The 10-Second Customer Journey: The CXO's Playbook for Growing and Retaining Customers in a Digital World

by Todd Unger

The customer changed. And marketers, advertisers and business owners are still playing catch-up in a world where buying decisions are made not in months or days, but in seconds.

The enemy in today’s customer environment? FRICTION. And those who can minimize friction, guiding potential buyers rapidly through the ‘tornado funnel’ buying process, will win.

But taming friction is no small feat. It takes the seamless integration of marketing, product, commerce and service into a cohesive, friction-free customer experience. And that’s something today’s siloed companies are still not set up to do, resulting in a bevy of new C-Suite leaders, including the Chief Experience Officer (CXO).

The 10-second Customer Journey provides the playbook for growing and retaining customers in a landscape transformed by digital.

Todd Unger, CXO of the American Medical Association, provides a step-by-step guide based on three decades of consumer marketing, advertising, digital product and digital marketing and commerce experience. He’ll teach you how to become your own Chief Friction-Reduction Officer and reignite customer growth and engagement.

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2024

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In today's digital world, businesses must prioritize creating incredibly fast and easy customer experiences. Here's a breakdown:

* Speed and Simplicity are Key: Customers expect instant gratification and smooth interactions. Any friction in their path can lead to lost sales.

* The Modern Customer Path is a "Tornado": Forget linear journeys; customers bounce between touchpoints rapidly. Businesses need to ensure a seamless flow across all of them.

* Teamwork is Essential: Departments like marketing, sales, and customer service must work together to create a unified and consistent customer experience.

* Tech Enables Efficiency: Tools like data analytics and artificial intelligence can help businesses identify and fix points of friction in the customer journey.

* Leadership Must Drive Change: The book provides strategies for executives to implement these changes and adapt to the fast-paced digital marketplace.

Essentially, Unger's message is: to thrive, companies must create a frictionless, lightning-fast customer experience that meets the demands of today's digital consumer.

[Ian Ayres · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is chock full of interesting stories exemplifying how important it is to reduce friction in the online commercial environment. You'll learn about the tornado funnel, 4D customer insight, and how to generate "The Nod." I like how Unger was able to distill concrete, take-home lessons --such as have an emotional action line, and just three brief bullet points on your landing page. There's also an excellent chapter on A/B testing. Unger use his experience marketing everything from Gladware and The Racing Form to AMA memberships. Concise and compelling prose.

[Darya · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a good mix of own professional story, recommendations and a playbook full of ideas on customer journey. It is under very difficult to attract and retain customer attention in today's digital world. Author suggests five aspects of driving the future of customer experience: Automate. Augment. Analyze and Act. Align. The ideas seem to have a strong background with a proven record of implementation. There is a good explanation of the playbook and examples.

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

💯💯💯💯💯

[Prateek Vasisht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Having worked in CX before, the author rightfully targets "friction" as the item to focus on (reducing). Friction is broad and links to process design and Lean methods in organizations but being a CX book, the author has deftly kept it focussed on the CX layer, and therefore the audience. The X graphic is great for context and book is full of bullet lists which make the content digestible. A focussed book that can be referred to repeatedly.

Originally posted on NetGalley.