Most digital experiences are not designed as journeys. They are designed as pages — each one optimised in isolation, each one asking the customer to make one more decision, fill one more field, click one more button. Stacked together, they become a maze.
Follow the intent
The best journeys start from a simple question: what did the customer come here to do, and what is the fewest number of steps between them and that outcome?
Every extra field, every optional sign-up, every unclear call to action is a decision you are asking a stranger to make for you. Each one costs a little of their attention. Enough of them and the customer gives up — not because they didn't want the thing, but because the path to it was too expensive.
Remove before you add
When a journey underperforms, the instinct is to add: a popup, a chatbot, a more persuasive headline. The stronger move is usually to remove. Shorten the form. Merge two pages. Delete the step that no one uses.
You can measure the difference. A journey with fewer steps almost always converts better than the same journey with more persuasion layered on top.
Design for the uncertain customer
The hardest part of any journey is the moment a customer is not yet sure. That is where trust is won or lost — and where clear, honest information matters more than urgency or pressure.
Show the price. State the timing. Explain what happens next. The customers you win this way are the ones who stay.
No comments yet