Wouldn't this be amazing *my brand is exactly what you need*. Mind control doesn't exist in branding. Your brand isn’t what you say it is — it’s what your customers feel every time they interact with you. They create your brand image in their mind, you can't control that. But you can influence the identity and make decisions about customer experience strategy.
You can design every single touchpoint. Your website, packaging, post-purchase emails to be memorable, consistent, and delightfully “you.” But should you bother?
Yes, a good customer experience keeps customers coming back. A great one makes them tell all their friends about it. In fact, PwC found that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a great experience.
We are trying to make positive experiences. But, your business will get unhappy customers, who share the experience with the world.
Here’s where you get to have fun! Add unexpected, delightful touches that make your branding unforgettable.
- Design quirky 404 error pages that make people smile.
- Rollie Nation, an Aussie shoe brand turned boring delivery invoices into paper airplanes. They don't want customers to throw them in the recycling, they want them to play.
You can't control feedback, but you can control the experience that leads to it. If you make your customer experience unforgettable, it prevents some bad feedback. This ties in to your brand promise if you need help writing that.
An experience should look like this. Person discovers you, interacts, makes a purchase, leaves a positive review and comes back after telling six friends.
What is a Customer Experience Strategy?
A customer experience strategy is your plan for shaping how people feel about your brand. Think of it as the difference between a dull interactions and a story worth retelling. When you surprise and delight, you create stories people want to share.
- Customer service = solving problems when things go wrong.
- Customer experience = the entire journey, from Instagram scroll to unboxing, to the follow-up email.
Touchpoints include:
- Online browsing and checkout.
- In-store interactions.
- Your packaging design.
- Post-purchase support.
- Even the tone of your automated emails.
Every little, insignificant, detail contributes to your brand’s emotional footprint.
Why a Customer Experience Strategy matters for brand loyalty
Customers aren’t loyal to products, they’re loyal to how those products make them feel. Brands that invest in experience win on retention and word-of-mouth.
- Wildflower Espresso, Wallsend, Newcastle. It's not a global chain, it's something so much better. It’s not about the coffee. It’s the personalised cups, based on conversations you have with staff when you order a drink. It's the vibe that keeps regulars hooked and invites in new strangers to join the Wildflower cult.
- Apple: Famous for their impeccable online and in-store experience. Order online, pick it up at a set time. It's seamless. No judgement here, but I'm tapping this out on a 2014 Macbook. The batteries gone, but that wouldn't stop me replacing it. And, I'd do it to see that silky experience in action.
The results? Companies with a positive customer experience achieve 4–8% higher revenue. Loyalty pays off. Let’s dive into our framework to give you some practical steps to make your brand unforgettable.
The 5-Step Customer Experience Strategy Framework
Here comes the meat. It's the filling that makes this a brilliant guide. Funny story, in December 1995, I went to see Manchester United vs Sunderland. The man in front of me wore a beanie through the entire first half. At halftime, he whipped it off to reveal two meat pies balanced on his bald head. Unforgettable.
Here’s how to build a customer experience strategy that’s both creative and practical.
1. Define your CX Vision & Values
If your brand were a person, how would it behave? Your CX vision should align with your brand promise.
- Apple delivers simplicity and delight. From product design to the way you unbox the products, iPhone, Macbook etc,.
- Your vision could be playful, sustainable, luxurious — as long as it’s consistent.
- Focus on the small details, looking at soaps in guest bathrooms, toilet papers used. Those details we tend to overlook.
Write it down. Share it with your team. Live it.
2. Map the Customer Journey
Step into your customer’s shoes and trace their journey:
- Discovery: Where do they first meet you? Instagram ad, café shelf, or word of mouth?
- Purchase: Is checkout smooth or a chore?
- Post-purchase: Do they feel cared for, or ghosted?
A visual journey map helps you spot gaps and opportunities. Go deeper on this topic by reading our detailed explanation down below.
3. Collect and Act on Customer Feedback
Feedback is like a golden, deep fried, chicken wing, it's great but only if you act on it. Feedback is no longer a monologue, it's a continuous loop. Customers drive innovation, you need to respond to their needs.
- Run quick surveys or Net Promoter Score (NPS) check-ins. Explanation underneath.
- Use social listening to spot trends in what people say.
- Make feedback loops part of your process (Amazon built its empire this way).
Listening shows customers you care. Acting on feedback proves it.
