The big 3 ideas behind the DfC Framework

So you want to become the best Design for Conversion expert in your local community, or you want to become some sort of guru in the field, maybe even a worldwide recognized thought leader on conversion. Than this is the place to start. For over 2 years now we (about 30 senior conversion professionals and professors from Holland and abroad) have been thinking about this subject, and this is what we think it all boils down to.

So listen closely and maybe you will learn something. BTW if you come to the conference you will definitely learn something. We can guarantee that you will grow at least one level in one of the disciplines within design for conversion. Enough about the conference, let’s dig in to the ideas behind the DfC Framework.

1st Big idea: From Persuasion to Morality

If you start in the field of persuasion, you may be attracted to the notion that people can’t have a complete free will, how can you otherwise explain the success of marketers? You have maybe heard of cognitive biases, and you were psyched when you read Nudge. Trying to (subliminally) influence consumers to do what you want them to do will be your daily task.

In that case you have reached, like Joshua Porter, the expert level of the Persuasive Technology discipline.

If you develop yourself further, you – of course – see that the persuasion discipline comes with a huge ethical responsibility. If you are a really skilled persuasion artist, you should use your powers to create a better future, for all of us. BJ Fogg did this with his Peace Innovation initiative, but it can be anything that is good for the world. At this moment you start to question what is good and what is right. Are we good natured, do we have a moral instinct, or is morality just a thin veneer trying to keep the survival driven animals inside people? You are now trying to design for Moral Behavior and you will understand why the power of companies and organisations – that by their nature lack any form of empathy and therefore morality- is the biggest challenge of our time.

2nd Big idea: from Experience to Happiness

Nice, we went from products to services. From business goals to a customer journey. And from usability to (user) experience. Thinking in terms of an Experience Economy has brought us some great things. A Service Design expert really knows how to put the customer in the center of business thinking. And in general you will have great insights in humanizing the detached mechanical processes within organisations. You will know how to design for emotion and you will start thinking about meaningful experiences (PDF), there will be a moment that you will question the Meaning of Life. Like Trevor van Gorp you will be an expert in the Experience Design field.

At this moment you will start taking the evolution theory very serious. By now you will understand that there is no meaning in life, but you are not letting it ruin your day. Positive and negative feelings as main force behind evolutionary development will inspire you to design for flow (as part of the scientific approach to happiness). Knowing that people are able to make sense out anything and understanding the purpose of purpose will able you to design for a perceived meaning.

3rd Big idea: from Evidence to Truth

One of the things that really annoyed me when I was working as a consultant was the amount of BS that got shuffled around within the walls of organisations. Nobody was really interested in measuring to keep track of the results of their actions. It was far more important to convince your boss that you are doing a good job and in fact you deserve a salary raise, or even better a promotion.

So organisations are lacking empathy, they lack the human factor, they are mechanistic and next to that they are full of Bull Shit. I think Karl Weick is one of the few that really understands the inner workings of organisations. Forces that make sure that everybody forgets to do a baseline measurement. Evidence is only needed to persuade your manager. Research is done to prove your own opinion. And theoretical models are build to explain why the things you want to do are essential.

At this moment you are an expert in the field of “business intelligence”. Especially when you can make cool graphs and slick reports.

When you stop to think about what you are really doing, and what you are really thinking, it doesn’t make any sense anymore. You have given so much persuasive evidence, so many arguments for things that have been done. But you were not trying to understand the truth behind things. In fact your thinking was biased, unclear and you were not critical at all. Like me you will realise that everything you have said before was complete and utter nonsense. We can start all over again. But that is okay it was a nice excercise (flexing muscles, including the brain, has evolutionary merit, so it gave a good feeling). Only thing we can do is go back to the drawing table, but this time will get it right!