🧭 Why does we call this by the wrong name?


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Remember that wedding I told you about last time?

Someone else wore the same dress – the dress I thought about constantly for a year.

We took a pic together, we're obv soulmates.

She’s a comedian so I’m holding my breath, hoping I don’t appear in one of her bits.

(Instead, she’s in my email. Ha! The Irony!).


But this isn’t about the Brooklyn-ness of two white women wearing handmade batik from a small Ghanaian company.

It’s a Tale of Two Brands.

Well, not really.

It’s about how you and I can make our own client experience more impactful.

Ok, not exactly…

It’s about how client experience is actually empathy in disguise 🥸


Like I said, I’m lusting after this dress. I go on the website daily.

I reallllly want to buy it.

But it’s over budget and I have no excuse to get it.

Because I’m stalking the site, I come across their massive sale and pounce on a jumpsuit for half off.

I am officially an Osei-Duro customer and I'm madly in love with the jumpsuit.

(But it doesn’t loosen the chokehold that this gorgeous pink and red dress has on me.)


Meanwhile, my husband and I take a couple e-bikes for a spin on date night.

(Yes, I wear the jumpsuit.)

There’s a local guy who loans out e-bikes, free of charge - the most Charlottesville thing ever.

So we decide to replace our hooptie second car with an e-bike!

Once the bike arrives, my early spring mornings are kicking off with a beautiful hour-long bike ride along the river when dropping the kids at school.

I hear them behind me making up songs together instead of fighting over an iPad.

Chefs kiss 🤌

Now I'm officially an e-bike customer, and I'm madly in love with the bike.

Then the emails start flying into my inbox like Harry’s invitations to Hogwarts.

April 16: “Welcome to [REDACTED]"-

April 16: “Need help choosing?”

April 17: “Which ebike is for you?”

April 18: “Did you see something you liked?”

April 18: “Welcome to [REDACTED]”

April 19: “Want to see something cool?”

April 20: “Need help choosing?”

… it’s endless. My only choice is to unsubscribe.

But I don’t want to unsubscribe! I just want less emails.

And tbh, I'd like to them to acknowledge that I'm already a proud e-bike owner.

What they don’t seem to understand is that I’m their warmest lead ever.

Because I want to buy more.

→ I’m literally on a waitlist for a sold-out front basket to stash the kids’ backpacks.

And if I’m going to buy another e-bike, it is likely to be from them rather than a competitor.

However: I absolutely don’t want twice a day, irrelevant-to-me emails. Which is what I’m getting.

I hate to say it, but the email marketing dept is mucking this up.

How can they fix it?

Let me update my preferences, PLEASE.

With what topics I want emails about and how often I want them.

And OMG, if they sent me emails teaching me how to get the most from my new bike instead of just promo emails?

I'd adore them.

Instead, I hate them. And I unsubscribe.

Then a very different email lands.

Reader: It’s an invitation to my BFF's Brooklyn wedding.

So guess who needs that handmade pink-and-red dress now?!? 💃🏻

90 seconds later, I click “Checkout Now” faster than my fat little fingers have ever clicked.

You’ll never guess what email comes next.

It’s not a discount.

It’s not a bonus.

That tiny little company sends:

April 30: “Thank you for your loyalty”

My loyalty? For my 2nd purchase!?

Daaaaaaaamn.

😍 Sending warm fuzzy feel-good vibes while I wait for my package to arrive?

😍 Making me feel like a full-on VIP even though I’ve only ever spent $300 with them?

😍 Does this brand know their customer or what!?


So maybe this is a tale of two brands: one that whiffed it and one that nailed it.

We all know that the best client acquisition strategy is word-of-mouth and referrals, right? They are the fastest and most likely to book, with the lowest spend per acquisition.

To date, I talk about both the dress and the bike with dozens of people.

But only one of these experiences has me RAVING.

All because of one email.

That's the thing about empathy.

It can really be as simple as one message.

One micro-interaction that makes us feel seen.

This one got me rethinking how to center my clients in my automated emails, and my overall online presence.

Can you change one thing in your online client experience to turn your people into raving fans?

Hope you've got lots to think about,


Take a quick peek into the studio:

🎧 Listening to:

Change: How to Excel When Everything is In FluxThe Next Big Thing

To mark my 45th birthday this summer, I got my second-ever tattoo.

The design was inspired by Brad Stulberg's concept, Rugged Flexibility, about being resilient yet adaptable. TBH, it is an idea that informs everything in my life. Highly worth a listen.

🔎 Tech Find:

Do You 10Q

I cringe calling it a tech find, but it’s a great find & it’s tech-based... 🤷🏻‍♀️

10Q emails you a question a day for 10 days. Afterwards, you send your answers to the secure online vault. One year later, your answers are unlocked and returned and the process begins anew.

At this point, I have answers to the same 10 questions dating back 7 years. It's... epic.

🌱 Launched:

Dr. Tomi Bryan's EI3.0™ Certification Course

Having worked on Dr. Bryan’s website and brand, I was stoked to refresh her course for 2024-25. We streamlined the organization, redesigned the course itself, and completely redesigned the sales page and copy. Excited for Dr. Bryan's groundbreaking course to go live in a week!

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:


🗺️

Scouting Session

Feeling stuck on next steps for your site strategy, client experience, or messaging & systems?

This private session is your power play.

We'll nail down your big goals & next steps - no strings attached.

Map my strategy →

🌿

Untangled Analysis

Website starting to feel like a wild vine that’s grown… everywhere?

If it isn’t actively drawing in and converting clients, it’s blocking the light for your business growth.

Ready to find out what’s actually going beneath all those vines?

Get unstuck →

Northstar Site Solution

Take your site from standing still to leading the way.

A two-week site sprint that transforms your starter website into a fully aligned brand experience.

Let's light the path to bring your audience from first glimpse to 'hell yes.'

I need this →

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