CX Magazine Vol. 1: From UX to CX
Introducing Mon San Sebastian:
UX Enigma, Pickle H8r, Tenenenenen.
It's not every day we get the chance to sit down and pick the brain of a real User Experience mastermind. But today — today is different.
Today, this is not a blog entry: no.
Today, you've opened the pages to:
Customer Experience Magazine
On a balmy afternoon this July, hidden from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila life, we rendezvous at the iconic suburban sanctuary known only to the locals as Starbucks.
As we push through the doors, sweaty from having walked all the way here because fine, it's good for our health, we are greeted by the unmistakable scent of coffee beans and the blissfully cold airconditioning.
My guest for today is the ever-charismatic Mon San Sebastian: UX Strategist, former Communications Director, this author's fiancé, and in his latest role, CX the Day Co-Host.
His outfit is a balanced blend of comfy chic, an inspired combination of slacks and Crocs and "did you see my new Jibbitz?" He orders a Strawberry Açai Lemonade, a refreshingly vibrant choice that echoes his zest for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
We find a couch. I open my laptop. I crack my knuckles, ready to transcribe at the speed of light (because pshh I wasn't about to spend a whole day deciphering an AI-generated transcript).
He takes a sip of his lemonade. I take a sip of my matcha.
Settle in, dear reader, as we embark on a journey into the heart of User Experience (UX) design, the pivotal role it plays in the customer experience, and how Mon chooses to CX the Day.
Mikli: Your career in UX began straight out of college, 13 years ago, as a UX Specialist. Why UX? What drew you to it?
Mon: I've always been fascinated by human behavior. That's why I went into psychology.
Back then, I didn't know what UX design was. But [the job description] said you'll have to design websites and other online stuff based on people's behavior. It was a practical application of the ABCs of psychology... so I gave it a shot! And I liked it!
Wait — can I say more things even if it doesn't answer your question?
Go!
UX Design kind of focused solely on design design. Like how to layout a certain thing, or, what's the visual hierarchy. Which I enjoy, but I feel there's something more to it.
User experience isn't limited to designing websites or applications.
I feel like there's an element to it that isn't usually utilized, which is really really deep diving into customer research and trying to connect the experiences you design to what they do in real life.
How do you bridge that experience from product to person?
You were also a Communications Director for many years! And you've mentioned that, even though it isn't UX, it's UX. What's the connection between the two?
I realized UX is more than just good design, it's also good communication. No matter how good your design is, if you can't onboard people into it, then it won't work out the way you thought of on paper.
UX design is in how you communicate as well: when you don't use jargon, when you pick and choose takeaways and learnings, how to involve people [when you're facilitating a workshop] and not just give them a lecture.
I had to bring UX outside of the product design field, and it became more of a concept, a philosophical thing.
The instinct now is, what is this person thinking, and how can I navigate through that?
We've also done a lot of work together. Can you talk a bit about UX and tech?
Oh yeah, there's a big connection between UX and technology. With technology, it's like you're removing the human factor. It's impersonal. In this AI age, we're afraid it's going to take our jobs.
So it's become: how can I, as a human being, utilize this tool and create better experiences?
We're not automating processes just to make it easier for us. That's part of it, sure.
But take into consideration the people using that technology. How can it make their lives easier? How do we help our customers get what they need?
Technology shouldn't hinder us from doing our jobs, it amplifies it and takes it to the next level.
Why do you think I consult with you on my tech and automation projects?
I don't know! Why do you?
Sometimes I don't know what gap I'm filling, but you do say you get insight from what I'm telling you.
I always do! It's so important to me that whatever I'm building or automating doesn't just work, but works for them. You know?
When you realize there's so many things you can do with tech, eventually you realize you can do everything you want!
Oh definitely!
But UX is there to remind you to pull back: that you design technology for people to use.
YES. That took me a while to learn.
Automations for automations' sake... won't last.
For example. An online app might not require me to go to the bank. In theory, it's more convenient. But what if the app takes me through so many security options that it's such a big hassle?
Sure, I'm doing it on my couch. Sure, I'm at home instead of going to the bank.
But I hate it.
UX is there to take that technology, embrace it, and turn it into something that people want to use. That people enjoy using.
You mentioned before (... as we were planning this workshop, lol) that every interaction needs to be meaningful. Even if that interaction is invisible. What does that mean?
Making something meaningful can come in different ways. Think of it as listening to a song.
For example.