A Net Promoter Score is a quick way to check customer sentiment - would they recommend you to other people. Ranked on a scale of 1-10. Here's how it works:
- Promoters (9-10): Your superfans. These are your enthusiastic customers, who are going to recommend your business.
- Passives (7-8): They’re satisfied, but not enthusiastic. They could switch to a competitor. I’d focus on a move that delights them—something unexpected that keeps them loyal.
- Detractors (0-6): These are customers who are unlikely to be back. They're apocalyptically unhappy customers who spread what you did with everyone. We all have those stories.
My advice is to measure data, find your baseline and celebrate when your numbers improved.
4. Personalise the Experience
People crave connection. Even small personal touches can turn a transaction into a story.
- Personalised emails that use their name and purchase history.
- Thoughtful packaging that feels like a gift, not just a delivery. Unboxing an Apple product is a sumptuous experience. Graff, the jewellery house, takes it even further with their unboxing. It's next level.
- Market Lane Coffee once slipped a handwritten notes into my order, turning a boring delivery into a moment of joy. I've unpacked this method in more detail below.
Personalisation doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be human.
5. Train and Empower Employees
Your frontline team is your brand in action. If they’re empowered, they’ll create magic moments.
- Now, this won't work for every business, but... the Ritz-Carlton gives staff the freedom (and a budget) to fix problems creatively on the spot.
- Empowered employees = happier customers = loyal fans.
When you give staff freedom, and job satisfaction, they'll feel trusted. With the right tools, they'll deliver experiences worth remembering.
First, we need to know the customer’s problem, you should already have this insight. If not, start by learning about building your brand's foundations.
Next, define what an ideal customer experience looks like. That’s how you find ways to surprise and delight. Do things they don’t expect. Personalise the experience whenever possible. Who doesn’t love a thoughtful touch, like gift wrapping or a handwritten note? Small gestures take little effort but deliver outsized impact.
Maybe it’s because I work in branding, but I notice these details. I collect them as inspiration for projects and show customers how they can make a difference.
Take coffee, for example. The experience begins with my first interaction on the website. Witty copy, a clear description, and a smooth process are enough to make me buy.
About 3 years ago, I ordered beans from Market Lane Coffee, South Yarra, Vic. It came in a brown box with a generic Parcel Post sticker on the front, but they sealed it with custom-printed tape.
Inside were the beans and two pieces of card - one told me all about the coffee, tasting notes and the region it came from.
The other was a thick, brown (recycled) paper postcard printed in black with a photo of two coffee farmers. On the reverse were contact details and their logo squeezed into a corner. Leaving ample space for the following message.
"Hello Martin, Hope you enjoy the delicious Hadheso Espresso. Happy Brewing, Love Market Lane Coffee / x."
Now, I understand that they write a similar note with every order. But Market Lane went further to show they were grateful for my purchase.
How can customer experience make a difference for a brand?
A memorable customer experience can significantly enhance a brand's reputation. A customer experience needs to do the following:
- Surprise and delight consumers (mentioned above).
- Be personalised (above again).
- Add value at each touchpoint - even if it's free, you should always add value.
- Be memorable by being authentic as well.
- Anchor it in consistency. From your online experience (website/social media) to your packaging. You could also plan conversations and how you reply to emails.
- Avoid failing expectations. People expect a certain level of service, and when you don't deliver, people get narked.
- Never assume allegiance – you might have used their product for 10 years. They won't expect the quality of the product/service to worsen. They only expect better results.
- Practice gratitude – one of my clients, Infuse Health, sent out birthday cards, Christmas cards, thank you notes, and the odd freebie when you recommend their service. These are cost-effective ways to add value to their service and show people they care.
- Practice gratitude. Infuse Health, sent birthday cards, Christmas cards, thank you notes, and gifts when you recommended their service. These are cost-effective ways to add value to their service and show people they care.
- Finally, remember that you need to consistently improve the service. The needs and preferences of your customers are constantly evolving, and so should your customer service. You'll always be continuously doing it, working on feedback and ensuring everything works together to build this fantastic experience.
It's those little details that Market Lane Coffee got right. They surprised me, personalised it, added extra value, made it consistent, avoided failing my expectations, and showed gratitude.
And I can happily say I'd go back and I've told all my friends about the experience (that's you, hi!).
It's not the big gestures. The little details make the difference that binds the big things together. I cannot stress that enough.
