The 10-second customer journey and how to remove friction fast

Episode notes

Buying decisions don’t happen in neat, linear funnels anymore. They happen in seconds. In this episode of In Other Words, host Jason Hemingway is joined by Todd Unger, Chief Experience Officer at the American Medical Association and best-selling author of The 10-Second Customer Journey . They explore what Todd calls the Tornado Funnel, where the entire customer journey compresses into a single moment of decision. When that moment hits, friction decides who wins. Drawing on a career that spans media, ecommerce, and healthcare, Todd explains how growth now depends on integrating marketing, product, commerce, and service into a single, connected system that removes friction before the customer feels it. When those elements are misaligned, friction creeps in, and in a ten-second decision window, friction costs revenue. From eliminating hidden barriers in digital journeys to using AI to scale personalization and detect breakdowns in real time, Todd offers a clear view of what it takes to compete when every second counts.