How AI is Rewriting the Customer Journey - The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast

Summary

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast: How AI is Rewriting the Customer Journey

Host: John Jantsch
Episode Title: How AI is Rewriting the Customer Journey
Release Date: June 11, 2025

Introduction

In the June 11, 2025 episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, hosted by renowned marketing expert John Jantsch, the focus shifts to the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the customer journey. Drawing from over two decades of experience, John delves deep into how AI is not just a new tool but a pivotal factor reshaping every stage of the buyer’s experience.

The Evolution of the Customer Journey

John begins by emphasizing the foundational concept that "strategy before tactics" remains paramount, even as AI introduces new dynamics. At [01:02], he states:

"Strategy before tactics. AI really is just another tactic, but it's one that affects really the whole system."

John reminisces about the past two decades, highlighting major technological shifts like websites, social media, and mobile, each causing seismic changes in marketing practices. However, he points out that AI stands out as a catalyst for comprehensive transformation, altering not only how marketers operate but fundamentally changing the way customers make purchasing decisions.

The Marketing Hourglass Model

Introducing the Marketing Hourglass, a model John developed since 2005, he outlines its seven stages:

Know
Like
Trust
Try
Buy
Repeat
Refer

At [03:15], John explains:

"The shape of the hourglass is that post-purchase, once somebody becomes a customer, there's a whole lot that we can do to build momentum to retain those customers, to turn them into repeat customers, to turn them into advocates and referral sources."

This model underscores the importance of nurturing customer relationships beyond the initial sale, ensuring sustained business growth through repeat business and referrals.

AI’s Impact on Each Stage of the Journey

John meticulously analyzes how AI interacts with each stage of the Marketing Hourglass:

Know & Like: AI-driven tools like ChatGPT are now the first point of contact for many buyers, even before they visit a company’s website. At [04:30], he notes:

"Most buyers, B2B, B2C, I think, are today going to a chat GPT type of tool before they ever visit our website in a lot of cases."
Trust & Try: With AI facilitating deeper research, buyers are more informed and tend to engage in extensive comparison shopping. John observes:

"These tools that make research so much easier, analysis so much easier for the buyer are really allowing people to do a lot more comparison shopping than they ever did."
Buy: The purchasing process is becoming increasingly frictionless and self-service, sometimes eliminating the need for salespersons entirely. He highlights:

"We're starting to see people buying very expensive B2B type of services without a salesperson involved."
Repeat & Refer: Post-purchase interactions can be enhanced with AI by personalizing experiences and automating follow-ups, but John emphasizes the irreplaceable value of the human touch in fostering genuine relationships.

Rethinking Marketing Strategies in the AI Era

John urges marketers to revisit and rethink their strategies in light of AI's pervasive influence. At [05:45], he advises:

"We have to revisit and then intentionally think about each of those stages of know, like, trust, try, buy, repeat, and refer in an AI-driven world."

He underscores the necessity of adapting SEO strategies to focus on answering questions rather than merely ranking for keywords. Tools like "Answer the Public" and ChatGPT can aid in identifying the exact queries customers have, enabling businesses to become "answer engines."

Practical Recommendations

To navigate the AI-enhanced customer journey, John offers several actionable strategies:

Leverage AI for Insight: Use AI tools to gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviors and preferences. At [08:16], he suggests:

"Ask ChatGPT what it says about your business and about your competitors. You can get some real insight into what that customer is going to find when they're out there."
Enhance Content Strategy: Develop content that answers specific customer questions, incorporating FAQs on web pages to align with modern SEO practices.
Embrace Self-Service: Implement features like price estimators and customizable packages to cater to the growing demand for self-service options.
Double Down on Human Touch: While AI handles the transactional aspects, emphasize authentic storytelling, emotional connections, and personal interactions to differentiate your brand. John emphasizes:

"We have to double down on those things. It's not a matter of saying we need to be more authentic and we need to use stories. I mean, we've been saying that for a long time."

The Irreplaceable Human Element

Despite AI's capabilities, John reiterates the unique value of human interaction in building trust and fostering long-term customer relationships. At [10:30], he states:

"Emotion, trust. I mean, these are things that AI can't really replicate. I mean it can replicate your voice, but it can't replicate the true stories that the true emotion, the human touch that really exists only in your business."

He advocates for small communities, one-on-one video meetings, and personalized interactions as essential components that AI cannot substitute.

Conclusion

In wrapping up the episode, John reinforces the idea that AI is an integral part of the modern buyer's journey, necessitating a strategic overhaul rather than a mere tactical adjustment. He encourages marketers to test, engage, and adapt continuously, ensuring that their strategies align with evolving customer behaviors driven by AI advancements.

"Anybody who is bought into this idea of the customer journey needs to really start analyzing every single one of these stages and start thinking about ways that you need to make it a better experience for the buyer and add that human touch that is quickly going away in a lot of what we do." ([11:45])

Key Takeaways

AI as a Systemic Tactic: AI affects the entire marketing ecosystem, necessitating comprehensive strategy adjustments.
Marketing Hourglass: A holistic model that extends beyond the initial sale to include retention and referrals.
Customer Empowerment: Modern buyers leverage AI for in-depth research and comparison, demanding more informed and responsive marketing strategies.
Balancing Technology and Humanity: While AI enhances efficiency and self-service, the human element remains crucial for building trust and emotional connections.

