Mapping the customers journey
If you already have an established business but haven't mapped out your customer's journey, you may be missing opportunities to improve their experience and increase sales. Mapping the customer journey allows you to identify pain points and moments of delight across the key stages of Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Purchase, and Advocacy.
What is the Customer Journey Map?
A customer journey map is a visual representation of the complete end-to-end experience a customer has with your business. It includes:
- Customer Actions: Key activities customers take at each stage
- Marketing Touchpoints: Such as advertising, social media, sponsorships, events, etc.
- Customer Emotions: How customers feel at different points
- Customer Pain Points: Frustrations and roadblocks in the journey
- Solutions: Ways you can improve the experience
Why Create a Customer Journey Map?
Journey mapping reveals insights you can use to enhance customer satisfaction, including:
- Seeing where customers may be dropping out of the sales process
- Identifying underutilized marketing channels and touchpoints
- Pinpointing negative emotions and pain points to address
- Uncovering moments of positivity and delight to build on
- Informing improvements to marketing, products, services and processes
How to Create Your Customer Journey Map
Follow these steps:
1. Identify Main Customer Personas
2. Map out all Marketing Touchpoints customers interact with
3. Break the journey into key Stages: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Service, Advocacy
4. Note Customer Actions, Emotions, and Pain Points at each stage
5. Identify Gaps and Opportunities for improvement
6. Brainstorm potential Solutions for pain points and gaps
7. Prioritize solutions based on effort vs. impact
Journey mapping is an ongoing exercise, and one you should undertake whenever you implement something new, or at least annually to take into account the changing marketing conditions e.g. Twitter in decline or the absence of international travel.
