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🏡 > Customer Experience > The Customer Experience Revolution ~ A Guide For Ethical Businesses
The Customer Experience Revolution ~ A Guide For Ethical Businesses
Our gift to the Building Ecosystems, Not Empires Community
The competitive advantage that can lead ethical businesses to immense burnout or wealth, depending on how it's used. How to identify it, design for it, and grow with it.
Note: I use the term "customer" throughout this post, but it's a catch-all phrase for clients, members, students, and customers.
In this guide:
Is being ethical in business more trouble than it's worth?
How trad marketing set us up for failure and the pill that sets us free
The competitive advantage every ethical business has that's either burning you out or building your movement
How to use this advantage to evolve your current sales funnels
100% human ideas and written by humans, no A.I.
There comes a moment in every ethical business, that’s so common, it’s almost a rite of passage.
That moment when you question whether being ethical in business is actually sustainable. If being “nice” is actually holding you back and keeping you from reaching your goals.
And we make it harder for ourselves by having goals that are bigger than the average biz owner.
Traditional business owners might want to buy a house, put their kids through college, and retire wealthy. That’s not enough for us though.
We want to give back to our communities, send every kid to college, and create global systemic change. In addition to retiring comfortably.
We want billionaire impact on a millionaire’s budget. (Like Dolly Parton, bless her soul!)
And being “nice” feels like it won’t get us there.
But I’m here to say ~ it’s a phase (if you don't give up.) A moment we all go through.
💔 Some will give up and switch to manipulative business practices.
😭 Others will decide that they aren’t cut out for being a business owner and close their business entirely.
✨ While the rest of us, push through and figure out how to make it work without compromising our values.
But first, we need to take an honest look at reality right now. When the math ain’t mathing right.
When we’re feeling burnt out from late nights, long launches, carefully crafted funnels, and the genuine, wholehearted care we poured into every program and every client. But the numbers on our dashboards, stats trackers, and spreadsheets tell a story of smaller and smaller returns every year.
This moment feels worse than anything we felt before we started a business. And it’s lonely because we see everyone else around us posting about their successes.
If you’ve ever felt this way, this page is for you.
And if you’ve ever asked yourself if doing things ethically ~ which costs more than a traditional business because you refuse to cut corners on people or the planet ~ isn’t profitable enough to keep doing, this page is for you.
I hope you found this page before you reached this moment. I hope this page (and the whole BENE summit) saves you from this rite of passage.
Because I’m going to show you (one way) an ethical business can outperform traditional businesses and create sustainable wealth to fund your personal and global goals.
Trad Marketing aka How We Got Here
I started my business in 2015 and the industry was dominated by a handful of big names all teaching different aspects of the same thing. It was like bro-marketing done by women.
The tactics were 100% focused on extracting as much profit as possible out of the online audience, by any means necessary.
Phrases like “instant cash-injection” and “your audience is your ATM machine” became common.
The online market was sooooooo different back then. Attention was easier to capture, leads were cheaper to acquire, sales were easier to convert. The market wasn’t so saturated with a zillion businesses all saying and selling the same thing. Even the most basic shit sounded original.
Unfortunately, the things taught back then have become standard business practices today. Everyone does them and no one questions whether it’s right or just.
Everyone puts a landing page after a checkout page or opt-in page that says, “You’re In! Now go check your inbox for details…” and no one questions if it’s right to chase people away immediately after they handed you their money or email.
Everyone builds sales funnels (whether you call them that in your business or not) so that all the irons you have in the fire ~ your blog, social media, YouTube, SEO, networking ~ can guide leads towards your sales page. Funnels are designed to be extractive and profitable. They’re designed to move people through, not hold them close. No one questions whether there’s a better shape that’s both profitable and impactful.
No one questions whether these sales and marketing techniques feel good or not, because it’s expected. Everyone’s numb to it.
But once you start questioning things, and looking for a better way to do things, it’s like the veil collapses. All of a sudden, you don’t want to give your money to businesses that use traditional practices anymore.
It’s time to look at things differently.
The Ethical-Trad Trap
The question of whether an ethical business can be profitable enough & sustainable enough to keep doing is a valid question. Unfortunately, it's not the question that solves the problem it raises.
The question you need now is ~ what happens when an ethical business follows traditional sales and marketing techniques?
