The hottest Customer Experience Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

The Suffocation Of Sézane

Total Rec • 7089 implied HN points • 29 Jun 24
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Customer Experience
  1. Influencer marketing can often lead to consumer fatigue when reviews all lead to the same destination: an affiliate link.
  2. Sézane's marketing tactics, like frequent product drops and scarcity, can create urgency and a chaotic shopping experience for customers.
  3. Investor pressure can push brands to prioritize profit over customer satisfaction and potentially compromise on quality and ethics.

March 12: How To Talk To People

Respectful Leadership • 54 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Match your message to the listener — journalists, customers, investors, and coworkers each want different stories, so lead with what matters to them.
  2. Listen actively to hear the meaning behind people’s words; ask clarifying questions and reflect back what you heard so you can improve products, pitches, or service.
  3. Practice emotional fluency and tend to your inner dialogue as a leader; being authentic and empathetic creates safety, motivation, and higher-performing teams.

Don't overcomplicate your data strategy

The Data Jargon Newsletter • 79 implied HN points • 17 Oct 24
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. A good data strategy doesn't need to be full of tools or complicated terms. Keep it simple and clear so everyone understands it.
  2. You should make data easy to access based on how your team and customers currently work. Don't ask them to change their habits; instead, integrate the data into their preferred tools.
  3. Your data strategy will always need updates and improvements. Think of it as a living document that evolves to meet the needs of your business and customers.

For Starters #35: 3.5 Tips for Pricing

For Starters • 39 implied HN points • 18 Oct 24
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Pricing should highlight what makes your product special. If customers understand its unique value, they're more likely to use it.
  2. Help your customers see the benefits fast. Make onboarding smooth and ensure they quickly experience the product's value.
  3. Don't worry about making your product perfect before setting a price. Charge based on the value customers see now, not on what you want it to eventually be.

TBM 394: Imagine If a Restaurant Behaved Like Your Average Product Team (Extended Edition)

The Beautiful Mess • 647 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Product teams need fast, frontline customer feedback like a restaurant’s servers provide; without immediate signals from users, teams can’t detect and fix problems quickly.
  2. Being busy isn’t the same as being effective: lots of meetings and tasks can hide low-impact work, often caused by misaligned leadership incentives and menu creep.
  3. Real outcomes require clear strategy, upstream discovery, and tight cross-functional coordination across Sales, Customer Success, UX and Ops, not just a busy engineering “kitchen.”
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TBM 396: So You Want To Define “The Problem”?

The Beautiful Mess • 489 implied HN points • 18 Dec 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Don't hunt for a single, perfect problem statement. Use multiple layers to see the customer's story, other actors' views, and the wider system shaping behavior.
  2. Listen to how customers describe the issue and collect perspectives from everyone involved, while treating history and past attempts as useful data.
  3. Turn the integrated understanding into small, testable interventions your product can realistically influence, and be clear about what capabilities or constraints will expand or limit your impact.

#45 - Thought Experiment - Your "flexible" is hiding operational debt

OSS.fund Newsletter • 94 implied HN points • 22 Jan 26
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. What you call flexibility may be hiding operational debt: manual workarounds, spreadsheets, and institutional memory erode margins and create single points of failure.
  2. AI can encode client-specific rules and handle exceptions at scale, letting you deliver personalized experiences without increasing marginal human effort.
  3. Audit recent special deals, map their hidden workflows, and encode repeatable rules so agents handle predictable exceptions while humans focus only on true edge cases.

I'm Sick Of Uber's Shit

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 73 implied HN points • 02 Jan 26
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Uber’s reliability has collapsed — drivers often accept rides and then don’t move, and quoted wait times regularly stretch to 10–20 minutes.
  2. The app is stuffed with confusing tiers and volatile pricing that feel like aggressive upsells and hostage negotiation rather than clear options.
  3. Driver morale and cost-cutting have degraded the in-car experience, risking customers switching to taxis or competitors.

