RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.
Mastering the modern customer journey for 2025 can feel a bit like a baptism by fire if you don’t know where to start, but we’ve got you covered!
Rather than shooting in the dark, you’ll be targeting customers with total accuracy, and they’ll be feeling supported, satisfied, and ready to convert in no time.
Speaking of journeys, let’s take you on one by starting with a little story before we dive into mastering the modern customer journey.
I’d recently moved house and was hunting for a new gym (because apparently I didn’t already have enough on my plate… oops).
Doing what any normal person would, I decided to try before I buy. Logical, right?
Fitness First looked promising. Their website was slick, and booking a free trial day was easy peasy, especially since it didn’t require a PT induction (music to my introvert mode ears!).
I got an instant on-screen confirmation and SMS too - we love to see it.
But then…
On a more positive note, I got an SMS reminder on the day of my trial… 30 minutes after my scheduled time. Bit late, babes.
Instead of getting a nice, helpful email about what to expect or how to make the most of my trial, I got another sales push.
There was a complete lack of personalisation. Instead of feeling like I got adequate guidance, I was bombarded with offers that were irrelevant and annoying.
Life got in the way, and I actually missed the trial (or maybe it was the ADHD, it’s hard to tell sometimes).
Did anyone check in? Ask if I wanted to rebook? Nope.
But my inbox was BURSTING at the seams with sales emails. The same promo, message, and two even landed within the same hour.
They assumed I was at the purchase stage, even though there was no data to back this assumption. Instead of nurturing me, they bombarded me (and tested my patience).
Without boring you to tears with an Apple terms and conditions-sized list, the main areas where they went wrong were:
Lack of alignment to the customer journey
All of the data should’ve shown Fitness First that I wasn’t ready to purchase. I was at the consideration stage, where I’d have benefited more from guidance and reassurance than sales messaging. Every message didn’t match the touchpoint, and none of it was personalised to where I actually was!
No personal engagement or follow-up
When I didn’t show up to my trial, there should’ve been a follow-up to check in and allow me to reschedule. Instead, the messaging remained the same, rather than being adapted to suit the situation.
Over-automation, no human touch
This one goes without saying. There was no point at which I felt like I was being spoken to by a human being rather than a sales-obsessed robot - without a human touch, there’s no trust!
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by sales spam, I should have been sent:
Relevant content
“What to bring to your trial” or “How to make the most of your first visit” would’ve been welcome content for me to receive before my trial. It’d give me peace of mind and make me feel as though I was being guided along with a personal touch.
SMS reminders before the time slot
Well… It’s kind of a given, isn’t it? If you’re looking at a time-based action, your response should be aligned with that time, too.
A real follow-up
“Did you miss your trial? Want to reschedule?”.
Well, the short version is that it’s costing businesses money, their customer base, and time:
My entire experience with Fitness First was rife with issues created by assumptions, over-automation, and ignored feedback (I doubt I was the only one with such a poor experience!).
But how do you master the modern customer journey for 2025, rather than slip backwards into the dark ages?
The ol’ dusty marketing funnel? We don’t know her.
We’re only (kind of) joking.
The modern customer journey is a loop. People jump around, repeat steps, disappear and reappear. The marketing funnel is linear, the modern customer journey isn’t!
Think ongoing engagement, re-entry, and continuous connection — you’ve got to keep customers in the loop to stay in the loop, you know?
Use my story as a lesson?
Okay, not just that, but it’s a great lesson in all of the ways you can seriously miss the mark with the customer journey.
The best experiences are designed with intention, which means that if you’re not mapping your customer journeys, you’re relying on guesswork, which won’t hit the mark.
Every friction point adds to a customer’s frustration, and every gap is a missed opportunity — personalisation isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s an absolute must if you want to support and satisfy your customers.
TL;DR: If your customer journey doesn’t feel seamless, supportive, and satisfying… It’s time to rework it.
Action beats insight. Let’s make it better.
(Or you can drop me a message or get in touch for some peace of mind and non-stressful marketing!)
RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.