Case Study: When Lack of Customer Experience Strategy Damaged Reputation & Hurt The Sales Funnel

A nationally recognized consumer company faced a surge of reputational risk as frustrated clients flooded review platforms, social media, and forums with negative experiences. Escalations also put immense pressure on customer care teams, who were absorbing client frustrations at emotionally difficult moments in people’s lives, compounded by broader regulatory challenges and industry transformations that created additional consumer roadblocks.

Cascading problems:

• Negative reviews multiplied across public channels

• Orders dropped and disputes increased

• Threat of regulatory agency involvement increased

• Service teams were overwhelmed, morale dropped, and escalation rates increased

• Reputation eroded

Why This Happens

In regulated industries with complex rules, fine print, and multiple passthrough partners such as insurers, auditors, or record keepers, the actual process often feels invisible to the end customer. Consumers, not seeing the full picture, make their own assumptions about how the process should work. When reality does not match those expectations, frustration builds, especially when customers encounter layers of red tape. Because the process feels opaque, the experience is often perceived as unfair or unnecessarily difficult, even when delays or limitations are outside the service provider’s direct control. With few other outlets, customers vent their frustrations toward the company they interact with most: the service provider.

In this case, several factors contributed to the issue:

• Policy-heavy language. Customers were overwhelmed by inaccessible healthcare jargon, which created confusion at already stressful moments. Service representatives, lacking better tools, defaulted to compliance-driven communication that ignored customer experience.

• Reactive communications. Frustrations escalated because customers had no clear understanding of the process. When expectations went unmet, anger intensified. Company messaging addressed issues only after they reached escalation rather than anticipating and diffusing them earlier.

• Content misalignment. Materials were produced without considering what customers needed most. Beyond sales collateral, content lacked purpose and strategy, leaving customers without guidance to make better decisions or ease anxieties.

• Unbranded service line. A valuable service offering existed but was overlooked due to lack of branding and promotion. Customers were unaware of its potential to address pain points directly, weakening both satisfaction and trust.

• No externalized customer experience strategy. While the company cared deeply about customer experience internally, it had no external framework or strategy to actively manage expectations. The disconnect left customers feeling unsupported, even when the internal intent was positive.

The Troubleshoot: Education-Forward Strategy

We repositioned the company around transparency, accessibility, and education. The realignment touched every part of the brand and customer experience.

• Built an external customer experience strategy. Tone, messaging, and content were recalibrated to align with a consistent brand archetype, making it easier for customers to connect with the company in a positive, trustworthy way.

• Humanized content and conversations. We launched a transparency campaign that explained processes clearly and gave customer service teams tools to handle conversations with empathy. Compliance standards were still met, but without the jargon that had previously alienated customers.

• Introduced education across every touchpoint. An education campaign clarified key processes and was woven into the ordering journey, FAQs, and organic customer interactions, reducing uncertainty at every stage.

• Elevated a critical service through branding. A valuable but overlooked service was rebranded and brought to the forefront, positioning the company as an advocate for customers rather than another source of red tape.

• Reshaped the content strategy. All external assets, from the website to educational resources, were optimized to deliver clarity, reduce anxiety, and strengthen decision-making for customers.

The Results

The outcomes created lasting change across both reputation and sales:

• 73 percent reduction in negative reviews across third-party channels

• Improved customer sentiment, with fewer escalations and more positive public feedback

• Support team morale restored as staff gained tools to de-escalate and felt equipped to help

• Industry trust rebuilt, with customers publicly praising the company when a competitor faced a class-action lawsuit

• Conversion funnels improved through a human-centered approach that aligned brand voice, product strategy, and customer needs

• New avenues of product line discovered.

Case Study Takeaway

Reputation and growth are built on the quality of the customer experience. When tone, communication, and expectation-setting are neglected, even small frustrations escalate into public backlash and stalled conversions. By improving how it communicated, setting clearer expectations, and leading with education, this company transformed frustration into trust. The result was a stronger customer experience, more resilient sales funnels, and a competitive advantage anchored in transparency and credibility.

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