Two days ago, my morning started with a small but very real crisis. My car took longer than usual to start. Weak battery. Not catastrophic, but annoying enough when you have a meeting to get to and zero patience for surprises.
The good news is that we live in a world where a car battery can be replaced within an hour, sometimes faster, thanks to apps, chat, and location sharing. Convenience has officially won. The bad news is that convenience only works when the experience actually delivers.
I had two options. Let’s call them Provider B and Provider C.
Provider C was my usual go to. I had used them for my last three battery replacements. They were responsive, reasonably priced, and generally reliable. Provider B, on the other hand, kept appearing in my search results every time I Googled for alternatives. Not new to the market, clearly investing in visibility, and curious enough for me to give them a shot.
So I did what most consumers do. I messaged both providers at the same time to get a quote and see who came back first with the best option. Time mattered. I needed to be in the office by a specific hour and my battery was not interested in my calendar.
Here’s where things started to get interesting from a marketing and experience point of view.
Provider C had recently discontinued their app. Everything was now routed through web chat on their website. The initial interaction was automated. It collected my details, car make, and battery type before handing me off to a live agent.
Provider B took a very different approach. Their entire journey was managed on WhatsApp. The app itself was mostly for profiling, invoices, payments, and showcasing services. Quotes, location sharing, and conversations were all handled by a real human via chat.
Provider C responded first, thanks to automation. It felt efficient. Clean. Structured. Provider B was slightly slower because a live agent was handling the message. At that point, Provider C was winning.
Then pricing came in.
Provider C shared a quote quickly. Provider B followed not long after, though their initial price was higher. Like any rational consumer, I asked both for alternative options on pricing and availability. Same brand. Same battery type. Apples to apples.
This was the turning point.
Provider C went quiet. Ten minutes passed. Then more. Meanwhile, Provider B came back promptly with multiple options, clear pricing, and availability. No back and forth. No waiting. Just answers.
With time ticking and my meeting looming, the decision was made for me.
When Provider C finally replied, the options were more expensive, and the battery I wanted was not in stock until the next business day. That sealed it. I went with Provider B. Faster response. Better alternatives. Cheaper in the end. Problem solved before my second cup of coffee.
From a marketing perspective, this had nothing to do with brand love or loyalty. It had everything to do with speed, clarity, and momentum.
In high intent moments like this, the funnel collapses. Awareness, consideration, and decision happen in minutes. Automation helps until it slows things down. Loyalty exists until urgency shows up. The brand that removes friction fastest wins the sale.
Lessons learnt from a marketing perspective
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Speed is part of your product
Response time is not a service metric. It is a conversion lever. When urgency is high, speed beats familiarity. -
Automation should accelerate, not stall
Automation is powerful, but only if it hands off smoothly. The moment it creates waiting time, it becomes a liability. -
High intent moments compress the funnel
Customers do not move through neat stages. In urgent scenarios, decision making is instant. Your systems need to keep up. -
Clarity beats cleverness
Clear options, transparent pricing, and fast answers outperform fancy journeys and polished decks. -
Meet customers where they already are
Messaging platforms like WhatsApp reduce friction because users do not need to learn anything new. Familiar tools win under pressure. -
Loyalty is fragile when time is limited
Past experience helps, but it will not save you if you respond too slowly when it matters most.
At the end of the day, great marketing is not just about being visible or memorable. It is about showing up at the exact moment a customer needs you and making the decision ridiculously easy. Bonus points if you do it before their battery, or patience, fully dies.
What about you? Do you share a similar experience where brand loyalty is lost through a bad experience?
