The customer journey is no longer a straight line
It used to be simple.
You'd hear about a brand, maybe see an ad, visit a store or a website, and decide if you wanted to buy.
Today? That straight line looks more like a plate of spaghetti.
The customer journey is no longer a neat sequence of steps. It’s fragmented, unpredictable, and driven by one thing above all else: attention.
Or more accurately, the constant fight for it.
In Australia, where people spend an average of 5.5 hours a day on their smartphones (source: Reviews.org) and check them dozens of times an hour, brands can’t assume they’ll have a customer’s full focus or even a few uninterrupted seconds.
Instead, we’re seeing a new paradigm take shape. A customer might discover your brand on Instagram, forget you entirely, spot a review two weeks later, click on a retargeted ad, and finally make a decision after seeing a friend's story or a TikTok recap. Sound familiar?
It’s not a funnel anymore. It’s a web.
And that means the old rules don’t work like they used to. It’s no longer about controlling the journey. It’s about being present at every messy, random, unexpected moment that matters.
Here’s what that looks like:
Building brand familiarity early and not waiting until someone is "ready to buy" because by then, they might already be loyal to someone else. Especially when a typical buyer engages with 3 to 7 pieces of content before ever speaking to a salesperson or taking action.
Creating for discovery, not just decision-making because first impressions might happen anywhere: on a feed, in a group chat, through a meme. In fact, 60% of Australians now use social media to discover new brands (source: Campaign Brief).
Accepting the 'drop-offs' and designing strategies to re-engage, not pester.
Making every touchpoint feel complete because you never know which interaction will be the one that sticks.
There’s also a trust gap to close
While global stats show that 73% of consumers say customer experience is a key factor in purchasing decisions (source: PwC), 60% of Australians continue to buy from trusted brands, and 20% have increased their purchases from these trusted brands, according to a 2024 eCommerce report by IAB Australia and PureProfile (source: The Australian).
And personalisation matters more than ever. It's no longer a nice-to-have - it’s expected. According to BCG’s 2024 report on what consumers want, 71% of global consumers now expect companies to deliver personalised interactions and when they don’t, 76% say it impacts their trust in the brand.
It’s not just about algorithms and segmentation. It’s about relevance, empathy, and building something that actually feels human. It’s an exhausting new reality in some ways. But it’s also an exciting one.
Brands that understand people aren’t linear in their decision-making are the ones that will build stronger, stickier connections.
The question isn't "how do we push people through a funnel?" anymore.
It’s "how do we show up meaningfully, even when the path looks nothing like we expected?"
At Cole Lawson Communications, we help brands navigate this new reality with the right mix of strategy, creativity and agility to meet customers where they are (even when it’s somewhere unexpected).
If you’re ready to rethink the journey, we’re ready to help you lead it.
Contact us