INNOVATIONS FOR BUSINESS
Lost in the Amazon
Why we start out surfing for something new and end up on the same old sites every time – and how we can change all that by Raj De Datta
Raj De Datta is the co-founder and CEO of Bloomreach, the leader in digital and commerce experience. His book, The Digital Seeker: A Guide for Digital Teams to Build Winning Experiences (Columbia Business School Publishing), debuts in June 2021. bloomreach.com
AUG. 2021
42
INBUSINESSPHX.COM
When I think about what’s wrong with today’s internet experience, I often remember the time I tried to plan a family vacation. I logged in with high hopes. In the old days, I might have turned to a travel agent, but today all the tools that were once the sole domain of the professional travel planner are available to me. I started using search engines, trying a variety of key words, clicking through to videos, reading reviews, scanning social media, all while separately optimizing multiple flights and hotels. I sank hours in front of the screen and all the time wondering: Am I missing something? Is there a better option out there? My fear was probably not misplaced. Chances are, anyone simply surfing around hoping to get what they need is likely missing something great. The internet has become that place where magic lurks behind every click and visitors wander amid the possibilities, hoping to land on the right place through some combination of luck and effort. Are we getting the best outcome for ourselves? Maybe. We live in a constant state of “FOMO” (fear of missing out). Worse, the entire experience often becomes a huge, dull, dispiriting chore. My pleasant anticipation for a family vacation soon morphed into a screen-based slog. With so many options, I found myself forced into the role of digital aggregator. It was my job to sift through all that’s out there and make decisions. At some point, I stopped searching for undiscovered gems and reverted back to sites I knew, sites I’d been to before, sites that welcomed me by offering up a handy list of “best sellers” and the promise of ending my painful shopping process.
All over the internet are businesses and organizations reorienting the user experience to put the seeker at the center of their efforts.
BUILDING A SEEKER-CENTRIC EXPERIENCE
I’m hardly alone. Digital experiences, delivered by businesses worldwide, are failing us. We go to the internet for solutions and, instead, we get a digital to-do list that forces us to try to optimally select each item on the list. It becomes a routine exercise in frustration. As experts encourage us to spend less time in front of our screens, we are only spending more. We don’t know who to blame for our predicament. We’re wondering why the internet isn’t making us happier. This is the challenge presented to digital teams. And to get rid of what frustrates us and create the winning experiences we want, the teams need a new way of looking at the problem — one that puts the seeker in the center. We can define “seeker” as a customer or consumer looking to achieve a higher-order outcome — which then gets decomposed into a series of products or services the seeker might be looking for. The seeker then becomes a customer or prospect looking for those products and services. Seekers have a purpose they intend to fulfill, a task they want to complete. It can be mastering a skill, booking a memorable vacation with their family, feeling healthier, or buying a home. A seeker decomposes their intentions into a series of digital tasks and then becomes a potential customer of multiple products and services. Behind every customer is a seeker, calling out to businesses to satisfy their higher-order intention — to help them buy the right dress for an occasion, a gift for a loved one, the vacation of a lifetime. All over the internet are businesses and organizations reorienting the user experience to put the seeker at the center of their efforts. These companies recognize that, while