Because on the other side of your screen is a client and/or customer who bought from you because they trusted you. They read your values. They resonated with your mission. They chose you ~ after researching all their options, after being burned by other brands, after trying to solve this problem on their own ~ because you stand for something they believe in.
And if they end up in a sales funnel or nurture sequence or onboarding process that feels all too familiar… If they question whether your ethical sales pitch was in fact a gimmick to get the sale… Then all the trust you worked so hard to build is lost.
An ethical business can be wildly profitable and sustainable. But it needs systems that reinforce that trust at every touchpoint. And trad sales and marketing systems were never built for that.
Ethical businesses need better systems.
Thankfully, many of the systems have already been built, tested, and proven. You’ll learn about a bunch of them in the Build Ecosystems, Not Empires Summit!
And I’ll show you one of mine here in this post.
The Customer Experience Revolution
Of course there’s a better way. And loads of businesses have been successfully using it for centuries. It’s never gone out of style and it’s never stopped working.
In fact, it’s one of the most profitable sales tactics ever created. The kind that can create billionaire CEO’s if you’re not careful.
But in the hands of an ethical business, it can change the world.
Because ethical businesses have one huge advantage over trad ones:
We actually care about the people who buy from us. (I know, that part’s obvious, stick with me here.)
Right now, caring too much might be burning you out. You pour your heart and soul into everything you create and it's 10 times more work than someone who cranks out A.I. slop and calls it a day. You try to have real conversations and connections on social media instead of manufacturing a viral post. You say yes more than you should because you're a nice person who wants to help people.
And all of this is a good thing. Keep doing that!
None of that is the problem. The only problem is when it burns you out because you're not getting enough in return. The world needs all these things you do and it needs people like you. And also, you need bigger success. More sales without more effort. More conversations with people who are ready to pay you.
The problem isn't you, it's your funnels.
(Or not. There are other possibilities but this one is so common, it needs addressed. I'm here to shine a light on areas of your business that you might not have looked at before. I'm not trying to convince you this is the only option.)
Unlike trad businesses, we don’t want people going through our sales funnel ~ finishing the thing they bought, and disappearing forever.
We want legacy, systemic change, and impact that lasts long after we made the sale.
And the way to get it is a sales system that holds people close before and after the sale. A process that shows them we genuinely care about them, their results, their worries, and their success.
A system for people to build a meaningful relationship with our brands, even if it’s mostly automated.
Which means we need a better system than a sales funnel that spits people out at the end.
Don’t worry! You don’t have to throw anything out or start over!
Your sales funnels work.
But if you feel like you’re constantly working too hard to reach new clients (or customers) because those relationships end and you have to refresh them ~ then you’re simply missing the piece that transforms your funnels into a relationship loop.
A relationship loop that amplifies all your hard work and reflects it back to you in the form of repeat sales, referrals, reviews, and raving fans.
This is what I call the Customer Experience Revolution.
Because it acts like a (gentle) revolving door that keeps bringing new people and existing customers/clients back into your business.
And because treating customers like humans (not ATM machines) is a revolutionary act in today’s market.
Best of all, it’s based on how you intuitively want to operate your business anyway ~ with integrity. Maybe you just needed a better strategy to make it profitable or the right tool to make it sustainable.
I’ve got both.
The Customer Relationship Revolution
So if funnels are the wrong shape for an ethical business, what's the right shape?
What is the shape of a relationship loop?
I’ll admit, I don’t have a name for this shape yet. I've been building it for clients for years without putting it into words.
It can connect to any existing sales funnel, but it changes that funnel into another shape.
It isn’t a flywheel (as some marketers have coined as the successor to funnels.)
At the risk of sounding cheesy, it’s like your brand is holding hands with everyone who has ever had a positive experience with it and no one wants to let go.
It’s the shape of relationships.
Not "relationships" as a buzzword or marketing tactic.
Not "relationships" as an email sequence that calls people by their first name.
Real relationships.
The kind where your client/customer feels genuinely held from the moment they buy;
Where the experience of working with you or using what you sold them is so thoughtfully designed that it feels like you genuinely care about whether they get results or not;
Where they can’t wait to tell everyone they know about your brand before they’ve even finished the first thing;
And they want to stay connected, they want to buy from you again, they want to be part of YOUR success story.
Relationships as an enjoyable, sustainable part of your business, not just something to "manage."
That's what customer experience is. And it has always been the single most powerful competitive advantage available to any business.
If it's so powerful, why doesn’t every business do it?
Some do, with immense success. Amazon sucks for so many reasons (especially treating employees like humans), but they got where they are today by being customer-centric. They built an empire by being obsessed with customer experience.
But it can be used ethically to create ecosystems too. And it isn't something that's only available to big brands with big budgets.
If that's true, why doesn't every business use it?
Every business has a customer experience. Most of them just suck at it. Big name brands care more about shareholders and profits than the people who pay them. Small trad businesses truly don't care so they don't invest any time or money into it improving it.
But for a small, ethical business who actually cares? It's an accessible, affordable optimization. One that can double your income while halving your expenses.
While they keep chasing viral moments and optimizing paid traffic, you can build a customer experience that shows you care ~ consistently, at every touchpoint, for every customer, without you needing to be personally present for all of it.
Your authentic desire to help your people get results will have a connected, visible, intentional customer journey that holds every single person who trusts you with their money ~ from the moment they buy until long after they've gotten results, left you a review, and referred 7 other people.
And that's how a small business who cares can outperform big name brands with big name budgets (and change the world.)
So if we add an effective, sustainable customer experience to your existing funnels, we end up with a whole new shape. Like an ouroboros funnel that keeps feeding back into itself while welcoming new people in as well.
The shape of relationships at scale. Personal, but automated. Profitable, but authentic.
A (literal and figurative) revolution of customer relationships.
And that's what I'll show you how to build, right here in this post.
Without migrating what you already have, without breaking anything, without guessing what to do.
Building Better Relationships In Your Existing Sales Funnel
I tried to come up with a good analogy for my visual people, but I don’t have anything good enough yet. So bear with me until I think of one.
For now, we want to picture people going through your existing sales funnels, into your existing customer experiences and client onboarding processes, and then:
either staying in your world longer ~ buying again, referring others, leaving reviews, being nurtured
or exiting and returning to the general public.
The exit will always exist and it isn’t a bad thing, it doesn’t need to be fixed.
Some people will leave because they got what they needed and they’ve outgrown their need for your help.
Some will unsubscribe because they’re overwhelmed and need a break.
Some will leave because they’re the people you really don’t want in your world.
There are lots of good reasons to leave, so having an exit is good.
But for everyone else, we want to make sure there are ways for your business to hold them close while they stay in your world. Whether or not they’re ready to buy again right now.
Of course, it would be overwhelming to think about creating all the different relationship pieces at once, so for now, let’s focus on the area of your business that will have the biggest impact with the least effort: your current customer/client experience.
Trust Breaker #1: Chasing them away immediately after the sale
Do this instead: Continue the conversation that your sales page started
As soon as your new customer or client enters their payment info and clicks "Send," the little wheel spins while their payment is processed and (ideally) they're redirected to some kind of Thank You page (or order confirmation page.)
The seconds and minutes immediately after a sale are some of the most emotionally charged of their entire relationship with your brand. This person just made a decision, they're excited, maybe anxious, hoping they made the right call. What they receive in this moment sets the tone for everything that follows.
Instead of saying, “Thanks for your money, go check your inbox for next steps…” (which is basically taking their money and then telling them to go away) ~ keep them on that page a little longer and deepen your relationship while delivering value.
I go into much more detail about this in many other posts, if you’re ready for a deep dive into this topic. But, in a nutshell ~ there’s so much you can do right there on that page to spend 1-5 minutes with them after the sale.
Start a conversation! Ask questions and give them a way to respond. Ask them what they're most excited about or what concerns they have and let them respond.
Give them a small bite of what they just bought right there on the Thank You page. Your sales page probably opened a loop that will be closed when they use the thing they bought from you. Nudge it slightly closed by giving them a taste of it on this page so they can start feeling like they're seeing results right away.
If they just purchased a course from you, give them a lesson they can do in 5 minutes or less that will give them a quick win right away.
If they purchased a coaching package from you, use a tool like VideoAsk to ask them one of your powerful coaching questions and they can respond right away via video, audio, or text.