Instead of meaningless, forgettable, expected experiences, we need to work out journeys that elevate experiences to meaningful, unforgettable, unique and unexpected.
This creates loyal customers who spread the good word. They'll be your ultimate fans. Saving you marketing dollars.
Before you cheer and crack out the Dom Perignon. This task is a continually evolving process to create more brand awareness. There will always be steps to improve, delete and add. This evolving process allows you to see the gaps where the journey is confusing, broken, or missing.
This technique is comprehensive, but it's the simplest. I use it in branding workshops as it allows you to easily see gaps. Grab a giant sheet of paper and thick pens. I use a butcher's block, Sharpies (or Posca pens are great), and coloured pens.
On the left, write "customer meet (insert your brand name)". On the right, "customer leaves review".
Now, write out all the steps that transitions them from cold lead to warm lead, to superfans. You might have lots of different ways they meet your brand. Here's some examples to get your customer journey started.
- Phone call
- Opt-in
- Face-to-face meeting
- Website
- Advertisement
- Social Media
- Search engine
It's important not to skip any.
Once you've written down all the first touchpoints. You must think about progressing people from cold to sweaty, hot interactions. You will start seeing actionable touchpoints you need to create, evolve or delete.
When you've worked out what those touchpoints are, you need to analyse them to see if they align with the early work you've put in. Are they communicating the right feelings? Have you used your values to communicate with them?
If it's a phone call, how did it get answered? Is there a set structure? If it were an email, did the touchpoint elicit an emotive response? Is the copy written in your brand's language? What is the tone of voice?
Custom unexpected brand touchpoints
If you want a brownie point, customise obscure steps. Things like quotes, invoices, and 404 pages.
A great example is when the Australian shoe brand Rollies fulfils an online order; the invoice slip they add to the packaging has lines, a cool pattern and instructions so you can fold it into a paper aeroplane.
That is cool. I know it's a bit silly, but how fun is that?
While you hope people don't land on your 404 page regularly, injecting something unexpected is always great. I recommend going to Lego, Star Wars (Star Wars are blocking me from linking to them), or Dribbble and adding shipoopi to their URLS' end. Very fun!
A 404 page isn't just functional to tell people that you are effectively stuffed up. You can use it to redirect people, serve them in new ways, and entertain them.
Another thing you could do is customised packaging outside of the packaging. Don't just put it in a brown box. Put more effort in. If you're environmentally conscious, ask yourself, do I need extra packaging? Is it biodegradable and printed with algae ink?
Are the contents well protected? Is there something else you could do? Could you slip in a thank you card? Have you added stickers?
If you are planning an event, is it on-brand visually? Does the tone of voice match? Is it looking like part of your experience? Ask yourself, are you going far enough? Could you double down and make it even better so that people are like, "This is incredible."
In personal meetings, what's your rhythm? How do people meet you? Do you leave them a package?
How can you make the most mundane process an exciting exchange? That's what we need to work out.
Eventually, you'll come away with a huge to-do list to chip away at and see what happens. I got told recently that the best way to conquer your to-do list is to not have one and enter it straight into your calendar.
Technique two: Cardboard Brand Experience Creator
This is excellent if you're overwhelmed and 'time-poor'. A client of mine told me all about this one – chop up some old bits of cardboard packaging. And using a customer flow of person meets BRAND – a person leaves a review.
On one side, write down the name of the step (email, phone call, etc.). On the other side, write down the message and the tone of voice.
This gives you a satisfying stack of touchpoints you can chuck in the bin when they're completed. It's a cathartic exercise with excellent end results. It's way less daunting than having a huge sheet of paper with all these to-dos on it.
You'll turn a pile of 10 or 12 different things into zero. Keep chipping away at them and see what happens.
How to Build a Customer Experience Strategy in Your Business
Feeling ready to create your own? Here’s a quick checklist:
- Define your CX vision in one sentence.
- Map out your customer journey touchpoints.
- Set up a simple feedback loop (surveys or DMs count).
- Personalize one small thing — emails, packaging, or thank-you notes.
- Train your team to act like ambassadors, not order-takers.
- Pick 2–3 CX metrics to track.
- Add one playful, creative twist that makes your brand unforgettable.
Small steps create big impressions. Start with one thing this week, like a birthday card for a loyal customer, and build from there.
There's always something you can improve, and make more on-brand. You can really start working your brand into every little orifice of a customers world.