It’s all about trials

Elena's Growth Scoop • 904 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Trials help showcase a product's value and can increase pricing power.
  2. Trials should be tailored to specific segments for the best results.
  3. Different trial configurations exist, including when to start, what is offered, entry requirements, duration, and type of offer.

Forget "GPT-Wrappers": The Future of AI Startups is Last-Mile Delivery

Entry Level Investing • 84 implied HN points • 05 Nov 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Startups should focus on delivering AI solutions tailored to specific customer needs rather than just competing with big models. It's about making the technology usable for people.
  2. Being really in tune with customer problems is key. Companies that understand their users deeply can create more valuable and successful products than those that just offer standard solutions.
  3. Vertical-focused startups in areas like legal and healthcare will find huge success by providing precise answers, while 'good enough' solutions will dominate less critical fields. Focus on the last mile to make a real difference.

The Category Science Of Category Pirates

Category Pirates • 452 implied HN points • 15 Mar 23
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Category Science uses broader and weirder data analysis for business growth.
  2. Understanding customer outcomes drives the Net Promoter Score and business decisions.
  3. Top-performing content aligns with factors like hyper-targeted audience, clear outcomes, frameworks, practical applications, and effective marketing.

#1: Travel Companies need to evolve their thinking around Customer Experience

Bureau of Adventure • 259 implied HN points • 28 Jun 23
🏝 Travel Customer Experience
  1. Travel companies must improve their customer experience to meet higher digital expectations. Customers now want their travel experiences to be as smooth and simple as their favorite online services.
  2. Communication is key in the travel industry, but many companies struggle with providing clear and helpful information to customers. They need to make sure customers understand what to expect throughout their journey.
  3. Internally, travel companies need better systems to share information about customers and products. This helps employees give the best service and avoids confusion for travelers.

Whats next for CX in government?

Can We Still Govern? • 151 implied HN points • 27 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Customer Experience
  1. The federal government is working on improving customer experience with public services. This is meant to help citizens feel respected and decrease frustration with processes.
  2. Recent laws are pushing agencies to focus on better service delivery. Each agency will have to appoint someone to oversee these efforts, ensuring they prioritize public needs.
  3. Four key themes emerged for better service: putting the public first, having dedicated customer experience teams, collaborating across departments, and simplifying processes to make them easier for everyone.

June 4: From Chaos To Clarity

Respectful Leadership • 54 implied HN points • 24 May 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Join a supportive network of startup leaders in New York City. It's a chance to connect with like-minded individuals.
  2. The event includes talks from experts in various fields, sharing insights on investments, technology, and customer experience. You'll learn from their experiences.
  3. The gathering aims to help attendees find clarity amidst chaos. It's about gaining valuable knowledge to navigate the startup landscape better.

#7: What can we learn from Viking Cruises?

Bureau of Adventure • 59 implied HN points • 02 Dec 23
🏝 Travel Customer Experience
  1. Viking Cruises grew quickly by taking smart risks and thinking long-term. They started by buying existing operations to reduce risk and focused on profitable markets early on.
  2. They kept their cruise ships and itineraries very standard, which makes it easier for customers to understand and enjoy their products. This also lets them market their offerings more effectively.
  3. Viking clearly defined their target audience as older, English-speaking travelers. This focus helped them create a more appealing experience for their guests, leading to greater satisfaction.

A masterclass in product sunsetting is happening in real time

Mehdeeka • 4 implied HN points • 18 Nov 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Linktree is buying Fingertip and will shut it down, asking users to switch to Linktree. This shows how a product can be taken off the market and what happens to its customers.
  2. Sunsetting a product, or removing it from the market, can be really tough for both businesses and customers. It's important to communicate clearly what users can expect during this process.
  3. When a product is sunsetting, companies should help customers find alternatives and make the transition easier. This might include providing support and clear information about what will happen next.

When Personalization Feels Fake: Starbucks’ Cup Messages, AI, and the Quest for Genuine Connection

Gad’s Newsletter • 26 implied HN points • 24 Feb 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Starbucks' new initiative to have baristas write messages on cups seemed nice but felt forced and scripted. Customers want genuine interactions, not corporate mandates.
  2. Personalization in marketing works best when it's real and meets customer expectations. If customers feel it's fake or too much, it can harm trust and satisfaction.
  3. AI can help personalize experiences, but it can also make customers uneasy if they feel their privacy is being invaded. The key is to balance tech use with genuine human connections.

In the Early Innings of Ecommerce

Ben’s Newsletter • 79 implied HN points • 08 Jun 21
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Ecommerce is growing quickly, attracting more retailers and shoppers every year. Companies need to improve their processes to offer better customer experiences.
  2. Using social media for shopping is becoming very popular. It allows customers to discover products through their friends and communities.
  3. Personalization is important for online shopping success. Customers are more likely to buy when they feel the experience is tailored to their needs.

Frames of mind for builders

Monkey Like • 1 HN point • 27 May 24
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Balancing depth with brevity is crucial in providing information to engineering teams about product features.
  2. Two main frames of mind in product thinking: Extreme Value to the Customer and Wow the Customer.
  3. Combining both mindsets - providing value while also wowing the customer - is key to creating standout products.

Unlocking simplicity: Customer empathy as a (not-so-secret) weapon

amivora • 5 implied HN points • 05 Feb 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Spending time with customers is really important for understanding what to simplify in your product. It might not seem helpful right away, but it leads to better decisions in the long run.
  2. Using your own product to identify issues can teach you a lot. Observing how customers interact with it often reveals what's working and what's frustrating for them.
  3. Deep emotional responses from customers indicate what matters most to them. Getting those insights helps shape what you should focus on and improve in your offerings.

Delight a Minimum Viable Audience

A Bit Gamey • 6 implied HN points • 22 Dec 24
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Focus on a small audience that really needs your product. It helps you understand them better and create something special.
  2. Build trust by being authentic. When you connect genuinely with a smaller group, they will support you more.
  3. You don't need millions of fans to succeed. Even a few passionate supporters can help you grow and thrive.

Look at your fish

The SEO MBA • 13 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. SEO and customer experience are now tightly linked, with enhancing customer experience being crucial for SEO success.
  2. Senior executives often overlook the impact of user behavior changes on SEO performance, leading to missed opportunities.
  3. Conducting collaborative workshops involving various stakeholders can help in evaluating and improving the customer experience on a website.

🧱 How to Build toward Outcome Based Pricing

Good Better Best • 3 implied HN points • 07 Feb 25
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Companies are shifting from seat-based pricing to outcome-based pricing. This means they want to offer more value for what customers pay, instead of just charging per user.
  2. Add-ons and features can help users get more done without changing the whole pricing structure. This lets companies gradually move towards pricing based on results rather than just how many seats a customer has.
  3. Having complex pricing models can be beneficial. They allow businesses to charge different amounts to different customers based on what they need, capturing more value and catering to various market segments.

Apple Tysons Corner: A new chapter

Tabletops • 2 HN points • 18 May 23
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Apple Store at Tysons Corner underwent a comprehensive redesign, emphasizing the return of the Genius Bar and innovative product discovery spaces.
  2. Accessibility was a key focus, with lowered tables and widened aisles to enhance wheelchair accessibility, along with hearing loop systems for those hard of hearing.
  3. The store showcases fresh takes on traditional Apple Store features, such as Avenues and Apple Pickup, with new design elements like sustainable materials and updated layouts.

Should Disney be in charge of large infrastructure projects?

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 29 Nov 24
💼 Business Customer Experience
  1. Disney approaches projects with a focus on creating fun experiences, which could lead to better user engagement. This idea suggests that people enjoy experiences more when they are entertaining, even if it means spending more time in transit.
  2. A fun financial planning approach could keep clients more engaged and lead to better outcomes. Instead of just focusing on returns and risks, financial advisors could link investment choices to a client's happiness and lifestyle.
  3. The concept of a 'happiness advisor' in finance may change how people perceive their investments. By considering both financial planning and emotional well-being, this approach might help people stick to their plans and enhance their overall satisfaction.