https://marketing.liveareacx.com/selling-sustainability-whitepaper
- Reimagining service for the new world research from GoBeyond:
https://www.gobeyondpartners.com/reimagining-service-for-the-new-world/
- Sustainability is a customer experience issue article written by Rebecca Pinn: 
https://www.continuuminnovation.com/en/how-we-think/blog/sustainability-is-a-customer-experience-issue
The rise of the carefree and conscious consumers article written by Victoria Taylor:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rise-carefree-conscious-consumers-victoria-taylor/

CX and the rise of the conscious consumer

A podcast connecting the dots between CX, marketing and customer service. MyCustomer.com offers news, advice, events and resources to customer-facing professionals around the globe.

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