The Loop

| A special program for continuous improvement

I was asked by my boss at Domain7, the brilliant Sarah Evalina, to explore ways we could improve customer care by rethinking the tired "retainer" idea. I conducted a process of research, ideation, branding, strategy and internal leadership to help build our program, called "The Loop."

The Loop was a subscription model, giving clients access to a dedicated small team of cross-disciplinary creators. Led by an Engagement Strategist, each Loop team would have team members like a UX researcher, UX designer, and product developer. The Loop would work based on sprints, working through tasks collected in the team's backlog.

For clients, this meant their digital projects were treated more like products: with a clear eye on metrics and user engagement, features were selected with an eye towards what would influence their end goals, and sprint-based work would help keep those user-centered goals tied to real features, tracked through tools like Hotjar and Google Analytics.

The Loop became the primary way repeat clients at Domain7 engaged in services over the long-term, at one point accounting for more than 50% of the company's revenue, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It became the only source of recurring income for the agency, which is a source of tremendous reliability in the services industry.

The support the launch and sustainment of The Loop, I also helped:

• Plan and direct the supporting video promotion materials.
• Strategize, write and run the client community email newsletter, called "In the Loop"
• Hire the first team members hand over responsibility to owning The Loop over the long-term, which included the absolutely incredible Zach Bulick and Charlotte Taverner-Whelpton

Promo video for The Loop

by the amazing Britney Berrner Creative

Excerpt from 2015 edition "In The Loop"

A few months ago we were at a conference with Jared Spool, UX guru. He told us he was in charge of the hiring for a growing project at the White House that involved 400 digital strategists, designers and developers, coming together to build a new “digital service” department in the US Government. Take a look inside the amazing story of Obama’s stealth startup, the new US Digital Service.

It’s another sign of the shift towards a service paradigm. The reality is, we need to stop thinking about making websites: we are serving people.

It’s hard to make the shift. It doesn’t have to be scary, and we believe in starting small: human innovation comes more from steady improvements through trial and error. As a certain space drama has said, "scientists believe no experiment is a failure; that even a mistake advances the evolution of understanding." 

The best research might already be right in front of you: talk to your people. Here’s a little bit about live prototyping from IDEO’s design kit.

The Loop's founding principles

What principles does The Loop follow?

1. Digital should be goal-driven: "Being on the web" is not enough; digital work must achieve actual goals. It’s designed for a carefully managed budget, and for people who care about results.
2. Digital is holistic: We must think of digital holistically, not just as a website, and not just for marketing. 
3. Digital must be people-centered: We have the privilege of serving the real people we call our customers; our digital work can treat them as first-class citizens. The Loop helps us listen.
4. Digital can be fun: We will make room for moments of collaboration and celebration across our teams.
5. Let’s iterate: The Loop is designed to get to work quickly, and show quick results. Whether it’s writing, designing, programming, photographing, videoing...making of all kinds truly makes a difference.  We won’t get hung up in strategizing, we’ll actually create. Launching teaches us lessons. Prototypes can help.  The point is to try, and then to improve. Change is a given. By embracing it, we will be able to adapt more nimbly.  
6. Use the best of both teams: Your team’s capacity can improve, and we can all learn from each other. The Loop tries to make both teams better, for the best possible results.
7. Create a sustainable rhythm: We are building habits that will last, growing communities that will stick around, and investing in relationship that will stand the test of time. It matters that we treat our environments well— our digital spaces and our workplaces.