Empowering Telecoms and Utilities with Design Thinking: A KPN and DUNEA Success Story

Transforming Customer Experience through Design Thinking: A KPN and DUNEA Case Study

The Challenge: Balancing Innovation and Cost-Cutting in Telecommunications and Utilities

In today's competitive business landscape, companies across industries face the constant challenge of delivering innovative, customer-centric solutions while managing costs and maintaining profitability. This is particularly true for organizations in the telecommunications and utilities sectors, such as KPN, a Dutch telecommunications company, and DUNEA, a water utility provider.

Dunes in Den Haag, where water is filtered for the habitants of the city

Executives in these industries often find themselves grappling with three key problems:

  • Crafting service offerings that truly meet customer needs: In an era of rapid technological advancement and changing consumer preferences, it can be difficult to develop products and services that resonate with customers and address their evolving requirements.
  • Fostering a culture of innovation: With a focus on cost-cutting and "numbers thinking," organizations may struggle to create an environment that encourages creativity, experimentation, and out-of-the-box thinking.
  • Ensuring feasibility and practicality: Even when innovative ideas are generated, there is often a disconnect between conceptualization and implementation, leading to projects that fail to deliver real-world results.

These challenges are deeply rooted in leadership and team behaviors.

Without a customer-centric mindset and a willingness to embrace new approaches, organizations risk falling into a cycle of failed projects and missed opportunities.

The Cost of Inaction: Failed Projects and Missed Opportunities

When organizations fail to address these challenges head-on, the costs can be significant. Failed projects due to a lack of customer engagement and validation can lead to:

  • Wasted resources: Time, money, and talent are squandered on initiatives that do not deliver value to the business or its customers. Decreased customer satisfaction: Products and services that do not meet customer needs can lead to frustration, complaints, and ultimately, customer churn.
  • Lost market share: As competitors with more customer-centric offerings gain ground, organizations that fail to innovate risk losing their position in the market.
  • Damaged reputatio: Consistently failing to deliver on customer expectations can erode brand trust and loyalty, making it harder to attract and retain customers in the future.

The Solution: Empowering Teams with Design Thinking

Recognizing the need for a fresh approach, KPN and DUNEA partnered with Systems Leadership to bring design thinking to a core group of people in both companies. The goal was to empower these individuals to:

  • Craft service offerings that are closer to the customers' needs and desires
  • Push the boundaries of innovation while remaining grounded in reality
  • Develop practical, hands-on solutions that can be implemented effectively

Through our tailored coaching and training program, participants learned to apply the principles of design thinking to their work, focusing on three key areas:

  • Empathy: Understanding customer needs, preferences, and pain points through research, observation, and active listening.
  • Ideation: Generating a wide range of creative ideas and concepts, without judgment or constraints.
  • Experimentation: Rapidly prototyping and testing ideas with customers to validate assumptions and refine solutions.

By positioning design thinking as a means to qualify projects and pre-vet customer engagement, we helped KPN and DUNEA strike a balance between innovation and cost-cutting. Teams learned to prioritize initiatives based on their potential to deliver value to customers and the business, ensuring that resources were allocated to the most promising opportunities. The Results: Improved Customer Experience and Business Outcomes Through the adoption of design thinking, KPN and DUNEA have seen significant improvements in both customer experience and business outcomes.

Key results include:

  • Increased customer satisfaction: By developing products and services that are more closely aligned with customer needs, both companies have seen a notable increase in customer satisfaction scores and positive feedback.
  • Higher success rates for new initiatives: With a more rigorous approach to customer validation and experimentation, the percentage of new projects that deliver measurable value has increased significantly.
  • Greater employee engagement: Empowering teams with the tools and mindset of design thinking has fostered a culture of innovation and collaboration, leading to higher levels of employee engagement and satisfaction.
  • Improved financial performance: By focusing on initiatives that deliver real value to customers, KPN and DUNEA have been able to drive revenue growth and improve their bottom line.

"The design thinking training provided by Systems Leadership has been transformative for our organization. It has given our teams the skills and confidence to put the customer at the center of everything we do, and the results speak for themselves." - Marieke van Vliet, Innovation Manager, KPN

"By embracing design thinking, we've been able to bridge the gap between innovation and practicality. We're now able to develop solutions that not only push the boundaries but also deliver tangible value to our customers and our business." - Jan de Groot, Customer Experience Lead, DUNEA

Conclusion: Embracing Design Thinking for Sustainable Success

The success of KPN and DUNEA's partnership with Systems Leadership demonstrates the power of design thinking in driving customer-centric innovation and business growth. By empowering teams with the tools and mindset to put the customer first, organizations can overcome the challenges of balancing innovation and cost-cutting, and deliver sustainable value to all stakeholders.

To learn more about how we can help your organization unite teams and achieve success, contact us today.