How to Shape Customer Behavior Through Experience Design

What is Customer Behavior Design?

Customer Behavior Design is the intentional creation of an environment and experience that influences how customers behave and treat employees. It starts with the physical environment and is supported by how employees treat customers.

Refined Versus Rambunctious

The Ritz-Carlton is upscale, with a motto: We’re ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. The experience is friendly and refined. In contrast, Dave & Buster’s is high-energy, with a mission of Fun to Our Core. Both brands deliberately design totally different experiences. Neither is better; both are intentional about how they want customers to behave.

The First Five Minutes Count

Customers mirror the environment the brand creates. As Colleen Lonsberry writes, “customers (their behavior) rise and fall to meet the expectations set by the brand.” At the Ritz-Carlton, guests are greeted by name and made to feel like ladies and gentlemen. At Dave & Buster’s, the welcome says, “Let’s get ready to have a blast!” The first experience sets the tone for what follows.

Good Behavior Begets Good Behavior

• Loud behavior begets loud behavior.
• Fun behavior begets fun behavior.
• Refined behavior begets refined behavior.

Conversely, rude behavior begets rude behavior. If employees are rude, customers will respond in kind.

The Personality of the Organization

A company’s culture is as important as the physical environment. When a company demonstrates negativity (chaos, friction, bad service), customers amplify it. They go from calm to upset, or friendly to angry. Bad service doesn’t just beget bad service—it begets angry customers.

How to Start

Start with the end in mind: What behavior do I want my customers to demonstrate? Then work backward. Consider the physical environment, colors, lighting, music, and every touchpoint. Most importantly, ensure your employees’ actions mirror that environment. Customers don’t just react to your experience—they reflect it.