Stop and think for a moment of some historical greats like Albert Einstein, Van Gough, Florance Nightingale, Coco Chanel, Bob Dylan and Steve Jobs. How much time do you think they spent online reading about what other artists or inventors are doing? And Instagram – how many minutes a day do you think they spent scrolling through accounts of people they don’t know…

The answer to the above is zero – yet these people are down in history as some of the greatest creators and innovators ever to have lived and they didn’t rely on Pinterest boards or social media accounts to make that happen.

Customer Experience strategy is all about designing products and platforms that are not only aligned to a customer journey but one that excites, delights and eviotes a unique positive emotion with your brand. Aka  – how to surprise and delight your customers in a better way than anyone else AND your competitors do.

Understand the Science of Conditioning And How Digital Plays a Role

First and foremost as a digital strategist, it is my job to get into the minds of users and design websites, apps and digital content across multiple channels that will keep users on a platform, engaged, purchasing, booking and coming back for more. Collectively this can be labelled Customer Experience (CX) but it is also conditioning (scientifically speaking).

Conditioning is a normal impact of environmental exposure, it’s not a bad thing at all, however, if you, as an individual expose yourself to more conditioned experiences than creating your own than how can you live the life you want to, how can you create your own opinions and avoid the distractions and manipulations of others?

Thanks to data, digital strategists and data scientists know you increasingly well. Your intelligence levels, sexual orientation—and much more—can be computed from your Facebook likes and who you follow on Instagram. Machines, using data from your digital footprint, are better judges of your personality than your friends and family. And soon, artificial intelligence, using your social network data, will know even more and therefore use this to create the ultimate customer experience for you –  which is amazing, however, this keeps you in the conditioning loop.

With this in mind, the next question you have to ask yourself at some point is – how much of what I create and post is actually my own authentic views, ideas and values? And do you generally know what your own views and values are?

Hot Tip: The secret to mastering any strategy is to create more content than you consume and make knowing yourself and your inate talents your top priority over hours of Insta scrolling in the name of #inspo.

Four Tips To Get Offline And Into Your Own Mind

Meditation Will Stop the Noise

This might be a bit cliche in 2019 but mediation really isn’t going anywhere and it is for good reason – it works! If you haven’t read our The Science Behind Why Mediation is the Beez Knees article from July, do so and come back.

Turn Off All Notifications On Your Phone

Let’s face it – you’re not going to go a day without jumping on to your favourite apps, so do yourself a favour and cut the constant distraction of notifications and set aside time to enjoy Instagram scrolling at a set time of day after you’ve done your ‘you’ time.

Hot Tip: The truth behind push notifications = strategists use data to figure out what would trigger you to make you stop everything you’re doing and click back into the app.

Get into Mother Nature Like a Hippy Would

Some people associate those that are one with nature as being a hippy – like that’s a bad thing. Last I checked the history, circa Hippy 60’s – a man landed on the moon, Martin Luther King drove racial equality to the forefront, the computer coding language BASIC was created, the worlds first heart transplant took place and the concept of email communication was invented.

Hot Tip: Emrace your inner hippy – get in nature, hug a tree, take your shoes off, watch the ocean, swim, collect seashells be in nature and see how nature can be your influencer of ground breaking ideas.

Get Back to Paper And Pencil Ideation Methods

There is something about pen and paper that has impact or energy far greater than typing on a phone or computer. One of the main differences between typing notes and writing notes longhand is that writing helps you process information.

Pen and paper are also better for creativity and manifestation. Handwriting and drawing to-do lists, ideas, goals and dreams create a different emotional experience than typing in Word and email.

Try to use a dedicated ideas notebook, like Moleskine or Kikki K, and develop a relationship with your pages and the mindfulness of writing or drawing your thoughts. This will help make your notepad a space that is home for greater creativity, reflection and brainstorming.

Hot Tip: Pen and paper also has zero blue light screen time and will improve your focus and your health.