Digital Marketing
Cleaning Up Your Marketing Strategy For AI-First, Everywhere Visible Customer Journey
By Anne Joyce Wambui
There comes a moment in every marketer’ s journey when you realize something that shifts your perspective entirely: the carefully crafted strategy, the one that made perfect sense in a boardroom presentation, just isn’ t landing the way it should in the real world. Not because the strategy was poorly researched or executed, but because the customer journey itself has fundamentally changed.
We used to speak confidently about funnels. The classic path: awareness leads to interest, interest turns into desire, and desire ultimately results in action. That clean, linear model served us for years. But today, the customer journey looks less like a funnel and more like a maze. A potential customer might discover your brand through a TikTok video, then hop onto Google to search for you, check out reviews on X, ask ChatGPT for validation, receive a WhatsApp recommendation from a friend, and only then, would they decide to engage, if they don’ t get distracted by something else first.
Today, the average customer journey involves 11.1 touchpoints. Visibility isn’ t enough. You need to show up where it matters, when it matters, and in a way that builds connection. That’ s the new marketing reality. And if we’ re honest, many of us are still stuck playing by the old tired rules.
The New Digital Terrain
Let’ s bring this to life. Imagine someone in Nairobi planning a quick coastal getaway. They begin by scrolling through TikTok, searching for“ beach holidays near Nairobi.” A light-hearted video showcasing the vibe in Watamu grabs their attention. They double-tap. Curiosity piqued, they switch over to Google and type in“ best resorts in Watamu.” A few names pop up, one catches their eye. They head to Instagram for visual confirmation. The page looks promising. But before making a booking, they turn to ChatGPT and ask,“ What are the most affordable beach resorts in Kenya with great food?”
Your hotel is mentioned but it’ s just one name in a list, not standing out or recommended with conviction. You were technically part of the journey. But were you influential in it?
That’ s the crux of the challenge today. Attention is fragmented. Influence is no longer held by the loudest brand or the one with the most followers it’ s earned by the most relevant one. Visibility on traditional platforms is simply not enough. Brands
Today, the average customer journey involves 11.1 touchpoints. Visibility isn’ t enough. You need to show up where it matters, when it matters, and in a way that builds connection. That’ s the new marketing reality. And if we’ re honest, many of us are still stuck playing by the old tired rules. need to be discoverable across all the platforms including AI-driven ones that shape how consumers search, compare, and make decisions.
The Rise of AI-Powered Discovery
Search engines are no longer the gatekeepers of information. Increasingly, people are bypassing traditional search and turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google Gemini to get fast, personalized, and summarized recommendations. These tools don’ t just offer links- they offer synthesized answers. If you’ re not showing up in those curated responses, you’ re not in the conversation at all.
Take, for example, someone searching:“ What’ s the best local skincare brand for sensitive skin in Kenya?” If your brand hasn’ t created high-quality, informative content that trains or feeds these AI models or worse, if your brand isn’ t being talked about positively online, the AI has no reason to surface you. You lose the customer before they even land on your site.
That’ s what I mean by“ cleaning up” your marketing strategy. It’ s about ensuring that your digital footprint is both wide and meaningful. Every platform, every piece of content, every review, and every data point need to all work in harmony to communicate your value clearly and consistently.
Beyond Touchpoints: Winning the Micro-Moments
Marketing today isn’ t just about reach it’ s about relevance and timing. Your customers are exposed to hundreds of brands daily. The ones that stick are those that show up during micro-moments those split seconds when someone pulls out their phone to learn something,
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