Customer experience has spent years trying to remove uncertainty so customers always know what will happen next. When that works perfectly, something unexpected happens – everything functions... but nothing feels important.

Organisations invest heavily in making journeys clearer, faster, and more predictable. The logic is sound – when customers feel unsure about what will happen next, perceived risk increases, effort rises, and trust erodes.  

For marketers this often shows up as a different problem: experiences that test well but don’t stick. Customers report satisfaction, yet attachment, talkability and memorability remain low. So, we see that the journey works, but people don’t talk about it afterwards.

But some of the most engaging experiences in the world run on a different fuel – uncertainty about the outcome – like a tied game in the final minutes or a 100m sprint between evenly matched athletes where you stop checking your phone because the outcome isn’t settled yet.

We don’t lean forward in those moments despite uncertainty; we lean forward because of it. So, the same uncertainty that breaks trust in a service interaction is exactly what makes people care in a live moment.

The answer lies in understanding that friction and tension are not the same thing. Stakes matter and impact our perceptions of engagement.

Where certainty matters

Think about the most recent Superbowl – while the half time show was a spectacle, the actual game was admittedly one sided. The outcome felt effectively decided by halftime.

The production is world class, the broadcast is seamless, and the infrastructure works perfectly. But once the scoreline feels decided, you feel yourself leaning back on the couch. Still watching, just not gripping the armrest anymore.

Now contrast that to the recent Women’s Downhill Alpine Skiing event at the 2026 Winter Olympics; wide open competitor field, comeback stories, uncertainty about who will win and the shock of Lindsey Vonn’s crash. In those moments, everything else recedes – the experience becomes concentrated, emotions are felt.

The difference is the stakes, not the production quality. Brands often optimise the production layer of experience the way sport perfects the broadcast, but engagement lives in the outcome.

Sport understands something many brands overlook: engagement requires tension and stakes but must sit on a foundation of stability.

Friction vs. tension: a critical distinction

Friction is the uncertainty customers didn’t sign up for – repeating details, unclear pricing, shifting timelines. It adds work and chips away at trust because the brand loses its sense of reliability.

Tension works differently. It adds significance rather than effort, signalling that something matters while creating anticipation and emotional lift without destabilising the system.

The sporting industry has done a great job of separating these two.

The experience of watching sports is for the most part flawless. Fans do not worry about whether the stadium gates will open, whether the lighting will work, or whether the rules will change mid-game. The infrastructure is predictable and trusted, that predictability creates psychological safety. One of the reasons the game can be so engaging is because everything else is so smooth – the game is intentionally designed as a moment that matters.

The learnings for brands

When every moment is equally seamless and equally low stakes, customers move through the journey passively, they are satisfied but not invested. The experience works, but it does not resonate – many organisations equate “good experience” with frictionless execution.

The most powerful experiences are designed around moments that matter disproportionately with heightened emotional moments that feel more important. The Olympics teach us that a single high-stakes moment can eclipse everything else. Great customer experience works the same way.

This doesn’t mean adding randomness to billing systems or service processes, but to engineer operational certainty in the moments that should feel effortless and concentrate stakes in the moments that should feel meaningful.  

Apple product launches create buzz around what will be revealed. Ticket drops create urgency around whether you’ll get one in time. Mecca’s Beauty Loop box builds suspense around what’s inside.

Deliberately design moments where something meaningful is at stake. Moments that focus attention and elevate significance. This could take many forms: a milestone that unlocks new value, a live reveal that builds anticipation, a time-bound decision that forces action, or a recognition moment that signals progress.

Translating suspense into loyalty

A final five minutes can electrify an audience, but a single spike of emotion does not create loyalty – repeatability embeds the suspense. Loyalty shows that repeatable cues and rituals embed behaviour over time.¹

Sports do not rely on one dramatic finish; they ritualise the tension. In her latest article on Loyalty, Colleen Ryan talks about how consistent cues and moments become embedded routines for building loyalty. Loyalty is not built on isolated highs. It's built on recognisable structures that customers move through again and again. When those structures consistently contain meaning, suspense, or reward, they become habit.  

People return for the ritual as much as the outcome. There’s predictability that there will be suspense. This is where many brands misunderstand emotional experience. They chase “surprise and delight” as one-off theatrics.

Additionally suspense taps into identity and community bonding. Sporting spectacles are not only about competition but showcases how suspense gives fans identity and recognises belief so, the suspense becomes communal and shared.

A Mecca Beauty Loop moment signals status and belonging, not just rewards. The anticipation of the drop, the tier, the access becomes ritualised. The reward is important, but the structure around it is just as important for creating repeat behaviour.

Without structure, tension is just entertainment

Customers need certainty in mechanics. They crave meaning in key moments. Designing for stakes can create a sense of urgency, passion and engagement. Protect reliability in the operational layer while deliberately designing high stakes moments that focus attention.

If it’s hard to point to a moment that truly matters in the experience, the system may be functioning perfectly while giving customers very little reason to care.

FAQ

What is the difference between friction and tension in customer experience?

‍Friction is the uncertainty customers didn't sign up for – repeating details, unclear pricing, shifting timelines. It adds work and chips away at trust. Tension works differently. It adds significance rather than effort, signalling that something matters while creating anticipation and emotional lift without destabilising the system.

Why do seamless experiences sometimes fail to create loyalty?

‍When every moment is equally seamless and equally low stakes, customers move through the journey passively. They are satisfied but not invested. The experience works, but it does not resonate. Organisations often equate good experience with frictionless execution – but engagement lives in the outcome, not the production layer.

How do brands design for tension without destabilising the experience?

‍Engineer operational certainty in the moments that should feel effortless, and concentrate stakes in the moments that should feel meaningful. Protect reliability in the infrastructure so the high-stakes moment can carry all the emotional weight.