In 10 words or less, what problem does User Centric solve for your clients?
Gavin Lew: How to create an exceptional customer experience.
What motivated you to start User Centric? What’s the origin of the name?
GL: After working at several consultancies and seeing how they practice, we wanted to build a better consulting firm without the games and sales tactics. In short, we wanted to be the company we would’ve hired.
We chose the name because it’s what we do. We make products and services center around the user. Businesses have many things to worry about – time lines, budget, fulfillment, etc. – and our focus is the customer experience. It’s a fitting title.
How does User Centric differentiate from its competitors?
GL: To quote one of our clients: “We hire User Centric because you care about the project as much as we do.” We don’t have sales staff. We feel the people who do the work are the ones who should prescribe approaches and methodologies and be responsible for the output. Our goal is to affect change. If we don’t provide value, our clients won’t come back.
What type of clients provide User Centric’s primary source of income?
GL: Our business uniquely benefits companies of all sizes. From Verizon Wireless to the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, our clients span many industries and market sizes.
Our client base is so diverse because the products consumers or internal employees touch are so diverse. Whether it’s a Web site, a telephone, an accessory for the phone, the product you buy off the shelf or business enterprise software, those are all the things a user touches. As an example, we currently have a client with whom we are in eight different business units. We’re not doing management consulting. We’re actually touching interfaces, services and products. Our services range from small Web site usability evaluations to large global testing. We customize our services to meet each client’s goals and objectives.
How has your business sector evolved over the last 5 years?
GL: Our business sector has widened over the last 5 years. As more companies recognize the importance of user experience research and its impact on sales and customer retention, the need for our services grows. Technologies evolve at such a rapid pace that differentiation is imperative to product success. One way to stand out is to show attentiveness to customer needs and expectations from the instruction booklet to the call center IVR to the interface of the product itself. All of these facets of the customer’s experience impact the brand.
When a potential client comes to you, what are their primary goals for using your service? How do you often surprise them?
GL: The primary goal is to affect a positive change in the customer experience whether the customer is a businessperson, a consumer or an internal agent with the company. That’s our job. We often surprise them by revealing insights and ways to drive more usage just by having a methodology. We are not rocket scientists, but the outcomes of what we do change how people interact with products. They often don’t know their customers as one might expect. Our methodology places the customer in front of them in situations where they interact with the product. The client is sometimes too close to the product, but their customers have expectations and needs that we reveal.
Please describe the science of eye tracking. How did it become practical for business research? What do your clients most find interesting about it?
GL: Eye tracking is the process of capturing the location and movement of the point of gaze of the eyes. Through the use of special monitors with infrared technology that are designed specifically for capturing eye movements, we gather insight into the cognitive processes involved in user interaction with computer interfaces, physical products and printed material.
Eye tracking has been around for decades, but with the vast amount of data it collects (50 data points per second per eye), it was incredibly time consuming to analyze the data. It kept graduate students busy for weeks. Better analysis tools and software have made analysis easier. This allows research to be applicable to business on a business time line.
At User Centric, we analyze the data quantitatively and break it down into business drivers and goals. Companies are now taking this data and making business decisions that drive new products to market. When you look at two pictures, it could be hard to tell whether something is different. However, if you can look at it with quantitative data and I can tell you one is statistically significant and it’s going to affect 80 million people, you are much more confident as a business.
What trends do you see heading into the last quarter of 2009 that are relevant to the industry and your company?
GL: The HITECH Act by President Barack Obama that is infusing $30 billion into health care seems to be incredibly relevant to many businesses as we move toward an electronic health record system. The usability of these systems is often overlooked. We really need to focus on getting these systems not just to work but to work for doctors.
The globalization of products is also a significant force in the industry. We are all economically intertwined and interdependent on a financial basis. How companies survive will depend on their understanding of how to launch their products in not just one location but many. They will need to take advantage of larger markets and be able to move their products across borders.
Another trend is the convergence on mobile devices. The Web, social media, programming your DVR, banking and all of these technologies are moving to handheld devices. Who wins will be determined by simplicity (due to the size of the devices), costs (because of the economy) and the reach (in applications, communities and contacts). All of those things have to work together.
Original interview with the Illinois Technology Association: http://www.illinoistech.org/technologynews.aspx/2091
