John Jantsch webinar recap: Rethinking the customer and employee journey
Going beyond transactions to create lasting bonds with customers
In our latest Behind the Sign webinar, renowned marketing consultant and best-selling author John Jantsch shared insightful strategies for rethinking both the customer and employee journeys. His session centered on helping businesses better engage their customers and employees by optimizing their touchpoints across the board.
Jantsch began by highlighting a key truth in today's marketing landscape: “Marketing isn't about just getting new customers; it's about building ongoing relationships.”
He challenged traditional notions, moving beyond the simplistic funnel approach to address the complexities of how customers and employees make decisions today. Critical statistics, such as 87% of potential customers dismissing businesses with low ratings and 86% of buyers willing to pay more for a better customer experience, underscore the significant change in marketing today: how people choose to become customers.
Marketing strategy is communicating how you solve a specific problem for a specific person in a very specific way.
Here are three pivotal strategies shared by John for enhancing customer and employee experiences, thus driving business growth:
1. Understanding and addressing the customer journey
Narrow your focus to the top 20%
For most businesses, 80% of their profits and growth come from a very narrow band of their customers—the top 20%. By zeroing in on this segment, businesses can significantly enhance their profitability and growth. To identify your top 20%, start by examining your customer base and ranking them by profitability. Once you’ve ranked your customers, look at the ones who refer business to you. This top 20% is your sweet spot.
Leverage AI for better insights
One simple trick shared by our speaker was to use AI tools to gain insights into your ideal clients. For instance, using the empathy mapping process, you can define your ideal customers using this prompt:
"Using the empathy mapping process, define the core buyer personas and segments that make up ideal clients for firms in [your industry]."
Additionally, you can use this prompt to create a list of 20 concerns your ideal customer might express when considering hiring someone in your industry:
"Create a list of 20 concerns a [ideal client] might express when considering hiring [your industry] – make it emotional and use the first person."
The results of these prompts could help you understand what your customers are thinking, feeling and saying, allowing you to better address their problems and concerns.
2. Promise to solve a problem that matters to them
Define your core message
A core message is a simple statement that defines how you're different in a way that matters to your ideal customer. It's the cornerstone of your strategy, conveying the value you offer by addressing a specific problem your customers face.
A core message is a tool to use to promise to solve a problem that matters most to your ideal client.
Leverage customer feedback
To uncover the core problems your business solves, listen to your customers. Conduct interviews and analyze your customer reviews to reveal recurring themes about what they appreciate most. By incorporating these insights into your core message, you can significantly enhance your market position.
3. Build a complete journey: The Marketing Hourglass
The Marketing Hourglass
Your customer journey is made up of every interaction you have with them. Jantsch’s Marketing Hourglass represents the entire journey, from the initial awareness stage to creating loyal advocates. The seven stages are: Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer.
🧠 Know: Ensure strong visibility through SEO, content marketing, and social media.
👍 Like: Make a positive impression with your website, branding, and initial interactions.
🤝 Trust: Build trust through testimonials, case studies, and reviews.
👉 Try: Offer a low-risk way for potential customers to experience your product or service.
💰 Buy: Ensure the purchase process is smooth and positive.
🔁 Repeat: Maintain a relationship through follow-up communications and loyalty programs.
💭 Refer: Encourage referrals through excellent service and memorable experiences.
To go through the exercise of seeing how these stages apply to your organization, John included a worksheet for businesses, which you can download here.
The employee journey
The Marketing Hourglass framework can also be applied to the employee journey. Potential employees go through stages of knowing, liking and trusting your company before they decide to join and stay. Applying the model to your recruitment and retention strategies can help attract and retain top talent.
Final thoughts
John Jantsch's webinar emphasized the importance of building meaningful relationships with both customers and employees. By fully understanding and addressing every aspect of their journeys, businesses can foster loyalty, encourage referrals, and ultimately, drive profitability.
Ready to transform your approach to marketing? Don’t miss out on insights and strategies – to watch the full webinar or attend future webinars, register here: