Joe Macleod
Founder at andEnd. Author of Ends.Joe Macleod has decades of product development experience across digital, physical and service sectors.
Previously Head of Design at the award-winning studio Ustwo. He then spent 3 years on the Closure Experiences project researching, writing and publishing the Ends book. He is now founder of andEnd. The world’s first customer ending business, helping companies improve off-boarding in consumer experiences.
Talk
Ends. Why they are vital. And what you can do about it.
We design rich, emotional and meaningful experiences to on-board the consumer through advertising and marketing.
In contrast the off-boarding of a consumer experience is barren of emotion and meaning. This sacrifices consumer action, holding back engagement, limiting reflection and responsibility. Long term side effects of this can be seen in the product, service and digital landscapes. Consequences seen as changing climate, industries fined billions for mis-selling and individuals eroding their online reputations.
Improving the design of product endings promises enormous opportunities, with more collaborative off-boarding experiences businesses gain richer communication with their customers, improve the accuracy of deleting, reclaiming or removing materials, improve the brand perception through loyalty and increase re-engagement. In a new streamlined world, with consumers moving between multiple relationships, endings will be a competitive differentiator. The products we create in the future need to reflect this.