Every marketing presentation has that one slide. You know the one: a sleek funnel diagram or a clear circle of steps labeled "awareness → consideration → purchase → loyalty → promotion." It's reassuring, predictable, and completely fictional.

 

But let's be honest: no one wakes up in the awareness phase. No one thinks, "Today I'm going to elegantly consider something." Consumers—real people—are much messier than that. We click, scroll, save, forget, rewatch, get distracted by a funny cat video, and then buy something completely different two weeks later because a friend mentioned it over coffee.
If that's a “journey,” it's less of a tour and more of a chaotic road trip with 47 detours and no GPS.

The myth of the linear path

Marketers love steps. Steps make chaos manageable. They give us the feeling that we can predict and measure human behavior—and, more importantly, report on it in PowerPoint. But the idea of ​​a clear, sequential journey has always been a convenient fiction, then and now. It was never designed for consumers; it was designed for companies trying to justify their marketing budgets.

The truth is, consumers have always been unpredictable. What's changed isn't them, but the number of ways we allow them to share their chaos.

The Chaos Multiplier

There used to be maybe three ways to interact with a brand: see an ad, visit a store, and buy the product. Simple, though I'm sure buying the product preceded seeing the ad just as often as following it. Now there are thousands: TikTok influencers, chatbot recommendations, shoppable livestreams, AR passes, email nudges, push notifications, and let's not forget the classic "someone complained about us on Reddit" message. We called that the holy grail of omnichannel engagement!

Predictability is overrated anyway

The irony is: the more we try to map the customer journey, the less predictable it has become. Every new channel we open isn't a new lane on the highway, but a new possible universe. You can't map it. You can only participate in it.

The best brands aren't obsessed with a customer's stage. They pay attention to context: where someone is, what they need right now, and how quickly they're moving. They're not managing a customer journey; they're managing a relationship that develops in bursts, pings, and memes.

And what now?

Maybe it's time we stop treating the customer journey like a map and start treating it more like a "live weather system." You can't control it, but you can read the patterns, adapt, and ensure you don't end up without an umbrella.

The modern consumer isn't lost—they're discovering. And perhaps it's not our job to guide them from A to B, but to ensure that wherever they wander, we're worth encountering.

Because, let's be honest, the customer journey has never been a straight line. It's a swarm, unique to each person. If we're smart, we'll stop trying to smooth that path and start learning how to dance on it.

(Ziptone/Merijn te Booij)

Customer Experience, Featured, Opinions