There are an infinite number of ways to deliver value and keep the conversation going on this page, so I’ll let our other posts go deeper into this:
5 Elements Of An Amazing CX That Turns Buyers Into Brand Champions (on our Fern CX blog)
3 Thank You Page Optimizations That Boost Retention And Referrals (on our Fern CX blog)
Is Your Sales Funnel Breaking Your Customers’ Trust After The Sale? (on our Fern CX blog)
Trust Breaker #2: Transactional Onboarding Processes
Do this instead: Create an onboarding process that empowers and inspires your new client
If your marketing and sales pages position you as an ethical business who genuinely cares about the humans who buy from you, but your onboarding process makes them feel like a box to be ticked, it’s going to feel like a bait and switch.
It will feel like all your talk about being ethical and human-powered were just sales gimmicks instead of values.
Even if you sell high-ticket services that require them to sign a contract, pay an invoice, and fill out an intake form before you can do anything on your end, there’s a way to make it feel as high-end as your price tag instead of an email with a link to sign here, another email with a bill to pay, and another email with homework to do.
Even if you're a coach and you think the real work can't begin until the first coaching session, that human is sitting with their struggles and spiraling while they wait.
Coaches are amazing at asking powerful questions and I know you need to tailor the questions you answer to each client. But most of the coaches I know, have at least one question that works for every new client, that can help them start shifting their mindset before the first call.
Imagine recording a video of yourself asking that question and letting them record their answer ~ right there on the thank you page. That question will stick with them the rest of the day and make them feel like the coaching process has already begun!
Now imagine how that experience within the first 2 minutes of completing a $1000+ payment to you changes how they feel about buying from you.
You just turned a "sign here, pay here, fill out this form" experience into a "hello beautiful human, let's begin the healing process so you don't have to wait anymore" experience.
Want to see an example of how to create a high-end onboarding process that matches your high-ticket offer? I recorded an example for you here: Red Carpet Client Experience
Trust Breaker #3: Not nurturing your slow action takers
Do this instead: Hold them close until they're ready
Trad marketing was designed to sell to fast action takers. And for anyone who needs more time to think about a purchase decision, there's pressure tactics that push slow action takers into buying before they're ready.
Countdown timers that pressure them to make a hasty decision before they have all the info they need to make the best decision.
Carts that close for no other reason than fake urgency.
Email nurture sequences that go hard during a launch and then stop abruptly.
(That last one's an actual sales tactic, designed to make the people who didn't buy feel like they're missing out ~ because they're suddenly cut off from all the energy you were pouring into their daily lives. It's supposed to make them jump at the chance to buy from you the next time you put an offer in front of them.)
As an ethical business, these tactics don't feel right. They're manipulative and they send a message that you care more about payments than people. They're designed for extracting as much money as possible from as many people as possible, consequences be damned.
And they aren't necessary to grow a powerfully profitable, ethical business. Everything you sell is needed in the world. You don't need to trick people into buying it and you don't want to treat your audience like an ATM machine that you can turn to whenever you need cash.
There are ethical ways to achieve similar outcomes that empower both you and the people in your audience.
Instead of countdown timers, offer different price points and let people choose what they can honestly afford. Most people don't want to admit they can't afford the full price so many people will skip the discounted price. Some are even willing to pay more than regular price to pay-it-forward for those who need the discount.
One of our Fern CRM users offers 3 prices for every offer. The regular this pays me a fair wage for the work I do price, one that's discounted for those who need help but can't afford it, and one that costs more than regular price for those who can afford more and want to support the overall system.
As for fake urgency, this isn't criticizing launches in general. There's nothing wrong with having a big launch once or a few times a year. It's a great way to create a wave of brand awareness and reach new people while enjoying a nice income boost that will fund your next goal.
There are a few ways to hold people close without making them feel left out just because now wasn't the best time for them to buy.
You can sell your offer internally (for example, to your email list) for a lower price in the weeks leading up to the launch (early bird pricing), launch it publicly at the regular price and then keep it available to buy in the weeks afterwards (for a slightly higher price point or regular price, whatever feels good to you.)
Instead of yanking your energy away after the launch to make them feel the hole it leaves behind, segment everyone on your list who didn't buy into a "slow action" segment and nurture them differently.
Keep them close, give them the extra time and information they need, and let them know when this will be available again. When done well, many of the people in this segment will be the first to buy when you offer the early bird price during your next launch. (Which is a great way to cover ad costs in the following weeks while you're actively launching!)
Part 2 will be published this week, stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you're a coach, consultant, or service provider, check out our video walkthrough of a high-end client experience:
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