From friction to flow: A conversation with Todd Unger on the 10-second customer journey
Customer journeys happen—whether you intentionally design them or not. But what happens in the first 10 seconds is actually what matters most. That’s the topic of this webinar, featuring Todd Unger, chief experience officer (CXO) at the American Medical Association (AMA) and author of “The 10-second Customer Journey: A CXO’s Playbook for Growing and Retaining Customers in a Digital World.”
In a conversation with TheyDo’s Co-Founder & CEO, Jochem van Veer, Todd explains how understanding the customer, aligning cross-functional teams, and eliminating friction points are crucial for achieving rapid (and more) conversions and sustained growth. He also offers practical insights and actionable strategies drawn from his “CXO playbook” and its seven principles. By adhering to these, organizations can create a 10-second journey that captures attention that quickly converts into action.
“One of the premises in my book is that we all have virtually unlimited capacity to consume the things we’re interested in and zero capacity for the things we aren’t,” Todd explains. “The job of anyone in the customer experience business is to figure out how to become something interesting to people.”
Todd's experience at the AMA and his prior roles at Procter & Gamble, Leo Burnett, and AOL provide a rich context for the principles he shares. For a company focused on Journey Management, inviting Todd on the show was a no-brainer. For any CXO looking to enhance customer experience and drive growth in today's digital world, this webinar will rapidly light the way. Here are the highlights:
What does growth mean to a CXO?
For a CXO, growth is intrinsically tied to knowing and meeting the customer's needs, according to Todd. More than expanding the customer base and increasing revenue, it entails enhancing the overall customer experience in a way that leads to sustainable and meaningful engagement. From Todd’s perspective, growth requires a deep understanding of the customer, seamless integration of business functions, data-driven strategies, and a relentless focus on reducing friction in the customer journey.
What is the “10-second” customer journey?
The 10-second journey is about capturing a customer’s attention and prompting action within seconds. In the B2B context, the 10-second journey focuses on helping customers complete specific tasks quickly. The goal is to remove friction and streamline the process. Todd discussed how companies often do this backward by complicating the process with unnecessary steps. He shared an example of a company introducing a multi-step quiz for a simple product, which caused him, as a potential customer, to lose interest.
The 7 principles of the 10-second journey (in action at AMA)
Todd shared how he and his team at the AMA bring the principles of the 10-second journey to life every day.
Customer definition: They start by understanding their audience inside out and segmenting it—medical students, practicing physicians, and healthcare professionals—using data-driven insights.
Brand proposition: The AMA’s messaging revolves around three core elements: Priorities, People, and Proof. This keeps their value proposition clear and compelling across all channels.
Friction hunting and removal: Todd’s team is constantly on the lookout for friction points in the customer journey. For instance, they added live chat support to address common issues in real time, smoothing out the experience for their members.
Seamless integration of functions: Different departments, such as marketing, product development, e-commerce, and customer service, work in sync. This cross-functional collaboration ensures a seamless customer experience.
Rapid conversion: The AMA simplifies processes, such as making the membership sign-up quick and easy. Clear calls to action help customers make decisions and take action swiftly.
Proactive customer service: Real-time support is a game-changer. Tools like live chat provide instant assistance, making sure customers get help right when they need it.
End-to-end experience: From the first touchpoint to post-purchase interactions, the AMA views the customer journey as a whole, keeping customers engaged and loyal.
Shout out: Alignment is key
Elaborating on principle number 4, Todd emphasized the need for different departments to work together cohesively. “One of the key aspects of our strategy at the AMA is the seamless integration of different functions. Cross-functional collaboration is crucial, with marketing, product development, e-commerce, and customer service teams working together towards common goals. This alignment ensures that the customer experience is cohesive and that every function supports the overall customer journey.”
The power of journeys to bring it all together
Customer journeys help unify different functions within an organization. By visualizing the entire journey, teams can better understand their roles and collaborate more effectively to enhance the customer experience.
“Using customer journeys, we’ve been able to foster better collaboration between departments. For example, when we identified a drop-off point in our membership sign-up process, both the marketing and IT teams worked together to streamline the process. This collaborative effort was only possible because we had a clear, visualized journey that everyone could understand and contribute to.”
Wrap up
“10 seconds is a short period of time.” Todd concedes, but he asks listeners to “think about what you saw on social media today. You're flipping through there, and you see something that you weren't aware of before.” By understanding the customer, aligning various functions, and continuously removing friction points, organizations can significantly enhance their CX and achieve rapid conversions. For those looking to delve deeper into these concepts, Todd’s book, "The 10-Second Customer Journey: The CXO’s Playbook for Growing and Retaining Customers in a Digital World," is a must-have guide. Looking for more tips, insights, and ways to make an impact with journeys? Join the conversation in the Journey Management community on Slack.
Ready to take a deeper dive? Jump to the specific chapters below.
00:00 Welcome
01:50 Introducing Todd Unger
04:40 AMA's work (American Medical Association)
07:18 What does growth mean to a CXO?
11:07 Todd's experience as a CXO at AMA
18:46 Todd's definition of digital transformation and experience
21:13 The 10-second customer journey
26:00 B2B examples of the 10-second journey
32:00 How the CX function brings teams together
38:15 Metrics for growth
41:52 Using journeys to bring different functions together
45:40 The day-to-day of the 10-second journey
49:20 The importance of knowing who your customer is
52:14 Removing frictions in your customer journey
54:00 The story behind the title of The 10-second Customer Journey: The CXO’s Playbook for Growing and Retaining Customers in a Digital World
55:35 How to define the end-to-end journey
58:20 Wrap up and goodbye