Ep.2 Experience Gap: Where brands lose credibility

Pim van Helten

You found us again. Welcome to Brand Focus, a podcast for brands that want to grow in a time when growth is anything but a given.

Together with my guest, I discuss topics related to why it has become so difficult for brands to grow, and what changes are needed to make brands stronger again.

Michael, welcome.

 

Michael Vromans

Thank you.

 

Pim van Helten

Today, we’re talking about the experience gap: why the promise a brand makes and the reality it delivers are drifting further and further apart.

Our premise is that brands lose credibility in the experience, not in the strategy. Do you think this is an important topic for brands that want to grow?

 

Michael Vromans

Absolutely. I think trust is at the center of it. It’s not just about brand strategy or what you say. If you don’t follow through on that in the actual experience, you really don’t have much.

That’s when trust walks out the door, and it’s not easy to win back.

 

Pim van Helten

Last week, Wouter Koolmees, CEO of NS, said in the media that his biggest nightmare is the app not working. I thought that was interesting.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, that’s a good one.

 

Pim van Helten

We’re talking about a huge transportation company with a complex organization. And yet he says: my biggest nightmare is that the app doesn’t work.

Is that where an experience gap starts to appear?

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, I think so. Because if you promise one thing and deliver another, you have a big problem.

From our perspective as digital experts, it’s interesting to see a CEO say: as long as the app works. Instead of, for example: as long as the tracks work.

But it has everything to do with providing information to customers. The moment that information stops, you have a problem. Maybe an even bigger problem than when the train itself isn’t running.

People often still understand when there’s a disruption. But they want to know what to expect and whether you’re still helping them. Especially in stressful situations.

 

Pim van Helten

You also see examples like long lines at Schiphol at KLM counters. Do you think failing to deliver on the experience ultimately causes reputational damage?

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, definitely. You saw that there too: the CEO eventually had to apologize because the communication simply hadn’t been good enough.

In crisis situations, communication is obviously difficult, but you still have to try to reach everyone and provide some level of clarity.

If that doesn’t happen, you lose trust.

 

Pim van Helten

So as a society, have we started trusting brands less?

 

Michael Vromans

Do you think that only applies to brands?

 

Pim van Helten

That’s an interesting question. If you look at institutions like governments, tax authorities, or political systems, you also see a crisis of trust.

A lot of people hear big words from leaders, but they wonder: do they actually follow through?

I think that’s where some of the distrust comes from.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes. Because ultimately, an experience is the feeling that remains after everything a brand says and does.

If that’s consistent, you build trust. And from that, you also build loyalty.

 

Pim van Helten

But maybe we’re also living in a time of constant distrust.

When you see large companies making promises around climate that they don’t keep, or when institutions lose their credibility — what does that do to consumers?

Maybe trust isn’t even an emotion anymore, but almost a basic requirement.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, and today we also have many more ways to verify things.

You can Google everything, read reviews, use GPT, look up other people’s experiences. Through all kinds of channels, you can check whether brands actually deliver on what they promise.

And people share their experiences on a massive scale.

So brands have to work much harder to stay consistently positive across all those channels.

 

Pim van Helten

So ultimately, it comes down to delivering on your promise.

Maybe it’s good to define this for a moment: what do you mean by brand experience?

 

Michael Vromans

For me, it’s the total customer experience. The sum of all the moments of interaction between a brand and a customer.

From the moment someone doesn’t know the brand yet, to the moment they become a customer — and hopefully, eventually, an ambassador.

 

Pim van Helten

And all those touchpoints together eventually create a feeling?

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, exactly. Experience ultimately translates into a feeling.

How do you feel about brand X after using its product? After visiting its website, comparing it with competitors, buying it, and using it?

You add up all those emotions.

And what matters is: are there obstacles between those moments? Or does everything flow smoothly from one step to the next?

The less friction there is, the better the final feeling will be.

 

Pim van Helten

Why is it so difficult for companies to get a grip on that total brand experience?

