Role Storming

Maria steps into the shoes of her diverse customer base by imagining herself as a college student, a busy professional, and a retiree. Role-storming reveals distinct expectations: students crave affordable, quick options with a social vibe; professionals look for efficiency and quiet spaces; retirees appreciate a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. By considering these varied perspectives, Maria devises a solution that segments the customer experience throughout the day. Mornings become quick and efficient for professionals with express service options, while afternoons transform into a cozy, community-focused space for leisurely conversations and socializing. This targeted approach better caters to the needs of her varied clientele.

Reverse Thinking

Instead of asking, “How can we improve customer service?” Maria asks, “What would make our customer service worse?” She then reverses those negatives into positives by identifying potential pitfalls — such as slow service, cold interactions, or impersonal experiences. For example, knowing that slow service is a major complaint, she implements an innovative “smart queue” system that minimizes wait times and entertains customers with live order tracking and updates. This reversal transforms a common frustration into a point of engagement and excitement.

Analogous Situations

Maria looks at other industries renowned for outstanding customer service — such as boutique hotels and high-end retail — to draw analogies. Observing how these businesses create personalized experiences, she decides to introduce a “barista’s choice” program where regular customers receive a free surprise, tailor-made drink inspired by their previous orders and preferences. This analogy from the hospitality sector results in a unique and thoughtful service element that builds deeper connections with her customers.

Design Thinking

Design thinking puts the customer at the center of the innovation process. Maria starts by empathizing with her customers through surveys and informal conversations to identify pain points in the service experience. Once Maria has immersed herself in understanding her customers, she moves into the ideation phase by creating a structured yet open environment designed to spark creative possibilities. Instead of merely instructing her team to “generate ideas,” she initiates a brainwriting exercise where everyone jots down thoughts on sticky notes without judgment. Maria then facilitates the clustering of similar ideas and poses provocative “what if” questions — such as, “What if our customers could design their own coffee experience?”— to challenge conventional thinking and encourage the exploration of innovative scenarios.

To further organize the creative flow, Maria maps the central challenge on a whiteboard, highlighting topics like personalization, service speed, and atmosphere. She also incorporates role-playing exercises, asking team members to step into the shoes of various customers — whether busy professionals, students, or retirees — to uncover nuanced insights that align with real needs. By the end of this ideation session, her team has generated a rich array of actionable concepts, setting the stage for evaluation, testing and ultimately transforming challenges into breakthrough innovations.

Storyboarding

Visualizing the customer journey through storyboarding allows Maria to map out each touchpoint from the moment a customer enters to when they leave. This narrative technique highlights areas for enhancement. For example, the storyboard reveals that the waiting period before orders are ready is an opportunity for engagement. Maria decides to implement a “coffee talk” board featuring interesting facts about coffee and its origins. She updates it with new content each week, turning a potential downtime into an experience that strengthens the connection between customers and the brand.

Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking is about breaking free from conventional “logic” to discover unexpected, innovative solutions. This approach challenges you to deliberately question assumptions and explore ideas that initially seem unrelated to your problem. First, clearly state your challenge. Then, deliberately ask provocative questions that upend normal expectations, like “What if we did the complete opposite?” or “How can we apply ideas from a completely different industry, like package delivery?” Write down every idea that comes to mind without judgment. Next, look for surprising connections between these ideas and your original problem. For example, rather than merely enhancing service details, Maria reimagines the concept of a coffee break by introducing “community brew sessions,” where customers actively participate in creating a signature blend — transforming a routine interaction into a dynamic, co-creative experience that deepens loyalty and sets Maria’s coffee shop apart.