Hi Tom,

Welcome to May's edition of Touchpoint. 

Something different this month. What CX lessons can we learn from a Michelin-starred restaurant? Read on to see if any can be applied to your business. 

We're also sharing one of our favourite customer research techniques, and giving you a top tip when using AI (or Claude) to design prototype customer experiences. 

So, let's dive in. 

What a Michelin-starred restaurant can teach us about CX

This month, we wanted to share something different. We recently had the pleasure of enjoying a lunch service at the Michelin-starred restaurant, The Angel at Hetton.

The craftsmanship and flavour was clear in every bite. But it was the Customer Experience which got us thinking. Naturally. 

You're more than your core product

Regardless of what your core product is (in The Angels’s case, the food) there is a huge amount more which plays a role. For example, a Retailer’s core product will be their clothes, but the website, delivery, and returns process is just as important. All of these elements create your customer experience.

We’ve pulled together the top five CX lessons we took from The Angel. Here's a snapshot.

1. Fill in the blanks

2. Remove any and all effort

3. Allow the right amount of flexibility

4. Be a guide

5. Create personal moments

A 10/10 Customer Experience

We are constantly taking inspiration for how we approach Customer Experience from our own experiences. There is no better source of inspiration than a restaurant near the pinnacle of their industry.

It’s safe to say, if we were giving The Angel an AAWE Score, we would give them 10/10.

Be sure to read the detail behind each of our lessons. There's something in them for every business. Use them and your Customer Experience to create growth. That’s what we’re all about.

CX Glossary: Sacrificial Concepts

A quick way to insight

When completing customer research, we can craft a solution which is near enough the final product. Often that defeats the purpose of the research. We spend more time than is needed in the initial design phase, and the high quality of the testing stimulus puts customers off giving honest feedback. 

Sacrificial Concepts are there to be torn down. They are a form of customer research stimulus which is quick to develop allowing you to explore multiple potential routes with customers. They can be as simple as a piece of paper fed through a cardboard phone. Next time you schedule some testing, consider this approach.

Tom's CX Tip

Claude Tool 'AskUserQuestions'

Are you using AI to help develop digital products? A quick and easy tip when you do, is to use the AskUserQuestions tool in Claude.

Simply write the description of your product into Claude as you would ordinarily. Then state 'Interview me using the AskUserQuestion tool, and repeat the tool process until you have all the information you need.'

This will prompt a series of multiple choice questions to be asked to refine your brief before any development starts. Trust me, it will save you time and get you to a much more usable solution. 

Thank you for reading Touchpoint. We hope you found it useful. If you want to chat about your own CX, email tom@aawe.uk.

About AAWE

We are the only Customer Experience specialists in the North. We diagnose and design customer experiences to create growth.

www.aawe.uk