Marketing's Always Emotional

we become your customer before we become your agency

studiomae is a strategy-first agency for brands that want to be chosen, kept, and remembered - not just seen. Before we recommend any marketing, we walk your customer journey end-to-end.

We find what's earning customers, what's losing them, and what's missing in between. Because no amount of marketing fixes a leaking customer experience.

The Evidence

5x

more expensive to win a new customer than to keep one

HBR · Bain →
80%

of brands think they deliver a superior customer experience. Only 8% of customers agree.

HBR · The Delivery Gap →
86%

of buyers say the experience matters as much as the product itself

Salesforce →
67%

more spent by repeat customers compared to first-time buyers

HubSpot Research →

hello.

I'm Hayley, founder of studiomae.

Fifteen years across agencies taught me the same lesson, over and over: the real problem is almost never the marketing.

It's a funnel that leaks. A positioning brief for the wrong audience. An onboarding email that loses customers the campaign just paid to win. The marketing gets blamed, the budget gets bigger, and nobody walks the journey to see what's actually broken.

I got tired of watching it happen. studiomae is the agency I wished existed. Strategy first. Customer always. Built to fix what's actually broken, not just to make more marketing.

Hayley Evans · Founder, studiomae

what's broken.

is anyone paying attention to the customer?

  • Overspend - you're paying more to win them than they're worth.
  • Lost revenue - they're walking in, and walking straight back out.
  • Quiet churn - you're paying to replace the ones you didn't keep.
  • Missed opportunity - the upsell, the next purchase, the upgrade.
  • Damaged experience - the customers who tell others not to.

The gaps are obvious once someone looks. The journey is broken in places no one is checking. No amount of marketing fixes a leaking customer experience - most agencies look at the marketing. We look at the business behind it.

it's a ride.

every business has one.

Whether you run a restaurant, build a beauty brand, or sell SaaS - the customer journey is the same shape. Nine stages. Nine places where the journey holds, or breaks. This is where we work - across all of it, or just the parts that aren't pulling their weight.

Your customer should feel

“ Where have you been all my life?

Before they buy, they have to know you exist - and find you when they're ready. This is where curiosity is sparked, where they hear your name for the first time, and where they decide if you're worth a second look.

Your customer should feel

“ This is exactly what I needed. ”

The middle ground where trust is earned, the moment of conversion, and the experience that follows. Every detail is a vote for, or against, the yes.

Your customer should feel

“ I'm telling everyone.

The work that makes the first sale the start of a relationship, not the end of one. Keeping a customer costs a fraction of winning one - and a happy customer becomes a channel of their own.

have you really walked
your customer journey?

nine stages. nine minutes. one honest score.

The Walk-Through scores your customer journey, stage by stage. By the end you'll know which parts you've thought through - and which are quietly costing you.

Take the Walk-Through

Free · 9 minutes · Your personal journey score

Your customer journey score
where it holds. where it leaks.
Foundation
78
Awareness
62
Discovery
44
Consideration
71
Decision
58
Experience
34
Retention
22
Advocacy
15
Measurement
48

the mae method.

the strategy that finds the gaps, and fixes them.

Before we recommend any marketing, we walk the customer journey end-to-end. We find what's earning customers, what's losing them, and what's missing in between.

Four steps. One process. A strategy built on evidence, not assumption - and a plan you can run with, with us or without us.

1.Discover

We become your customer. We sign up, browse, leave, come back, order. We document everything they see.

2.Diagnose

We map the journey end-to-end. Where it bleeds experience and revenue. Where the marketing was pointed at the wrong problem.

3.Direct

We rebuild the strategy around what we found. Positioning, audience, messaging, channels, journey. Earned, not borrowed.

4.Deliver

We plan marketing that plugs the real gaps. Across whichever channels move the needle. Take it in-house, or trust us.

bespoke blend.

to fit your budget and priorities.

Not every business needs every channel. Not every budget can fund every stage. The right mix depends on where the journey is breaking, where the budget can stretch, and what you need to move first.

We start with the priorities. Where's the revenue leaking now? Where's the biggest opportunity sitting? What can the budget realistically support over the next three, six, twelve months?

Marketing that fits the brief, the budget, and the business.

our network.

the big-agency network. the boutique-agency attention.

You get one senior strategic partner who knows your business, your journey, and your gaps. And a curated network of specialists who bring their skills when it's needed.

One person holds the picture. The right specialists do the work.

You're never handed off to a junior, never managing a team. You're paying for specialism, not overheads.

our specialists.

the team behind the strategy.

From positioning to performance - the team we plug in is senior, accountable, and brought in for the parts of the journey that need them.

Strategy & Insight

Journey mapping · positioning · audience · research.

Brand & Identity

Naming · voice · visual system · brand books.

Copy & Content

Website · email · ads · long-form · thought leadership.

Visual & Motion

Photography · video · illustration · animation.

Web & Build

Design · UX · WordPress · Shopify · conversion.

Paid & Performance

Search · social · display · retargeting · CRO.

Search & SEO

Technical · content · AI search · organic visibility.

Lifecycle & CRM

Email · loyalty · retention · onboarding flows.

PR, Social & Influencer

Earned media · founder · community · creator partnerships.

marketing's always emotional

let's find what your customers feel

how it works.

strategy first. delivery when you're ready.

Discover & Diagnose

We walk your journey end-to-end. You get a strategic diagnosis with gaps and priorities ranked.

Timeline2-4 weeks
FormatProject
From £2,500.
Direct & Deliver

The full Mae Method. A plan you can run with - with us, or without us.

Timeline6-10 weeks
FormatProject
From £7,500.
Marketing Mix

Strategy executed across the channels that move the needle, curated through our network.

TimelineOngoing
FormatRetainer · 3 mo. min.
From £2,500 / mo.
Ongoing Consult

Taking it in-house? Monthly check-ins to keep the journey strategy on track.

TimelineMonthly
FormatRetainer · 3 mo. min.
From £350 / mo.

when you're ready.

the first conversation is on us.

A discovery call. Thirty minutes. No pitch, no slides.

Just a conversation about your business, your customers, and where the journey might be costing you.

From there, you'll know if studiomae is the right fit - and we'll know where to start the strategy.

Book a Free Call

Prefer to email? No problem.
hello@studiomae.co.uk

the emotional brief.

strategy notes. journey diagnostics. brand thinking.
Read all →

what your customers see that you don't

the emotional brief.

the sharpest takes on marketing, straight to your inbox.

No spam. Just something worth feeling.

great questions.

the things every brand asks before saying yes.

Two to four weeks. We walk your customer journey end-to-end, document everything they see, and deliver a strategic diagnosis with the gaps and priorities ranked. You leave with a clear picture of where the journey is leaking - and what to fix first.

That's how it's designed. The plan is yours - whether you run it with us, or without us. If you want to keep us close while you deliver in-house, monthly check-ins start at £350/month.

We work best with brands that have a real product, real customers, and a real ambition to grow. Whether you're a £200k founder-led startup or a £20m brand, the customer journey is the same shape - and the gaps are usually in the same places.

The methodology travels. The customer journey is the same shape across SaaS, retail, hospitality, FMCG, finance and beyond. We bring sector specialists from our network when the project needs them.

You get senior strategic thinking on every engagement, not a junior team. And we walk the journey before we recommend any marketing - which means the strategy is grounded in evidence, not assumption.

Every engagement starts with the metrics that matter for your business. We define them upfront, track them through delivery, and report on them simply. Revenue, retention, advocacy, attribution - real numbers, not vanity dashboards.