Notable Quotes

John Jantsch [01:02]: "Strategy before tactics. AI really is just another tactic, but it's one that affects really the whole system."
John Jantsch [03:15]: "Once somebody becomes a customer, there's a whole lot that we can do to build momentum to retain those customers, to turn them into repeat customers, to turn them into advocates and referral sources."
John Jantsch [05:45]: "We have to revisit and then intentionally think about each of those stages of know, like, trust, try, buy, repeat, and refer in an AI-driven world."
John Jantsch [10:30]: "Emotion, trust. I mean, these are things that AI can't really replicate."

For marketers seeking to navigate the AI-driven transformation of the customer journey, this episode offers invaluable insights and practical strategies to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Transcript

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John Chance (1:02)

We've always said strategy before tactics. AI really is just another tactic, but it's one that affects really the whole system. And I think that's probably one of the greatest differences. A lot of the tools and technologies that have come along have given us more access to, to potential customers, have given them more access to us. I think we need to rethink or not rethink it, just revis and then intentionally think about each of those stages of know, like trust, Try, buy, repeat and refer in an AI driven world. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Chance and I'm doing a solo show today. I want to talk about something that I've been talking about for about 20 years maybe, and that is the buyer's journey, the customer journey. So with each impending new platform or new technology, you hear all kinds of people talking about, oh, this changes everything. Marketers have to do this, marketers have to do that. Now, certainly the websites came along, social media came along, mobile came along. I mean, all these things created this seismic change. Well, AI is clearly in that category of creating change. But what I've always found interesting is most marketers talk about the changes in marketing. And I think the thing we sometimes forget to think about is, you know, the way that somebody buys or chooses to buy now has changed every bit as radically as anything to do with how we do marketing today. And so I think we have to consider that idea with every decision we make is not just how do I master this technology or how do I use this new tool, it's how is the buyer using this? You know, buyers, customers are using AI every bit as much as the marketers that are trying to market to them. So I've been talking about this idea of the customer journey and the buyer journey as being really a significant element that frames what we do as marketing. Really. Since I wrote duct tape Marketing back in 2005, I created something I called the marketing hourglass, which I think was a better representation of the customer journey in that the traditional customer journey that had stages of awareness and interest and desire and conversion and usually stop there was really incomplete. And that we didn't drive people in this linear path that, you know, with. Once websites came along, the linear path I think kind of went away because the buyer all of a sudden started having the ability to find information and to know everything about an organization before they ever reached out for a sales call. And so I think that's the day that the buyer journey really changed. And I created the marketing hourglass, our seven stages. You've probably heard me say them here before, know, like trust, try, buy, repeat, refer. And I was trying to do two things with that idea, is that we have to intentionally think about what the buyer is doing, what they want to do, the questions they have, the goals they have at each of those stages, and that we guide them. We can't necessarily move them in a linear path. In fact, I've used in many presentations a slide where I've got all these lines running all over the place that the buyer journey is not this straight line that it is people revisit. There's almost this continuous loop of going back in one stage and then backing up to another stage and that. That we have to just put ourselves there in the. In the path, I guess that they're going to eventually travel. But I also spent a lot of time in the hourglass. And the kind of the idea behind the shape of the hourglass is that post purchase, you know, once somebody becomes a customer, there's a whole lot that we can do to build momentum to retain those customers, to turn them into repeat customers, to turn them into advocates and referral sources. And I think that's where a lot of people leave a lot of money on the table, is by not even thinking about those. Well, that from 2005, say to 2020 has really been the thinking that I've had at least around this idea of the journey and something that we've brought to hundreds of businesses. I think we're in another change as well. I think the stages are fundamentally the same. Fundamentally true. But I think AI is rewriting that journey. Most buyers, B2B, B2C, I think, are today going to a chat GPT type of tool before they ever visit our website in a lot of cases. Or Maybe they're asking AI to summarize reviews, to compare features, even write RFPs, you know, based on, on what they want to see. And I think that what that means is that we have to rethink everything that's going on at every one of these stages. How find us, how they come to know about us is changing dramatically. What are we doing to make sure that we're showing up in the new ways that they're doing research? What are we doing to make sure that the brand mentions of our brand are allowing us to be favorably compared to competitors? That's one of the things, I think that, that a lot of these tools that make research so much easier, analysis so much easier for the buyer are really allowing people to do a lot more comparison shopping, I think, than they ever did. Because let's face it, it's, it's fairly easy. It's changing the way that I think, you know, buyers still need this content. But I think that the AI engines and the, you know, even the traditional search engines and the way they're using AI are really going to change how people consume and find that content. You know, recommendation engines now I think are going to become the norm. People are going to have or want to have. They've already demonstrated this, a frictionless, maybe self service type of buying experience. We're starting to see people buying very expensive B2B type of services without a salesperson involved. And I think again, we have to think in terms of does that mean we need to have price estimators? Does that mean we have to allow people to get put together their own packages, you know, all the way down to the point where they then just need, okay, what's the link to buy this or you know, how do I sign the contract?