You know designing a better customer experience is good for business. But did you know it could even save lives? Yes, I'm serious. In a famous study, researchers wanted to figure out how to get more people to schedule regular colonoscopies. A colon exam is one of the best ways to detect colon cancer in its early stages. Unfortunately, the procedure was viewed as extremely unpleasant so many patients avoided it. During a typical colonoscopy there's a painful PEAK moment and then the procedure ENDS quickly. That meant people remembered—and judged—the WHOLE experience as overly negative. This is due to a behavioural quirk psychologists call "the Peak-End Rule." Our memories are crappy. We can't possibly remember everything that happens to us so when we think back about an experience, we tend to remember the peak moments—whether good or bad—and how it ended. Here's where things get interesting... The researchers knew they couldn't change the peak moment of the procedure from being unpleasant (colon scraping will never be "fun"). So instead they made the whole procedure LONGER. They added a bunch of additional steps to the exam so there was more time between the very painful peak moment and the end. The result? Patients remembered the WHOLE procedure more positively. This one small change has likely saved 1000s of lives. Amazing, right? There's a lesson in here for businesses too... Customers won't just remember the peak and the end moments—they'll use those memories to EVALUATE their overall experience. That means you can thoughtfully design your customer experience so that the highs are delightful and it ends with a bang (in a good way). You've come to the end of this post. Let's end it on a high! Give a shoutout to a business you love in the comments that recently exceeded your expectations. It will be a delightful peak in their team's day. -- P.S. To do like today's graphic? It was designed by @SupersideHQ. Superside is an on-demand design service that delivers done-for-you graphics, logos, videos, and more in days (not weeks). It's absolutely delightful.