Google Mobile Labs

Making customer centricity tangible for executive leaders

Google commissioned a customer centricity study that showed that organisations that are more customer-centric outperform their peers commercially. As part of bringing that idea to life, Google wanted to run an intervention that let executive leaders see firsthand what customer-centric practice looks like in action—not just in theory. They also saw Mobile Labs as a way to signal to their key clients that Google’s priority wasn’t just technology adoption, but helping their partners become better, more customer-centred businesses.

The challenge

How might we help executive leaders experience what real customer-centred intervention looks like, so they can drive meaningful change within their organisations?

To address this, Google created Mobile Labs and partnered with a select group of UX agencies across EMEA. How Might We was chosen as the exclusive African partner, working closely with CX Partners and the wider EMEA team to bring the programme to life and support the socialisation of the Customer Centricity Study and model.

Mobile Labs were immersive, one-day interventions where executives observed real customers using their mobile sites, experienced friction firsthand, and worked collaboratively to prioritise improvements. Each lab combined live usability testing with structured facilitation to translate insight into aligned, executive-level action.

What we did

As Google’s South African Mobile Labs partner, we delivered labs between 2020 and 2023 across retail, finance, and telecoms. We worked alongside Google and EMEA partners to ensure a consistent, high-quality experience across regions.

Each lab included:

• A focused kickoff to align on strategic questions and recruitment criteria
• Five moderated usability sessions with real customers interacting with the client’s mobile experience
• A live viewing environment for stakeholders
• A facilitated executive workshop to surface insights, prioritise interventions, and define a clear action plan

We delivered findings and recommendations within 24 hours to maintain momentum and accelerate decision-making.

How we helped

Mobile Labs transformed customer centricity from an abstract aspiration into a lived executive experience. Leaders didn’t just hear about friction, they saw and felt it.

This direct exposure created urgency, alignment, and ownership at the highest levels of the organisation, enabling faster decisions and practical UX improvements that strengthened mobile performance and commercial outcomes.

As part of the wider EMEA programme, we also presented the Customer Centricity Study white paper at Google Think Retail in 2022, helping extend the impact of the work beyond individual labs.