You hear the song's intro. You hear a nice tune on the guitar. (He air-strums) ♩♫♬♪ Tenenenenenen! ♩♬♪♫ It's exciting to hear! But you hear that same ♩♫♬♪ tenenenenenen ♩♬♪♫ in the chorus. Then you hear that ♩♫♬♪ tenenenenenen ♩♬♪♫ again in the verse.
Then it gets tiring. It gets boring.
It's the same with designing experiences. Every note you put in that experience — including the rests, where you can't hear anything — is part of that design.
Let's say you buy something, and that thing comes to your doorstep the next day. It feels like magic! It just happened!
There are so many processes that happened in the backend. You pay. The money goes to the business owner. Who gets a the notification to pack your product. And then they mail it.
But all you see is: pay and — ding dong doorbell, there it is!
And then!
When you get your package, there's a ribbon. A little note from the seller. A bonus surprise item, because "we appreciate you purchasing our product!"
That's also designed into the experience.
There are parts that are invisible, designed so you don't see them and feel them. And then there are experiences that are carefully designed for the joy, for the delight.
The entire process has meaning, from the invisible stuff, to the stuff they want you to see and feel.
This reminds me of this one project we did together —
Yes! The online summit in 2021.
What was memorable to you about it?
It was a summit on talking about drugs in the Philippines, and at the time it was such a doom and gloom thing. Add to that! That it was the peak of the pandemic, and everyone was so sick and tired of Zoom calls.
We wanted to create something positive in a way that doesn't make people feel jaded about the situation the way other talks do. The idea was to lift people up. Give them the energy and the inspiration, to make them feel like they can do something about it.
So how do we create this webinar thing, and make it not like every other webinar you experience?
If you asked someone who attended the summit, they wouldn't mention Mon or Mikli as the first person they remembered. We really worked behind the scenes, which was on purpose.
We didn't facilitate any sessions, but we made sure the entire process was so smooth that the entire staff of the organization could be present and lively in the chat. That was unheard of, especially at the peak of the webinars!
And the participants felt it. People were there, and ready to engage and learn. They were participative! We got a lot of feedback from people who felt great, felt excited. Who created their own initiatives for the advocacy, without us asking them to. Some asked if they could host their own workshops, a lot asked when the next summit was going to be. They hung around, even when there were no live sessions.
People were sad when the summit ended! It really felt like we were all there in person, even if none of us left our homes.
Summit feedback. Sepanx = separation anxiety
It was a huge accomplishment, especially for a nonprofit [our client] who doesn't do purely-online engagements.
I give big credit to the work we did on the backend, and how that translated into the experience.
We were so firm on that in the beginning with the organizers! "Let's put aside all the talk of tech. Let's not talk about what platforms we're using. Tell us the kind of experience you want to create."
They were so clear on how they wanted it to be like, that it was... I wouldn't say easy, but that clarity is what helped us translate it.
So you and I focused on making the "everything else" invisible, because what we wanted people to see and feel was that connection.
What excites you most about our upcoming workshop, CX the Day?
It's exciting because I hope this is where we, as facilitators, get to unlock spaces for creativity in businesses.
It isn't just about a product that you build and sell and profit from. The experience of the product contributes to the business in a big way that it shouldn't be an afterthought.
I want people to feel that there are so many things they can do to make their products or businesses memorable.
It's gotten to a point where you see a lot of businesses that follow a template, and you know what to expect. There's a lead magnet and then some emails, and then you're sold a product.
There's this entire funnel that people have designed that's templated. And it's templated because it works. But there's an opportunity to make it unique. To turn it into something that's you, and not just some format you're following.
Can you share a sneak peek of what participants can expect?
One thing you'll learn from the workshop is how much insight you're going to get when you understand where your customers are coming from, and how that translates to the way you design your onboarding, or your product purchase, or your bonuses.
What's the difference if your customers are young, tech savvy women in their 20s, as compared to 40-50-year-olds who aren't used to computers? How can you design for and around those personas?
Why should people care about investing in their customer experience?
People remember products, not because of their function, but because of how the products make them feel.
Your customer experience is just as much a part of your branding as your creatives.
If your product made them feel happy, excited, inspired — they'll remember your brand along with it. Which future-proofs your business, because it makes you top of mind.
Let's say you have a crochet course for 40-year-olds. If you give them such a delightful experience, then if someone asks if they know of any crochet resources, your product is going to be the first thing they recommend.
Anything else to add before we close?
I am confident and willing to bet that you haven't seen a workshop like this before.
So...
You have to check it out.
Last question: 9-foot pickle or unlimited bacon?
That's legit? No context?
Bacon.
Not even a question.
