The Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year has been announced and it might have summed up the brand trust crisis currently unfolding across multiple industries, particularly those facing digital disruption.
Enshittification.
Yes, ‘enshittification’ is the word of the year. It is defined as …
The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.
What’s causing ‘enshittification’?
Enshittification occurs when a brand sacrifices its original customer-centric ethos to maximise revenue, often by prioritising advertisers, shareholders, or operational efficiencies at the expense of customer experience. This typically involves exploiting customer trust, introducing friction into the user journey, or compromising on quality and transparency.
Sound familiar?
The latest research shows that brand trust is being eroded across the board.
Brands that were the most trusted are now on the most distrusted brand list.
Even the most trusted brand in the country, Bunnings, came under fire last week after it was revealed that they’re using facial recognition technology in-store without customers’ consent.
In other words, compromising on transparency.
Enshittification can be unintentional. The fact is, consumers don’t consider, or particularly care, about how deliberate or not it is.
‘Inadverdent Enshittification’ might actually be the greatest dormant risk in your business right now.
To reverse this risk, here are three strategies to consider.
Establish a Customer Advisory Board (CAB)
This is one of the most cost-effective, powerful ways to have a customer lens on your business. Recruit a board of 8-12 people representative of your customer base and appoint them to the advisory board. Ideally facilitated as a monthly focus group, it’s a great sounding board and source of ideas and direct customer feedback on anything you feel would benefit from a customer perspective.
Study best-practice and stand-out brands and businesses in complimentary sectors
Ideas for elevating your customer experience can come from anywhere and sometimes the best inspiration comes from seemingly unrelated industries.
Take hospitality for example. I guarantee if you spent a night or two at QT Gold Coast and had dinner at Moo Moo’s (best steak restaurant in Australian IMHO) you would get a masterclass in exceptional service and some ideas to incorporate into your customer journey. Even better jet over to the US and book a table at Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York City, the restaurant co-owned by Will Guidara, the author of Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect.
Gather your team for a customer journey mapping workshop
Seeing your brand through the eyes of a customer from start to finish can be a powerful and unifying team-building exercise, particularly heading into a new year. Grab a whiteboard or flip-chart, pinpoint every touch point and then map the potential fears, emotions and mindset moments of the different phases of a customer’s interaction with your brand.
Identify opportunities to go above and beyond.
Where could communications be enhanced? How could customers be better cared for and looked after? Where are the risk zones of ‘inadvertent enshittification’ and how could you mitigate that risk?
If you’d like to chat one-on-one about a customer mapping workshop and how it can be best facilitated, book a call with me.
