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September 2, 2025 •Laina McQueen
A quiet revolution is reshaping the way we think about utility programs. As customer expectations evolve and complexity increases, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: marketing on its own is no longer enough.
We need a better experience.
And not just cosmetic improvements like a cleaner interface or a friendlier call center script. It’s time to reimagine the customer journey through a human-centered, data-informed lens—making it easier, faster, and more engaging. This is the promise of customer experience optimization.
From Promotion to Participation
Where traditional marketing begins with a message to broadcast, customer experience optimization begins with a deeper question: Where is the customer journey breaking down?
To answer that, we must move beyond assumptions and start mapping the real paths customers take. We look for the unseen friction points that discourage follow-through, and we use evidence—not hunches—to find them. Journey mapping workshops, behavioral analytics, heatmaps, and direct feedback help us understand where engagement drops, when frustration sets in, and why some communities may be unintentionally left out.
Consider the moment a customer begins to engage but doesn’t finish. These "drop-off points" are often where complexity or confusion creeps in. By identifying these moments, we can streamline, clarify, and re-engage—helping customers move forward instead of walking away.
Equally important are what we call “frustration triggers”—those parts of the experience that cause people to give up entirely. These may seem minor from the inside, but from the customer’s perspective, they can be deal-breakers. And when certain groups of customers consistently face greater difficulty accessing services, that’s not just a design flaw—it’s an equity issue.
Optimizing the customer experience is about bringing all of this to light. It’s about seeing the full journey, not just the touchpoints we think matter.
Turning Data into Design
One of the most exciting parts of customer experience optimization is its scientific foundation. Every improvement we make is backed by behavioral insights and tested methods. For example, we analyze when reminders should be sent to maximize response, how to frame messages to resonate more deeply, and how to simplify forms to minimize abandonment.
Importantly, we focus on outcome-based metrics—not just how many people opened an email, but what actually moved them from curiosity to commitment. We ask specific questions: Where did the customer hesitate? What finally prompted them to take action? How fast did they move through the process?
These insights don’t just shape better marketing, they improve operations, align teams, and elevate program success. An optimized customer experience transforms metrics into momentum.
Orchestrating the Experience
No single team owns the customer experience. Customer experience optimization demands collaboration across marketing, operations, IT, customer service, and beyond. Every handoff, every communication, every process has to feel like part of a coordinated system. When departments work in isolation, the customer feels it—through repeated questions, disjointed steps, or confusing next actions. But when internal alignment is strong, the customer journey becomes seamless. It just flows.
That kind of orchestration is what allows for personalized, omnichannel experiences that meet customers wherever they are—online, on the phone, or in their homes. It’s how we make sure customers don’t just feel seen—they feel supported.
The most powerful insight from our work is simple, but transformative: Customer experience isn’t a layer on top of performance. It is the performance.
When we design with empathy, people feel it. When we remove confusion, they respond. And when we make the journey intuitive and inclusive, participation grows—not just in the short term, but in lasting, trust-driven ways.
At Franklin Energy, we don’t just market programs. We design them—for clarity, for equity, and for impact. Customer experience optimization is how we turn intention into action, and how we move from marketing to meaning.
🎥 Want to explore how CXO can power your next growth phase?
Watch our on-demand session, Customer Experience Optimization: The New Blueprint for Program Success, and discover how to create experiences that work—for everyone.
