Insights Unlocked: How Customer Journey Mapping and Storytelling Unlock Innovation at G2
Podcast Information:
- Title: Insights Unlocked
- Host/Author: UserTesting
- Episode Title: How Customer Journey Mapping and Storytelling Unlock Innovation at G2
- Release Date: April 14, 2025
Introduction
In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Dane Howard, Vice President of Product Design at G2, joins hosts Jason Giles (Vice President of Design at UserTesting) and Nathan Isaacs (Senior Manager of Content Production at UserTesting) to explore the transformative power of customer journey mapping and storytelling in driving innovation. The conversation delves into how G2 has leveraged these tools to unify teams, enhance customer experiences, and foster a culture of purposeful design.
Guest Introduction and Background
Dane Howard brings a wealth of experience from leading design and innovation at industry giants such as Amazon, eBay, and Microsoft. At G2, Dane is renowned for integrating storytelling with strategic design to craft impactful customer experiences.
Notable Quote:
"The red thread, as most design leaders have, is the opportunity to build a team, grow a team up level. The quality of our offering."
— Dane Howard [04:42]
G2's Innovative Customer Journey Mapping
Upon joining G2, Dane spearheaded the creation of the company's first visual customer journey map. This ambitious project transformed how different departments perceive and contribute to the customer experience.
Key Highlights:
- Analogy of a City: G2's customer journey was likened to a city's layout, providing a comprehensive and relatable framework for employees.
- Internal Workshops: 15 workshops were conducted to align various teams around the new journey map.
- Cross-Departmental Engagement: Departments like Integrations embraced their roles within the map, enhancing internal cohesion and understanding.
Notable Quote:
"I've learned that the customer never cares how you're organized."
— Jason Giles [08:04]
The Importance of Storytelling in Leadership
Storytelling emerged as a pivotal element in Dane's leadership approach, enabling clearer communication and stronger alignment across the organization.
Key Highlights:
- Project Inspiration from Airbnb: Similar to Airbnb's Project Snow White, G2's journey map serves as a visual storytelling tool that guides meetings and decision-making.
- Serial Vignettes: Annual planning incorporates 43 visual vignettes that outline the year's objectives in a narrative format.
- Sprint Zero: An innovative kickoff strategy that aligns squads with the overarching story, setting the tone for the year's initiatives.
Notable Quote:
"Stories have the ability to align an organization so they all head in the right direction."
— Jason Giles [14:23]
Internal Communication and Organizational Alignment
Maintaining and evolving the customer journey map requires continuous communication and adaptation to ensure it remains relevant and impactful.
Key Strategies:
- Headlines of the Future: Inspired by Amazon's PRFAQ, G2 uses storytelling to communicate future initiatives internally.
- Continuous Updates: Allocating budget for future iterations of the journey map ensures it evolves with the company's growth.
- Internal Education: The map is integrated into onboarding processes, fostering a unified understanding from the outset.
Notable Quote:
"Communication of the artifact or the story of what we made all do together is crucial."
— Jason Giles [14:59]
Maintaining and Evolving Design Artifacts
Dane emphasizes the importance of not only creating impactful design artifacts but also ensuring their longevity and relevance within the organization.
Key Highlights:
- Story-Driven Communication: Transitioning from mere artifact creation to embedding stories that resonate with internal stakeholders.
- Regular Iterations: Recognizing that even well-established maps like Disneyland's require updates and refinements.
- Inclusion of All Roles: Ensuring that every department, including critical ones like legal and IT, sees themselves represented in the journey map.
Notable Quote:
"Every part of our city... can be attributed to someone inside the company that works on or near the data lake."
— Jason Giles [18:18]
Storytelling as a Leadership Tool
Dane discusses how storytelling transcends traditional design language to better communicate with broader organizational stakeholders, emphasizing business impact and customer satisfaction.
Key Strategies:
- Customer-Focused Narratives: Shifting the narrative from design-centric to customer-centric to enhance resonance and understanding.
- Emotional Connection: Balancing data-driven insights with emotional storytelling to humanize the customer experience.
- Multimodal Tactics: Utilizing visuals and scripts to create a cohesive and engaging storyline for the organization.
Notable Quote:
"When we feel reactive or put in a box... storytelling helps us recenter."
— Jason Giles [23:09]
The Role of Design in Customer Experience
Dane underscores the pivotal role that design plays in shaping customer experiences and driving business outcomes.
Key Highlights:
- Integrator Role: Design acts as a foundational element that unites various functions and departments towards a common goal.
- Agile Adaptation: Balancing iterative development with long-term storytelling to maintain alignment and focus.
- AI Integration: Leveraging AI as a tool to enhance creative processes without losing the human touch.
Notable Quote:
"Design represents a unique skill that can paint a really interesting picture of where you might be heading."
— Jason Giles [29:28]
Navigating Organizational Culture and Implementation
Implementing comprehensive tools like a customer journey map requires sensitivity to organizational culture and strategic stakeholder engagement.
Key Strategies:
- Path of Least Resistance: Starting with areas of high enthusiasm to build momentum and demonstrate value.
- Leadership Endorsement: Securing buy-in from top executives to champion and validate the initiative.
- Organic Interest: Encouraging departments to own and integrate the journey map into their workflows naturally.
Notable Quote:
"My favorite comment from a CEO is, so why aren't we doing that?"
— Jason Giles [25:56]
Future Perspectives and Closing Remarks
As the conversation wraps up, Dane and Jason reflect on the evolving landscape of design and customer experience, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and continual learning.
Key Highlights:
- Generational Knowledge Transfer: Dane is committed to mentoring the next generation of designers, blending hard-earned lessons with contemporary practices.
- AI as an Enhancement: Embracing AI to augment creative processes while retaining human oversight and curation.
- Ongoing Innovation: Continually seeking new ways to align design efforts with business objectives and customer needs.
Notable Quote:
"Design, when I say it, it sometimes gets interpreted as just the design team. So I shed some of the design functional language."
— Jason Giles [25:23]
Conclusion
This episode of Insights Unlocked offers a deep dive into how G2, under Dane Howard's leadership, leverages customer journey mapping and storytelling to drive innovation and unify its teams. The insights shared highlight the critical interplay between design, communication, and organizational alignment in crafting exceptional customer experiences.
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