What Were You Thinking?
Inside the Mind of Your Customer
“What in the world were you thinking when you bought that hat?”
That simple question, what were you thinking?, holds the key to understanding why some marketing campaigns convert and others fall flat. Most companies track what customers do, but few take time to uncover why they do it.
Knowing that someone clicked on an influencer’s post and ended up on your product page tells you very little about how to replicate that success. Were they excited? Curious? Hesitant? Were they just browsing or ready to buy? This is where the real power of a customer journey comes in.
A well-built journey maps what customers are thinking, feeling, and doing at each stage. It helps you see not just the steps they take, but the emotions and motivations behind them.
Let’s go back to the hat. Picture the buyer scrolling through photos, comparing styles, reading reviews, and maybe even asking a friend for advice. They are imagining how it might look on them, if it fits their style, if it is worth the price, and if they will actually wear it. There is a mix of curiosity, excitement, and hesitation. One small moment of doubt, and the tab gets closed.
When you understand what happens in that exploring phase of the journey, you start to see where people get stuck and what might help them move forward.
Now imagine the hat company discovers that most customers feel uncertain right before they buy, maybe about size, style, or quality. With that insight, they can act.
Maybe they add an AI-powered virtual try-on.
Maybe they feature detailed sizing guides with real customer photos.
Maybe they highlight a no-hassle return policy or emphasize glowing reviews about fit and feel.
Each of these actions addresses an emotional barrier revealed through the journey. Each one turns hesitation into confidence.
And once you understand the journey, it becomes more than a customer experience tool. It becomes input for your marketing plan. When you know what your audience is thinking, feeling, and doing, you can deliver the right message at the right time, through the right channel.
When you connect emotion with action, you stop guessing what drives customers and start creating marketing that truly moves them. That is the real power of a customer journey.