Marketing minus the hype jam: Customer Journey

Posted by Mike O'Brien on April 26, 2026 in Postcards from the digital frontier | Leave a comment

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Welcome to our Marketing, minus the hype Jam.

This episode: Why customer journeys are not linear.

There is a model often used in marketing:
that customers move step by step.

Awareness.
Consideration.
Purchase.

It feels structured.
It looks logical.
It signals control.

But it rarely reflects reality.

Because customers do not move in straight lines.

They loop.
They pause.
They jump.

And when marketing assumes linearity,
it misses the moment.

Messages arrive too late.
Experiences feel disconnected.
Opportunities are lost.

And this is where the narrative shifts.

Because the problem is not the journey.

It is the assumption.

This is the pivot from hype to help.

Because better marketing designs for behaviour,
not theory.

Moments that matter.
Signals that trigger action.
Experiences that connect.

The teams that perform are not those who map journeys perfectly.

They are the ones who respond to them in reality.

Because in the end, customers do not follow funnels.

They follow their needs.

And there you have it. Our Jam is Marketing, minus the hype.