 

Michael Vromans

There are several reasons.

Marketing, for example, might make a promise that technically can’t be delivered yet.

Or a rebrand gets rolled out, but internally, the processes or culture haven’t been adjusted.

You get fragmentation. Noise in the system. Not everyone inside the organization is aligned.

And that’s when the experience gap emerges.

 

Pim van Helten

So you create an expectation, but ultimately deliver something else.

 

Michael Vromans

Exactly. Overpromise, underdeliver.

 

Pim van Helten

And digital plays an increasingly important role in that.

 

Michael Vromans

Absolutely.

Digital is everywhere now: in orientation, service, administration, apps, portals.

Even physical products now often have a digital layer.

And what you often see is that companies create a good physical product, but the app that comes with it doesn’t meet the same quality standard.

And that’s where another gap appears.

 

Pim van Helten

So digital has become a major part of the brand experience.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes. And tolerance is low.

Online, you can go to a competitor with one click.

The barrier to leaving is much lower than in a physical store.

 

Pim van Helten

So the margin for error is small.

 

Michael Vromans

Very small.

 

Pim van Helten

Why is it still so difficult to build good digital experiences?

 

Michael Vromans

Because organizations have different interests.

Marketing wants speed and innovation. IT wants stability and security. Business wants performance.

Those interests often collide.

If you don’t organize that properly and don’t think from the customer’s perspective, you get fragmentation.

 

Pim van Helten

And ultimately, as a customer, you feel that in the impression that remains.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes.

What you absolutely don’t want to create is unease.

You don’t want friction, obstacles, or inconsistency.

It should feel like everything naturally flows together.

Like a great waiter in a restaurant who comes by at exactly the right time.

 

Pim van Helten

How does a brand know that its digital experience isn’t working well?

 

Michael Vromans

By continuously testing it.

Through customer feedback, audits, external reviews, focus groups.

You have to be willing to take an honest look in the mirror.

And you also have to look at behavior: where do people drop off? Where do they quietly disappear from a flow?

 

Pim van Helten

So people will often complain about dirty bathrooms in a hotel, but not about a bad digital experience?

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, exactly.

In digital, people often just disappear.

They don’t leave a review. They simply don’t come back.

 

Pim van Helten

So where do brands ultimately lose their credibility?

 

Michael Vromans

In overpromising and underdelivering.

And that’s becoming even easier today.

With AI, you can create beautiful campaigns, amazing visuals, fantastic copy.

But can you actually deliver on it?

That’s where the risk lies.

 

Pim van Helten

What does it cost brands when they lose that credibility?

 

Michael Vromans

Ultimately, everything.

If people no longer trust you, you lose loyalty.

And if you lose loyalty, you lose revenue.

 

Pim van Helten

There’s research showing that more than 50% of people don’t return after a bad digital experience.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, and because digital experiences often resemble each other, people switch easily.

The barrier is low.

 

Pim van Helten

Do you have an example of a brand that does this well?

 

Michael Vromans

Coolblue.

I once bought a bike rack that didn’t fit my car. They didn’t have the right model in stock.

But the employee called a competitor, reserved one in my name, and made sure I could pick it up there.

That’s service.

 

Pim van Helten

And that creates a smile at the end of the journey.

 

Michael Vromans

Exactly.

 

Pim van Helten

What should brands do to prevent the experience gap?

 

Michael Vromans

Take an honest look in the mirror.

Don’t just look at conversion, but at what you promise and what you actually deliver.

And make sure all departments are delivering on the same story.

 

Pim van Helten

These days, you see roles like Chief Experience Officer emerging.

On the one hand, that makes sense. But on the other hand, I think: at companies like Coolblue, it’s simply part of the culture.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes, exactly.

It’s in how employees act, not just in a job title.

 

Pim van Helten

So ultimately, it comes down to organization, culture, and execution.

 

Michael Vromans

Yes. If you don’t deliver, you lose trust.

And brands simply can’t afford that anymore today.

 

Pim van Helten

Michael, thank you.