You want to meet your customer. But are you willing to go all the way? Create better customer focus with AI.

No matter who I ask, the answer is simple: “Do you want to be the obvious first choice for your ideal customer?” The answer is always a clear “YES!” Then comes my tougher follow-up question: “And what are you actually doing to earn that position?”

This is where we find the gap. The gap between ambition and action. The gap between having a PowerPoint about “customer focus” and actually organizing your entire company around the customer’s reality. Everyone wants the result, but few are willing to do what it takes. Many settle for “good enough,” even if it doesn’t really feel right. For many B2B companies, that means being on LinkedIn, having a website, and maybe sending a newsletter. Checking off channels on a list. But that’s not the same as truly meeting the customer.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. With AI and modern smart tools, even smaller companies can create a great customer journey without spending huge amounts on tools and consultants.

Start where you are.

Step 1: You need to meet the customer in their memory

Think about the last time you bought something without thinking — a drink, a battery, a painkiller. Which brand popped into your head first?

That brand hasn’t “won” because it’s fundamentally different. It has won because it’s mentally available. Through consistency in color, design, sound, and messaging, it has built a highway in your brain. It’s the easiest, fastest mental choice.

This is the first, and perhaps most important, effort. It’s not about shouting the loudest — it’s about whispering the same thing, in the same way, over and over again. Is your logo, your color palette, your “voice” so consistent that it becomes an instinctive reflex? Or do you change appearance and messaging with every new campaign in the hunt for looking “fresh” and “new”?

Becoming a mental shortcut isn’t sexy. It’s repetitive, long-term, and requires discipline that few companies manage to maintain. But this is where AI can help. From developing your visual identity, imagery style, positioning, concepts, and content strategy — to using affordable and effective tools like Canva and Adobe Express that help you keep a consistent style no matter who’s publishing.

Plan 2: You need to meet the customer in their reality

It can be tough to realize that your product or service doesn’t fully match what the customer wants or needs. But it’s a crucial exercise.

Meeting the customer in their reality means you stop guessing and start listening with precision. It means systematically analyzing their real Jobs, Pains, and Gains:

• Jobs: What are they really trying to achieve? (It’s rarely “buying your product or service.”)

• Pains: What frustrates them? What’s in the way? What keeps them up at night?

• Gains: What’s their definition of success? What would make them feel like a hero at work?

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Today, we have tools that can analyze hundreds of customer surveys, support chats, and sales calls to give us a data-driven picture of this reality. Are you willing to base your product development and value proposition on that data — even if it contradicts your original vision or the “brilliant” idea that came up at the last management meeting?

Building what the customer actually needs, instead of what you think they need, requires humility and a willingness to let data win over opinions. With the support of AI, you can create credible personas that evaluate your ideas and help you package products or services. With clear collection methods for your sales team, insights can start building quickly.

Plan 3: You need to meet the customer in their buying moment

Once you start identifying and optimizing the customer journey, you’ll quickly find areas where your offering can be developed. The question is: are you willing to act on them?

Two simple scenarios:

• Salesperson A calls 100 people from a purchased list. 99 of them have no idea who they are or why they’re calling. It’s an uphill battle.

• Salesperson B contacts 3 companies. Why those three? Because an AI has analyzed their searches, article reads, and website visits and flagged them as “ready to buy.” Salesperson B not only knows who to contact but also what they’re interested in. The call isn’t cold — it’s relevant.

Meeting the customer in their buying moment is no longer about luck. It’s about using tools to identify intent and act on it in real time. Sometimes this requires investments in new technology and an entirely new way of collaborating between sales and marketing.

Are you willing to restructure your sales and marketing processes from the ground up? To move from chasing to acting as a knowledgeable guide who shows up just as “the traveler realizes they’re lost”? There are many AI tools available to help you create an internal structure for the entire buying journey.

From ambition to reality

Becoming the obvious first choice is not an accident. It’s the result of deliberate and often demanding work on all three levels:

1. Building a mental shortcut through consistent, structured visibility.

2. Building a truly sharp offer through genuine customer understanding.

3. Building a timing engine by acting on buying signals.

   
   

Look at your own organization. Where are you putting your time and money? My suggestion: invest in training your employees in generative AI and start embedding AI into your new customer journeys and automations.

Want help with this work? Get in touch with us at GrowingSmart, and we’ll set up a plan together to create the best possible customer journey.

Contact angelika.strandberg@growingsmart.se for a no-strings-attached meeting.