Basic Customer Journey Map in 10 Steps

Your vision is to map your customer journey so that customers find you, purchase, and stay loyal.

The dilemma is finding the most effective ways to spend marketing dollars. You may have marketing dollars to spend but you want to focus those dollars on what is going to be the most effective and highest return for your business. But how exactly do you that? You may be sending out mass emails or running ads, not really sure if you are hitting the right customer, just hoping something sticks. Your customers are not just customers, they need to be segmented, based on their needs, motivations, demographics, and types of problems. This article discusses the 8 steps to customer journey maps to accomplish.

Defining a case for customer journey mapping

The case is specifically how to acquire new customers.

Let's use an example of a software trying to acquire additional customers. Emails go out regularly to purchased email lists for various industries with blanket statements and promotions. The problem is, these lists are expensive and you are seeing a low return. All potential customers are treated the same.

The solution is using a customer journey map process.

Customer journey mapping is the way to gain insights into your customer and business. Remember this word insight, it's key to everything you are about to start doing. When you start this process, the data you collect has to be analyzed and turned into insights so that you may turn it into something meaningful that further generates a return for your business. The purpose of this is to understand the problems your business solves, how you are interacting with your customer, where the pain areas and gaps are, and what you can improve upon to make this a smooth journey and engage your customer for long-term relationships.

You need to look at your customer's goals, motivations, what they think and feel, and their actions across the entire purchase journey from awareness, to consideration of your product or service to the actual purchase commitment. Many customer journey maps continue into the stage after purchase, where you should be checking in at some point to determine how your customers are responding to your service in particular. Word of mouth and referrals can be a top way to gain customers so just making a purchase isn't the end of the journey. I've found that this type of project is quite an undertaking and often split it into two where we look at marketing, or up to purchase, and then after the purchase, where it's more geared towards customer success.

Getting started with customer journey mapping.

You need to start interviewing your customers or your potential customers to find the problems they need to be solved. You may have a product, but if it doesn't solve a business problem or if you aren't marketing the problem it solves properly, you will not be making any money.

1. Understand the Purpose

Customer journey mapping aims to:

• Identify customer touchpoints and pain points.
• Highlight opportunities to enhance the customer experience.
• Align internal processes with customer expectations.
• Foster a customer-centric culture within the organization.

2. Start with Customer Personas

To create a meaningful journey map, you must understand who your customers are.

• Develop Personas: Create detailed profiles representing your typical customers, including demographics, motivations, goals, and challenges.
• Focus on Specific Segments: Tailor the journey map to one persona at a time for better accuracy.

3. Identify Key Stages of the Journey

Break down the customer’s interaction with your brand into key stages, such as:

1. Awareness: How customers first learn about your product or service.
2. Consideration: How they evaluate options and make decisions.
3. Purchase: The buying process and transaction experience.
4. Onboarding: How they start using your product or service.
5. Retention: Efforts to keep them engaged and loyal.
6. Advocacy: When they promote your brand to others.

4. Focus on Touchpoints

A touchpoint is any interaction a customer has with your brand during their journey.

• Catalog All Touchpoints: Include both direct (e.g., website visit, in-store interaction) and indirect (e.g., social media mentions, online reviews) touchpoints.
• Evaluate Impact: Determine how each touchpoint contributes to or detracts from the overall experience.

5. Capture Customer Emotions

Customer journey maps should illustrate how customers feel at each stage of their journey.

• Track Emotional Highs and Lows: Understand where customers feel satisfied or frustrated.
• Empathy is Key: Use surveys, interviews, and feedback to understand the emotional drivers behind their actions.

6. Use Data and Insights

Rely on real customer data to make the journey map accurate and actionable.

• Quantitative Data: Website analytics, sales metrics, and customer behavior reports.
• Qualitative Data: Customer interviews, surveys, and focus groups.
• Cross-Departmental Input: Collaborate with teams like sales, marketing, and customer support to gather diverse perspectives.

7. Visualize the Map

A customer journey map is most effective when it’s visually engaging and easy to interpret.

• Choose a Clear Format: Use timelines, flowcharts, or infographics to represent the journey.
• Highlight Key Insights: Use icons, color codes, or labels to draw attention to critical information.

8. Identify Pain Points and Opportunities

Look for areas where customers experience friction or dissatisfaction and pinpoint opportunities to improve.

• Common Pain Points: Long wait times, lack of information, unclear processes, or unhelpful customer support.
• Enhancement Opportunities: Personalization, proactive communication, or streamlined processes.

9. Prioritize Actions Based on Insights

Once you’ve identified opportunities, focus on the changes that will have the greatest impact.

• Quick Wins: Implement solutions that are easy and cost-effective.
• Strategic Changes: Plan for larger improvements that require more time or resources.

10. Continuously Update and Refine

Customer journeys evolve as market conditions and customer expectations change.

• Monitor Trends: Keep an eye on customer behavior and preferences.
• Solicit Feedback: Regularly ask for customer input to identify new opportunities for improvement.
• Iterate: Treat the journey map as a living document that grows with your business.

Learn more about how I can help.

References I have used in the past and recommend to learn more on customer journey mapping

Bain & Company. (2018, April 2). Customer Journey Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.bain.com/insights/management-tools-customer-journey-analysis/.

Barlow, M & Megquier, D. (2017, June 8). Using Personas to Develop Awesome Experiences [PDF]. Harvard University. Retrieved from https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/harvarduxgroup/files/personas_huit2017_1.pdf.

Deasi, G. (2017, January 5). 65 Questions to Ask for Understanding the B2B Customer Journey. Customer Journey Marketer. Retrieved from http://customerjourneymarketer.com/understand-b2b-customer-journey/.

DeMere, N. E. (2017, September 13). The Customer Journey Mapping Guide to Getting Started. Wootric. Retrieved from https://www.wootric.com/blog/the-customer-journey-mapping-guide-to-getting-started/.

Flaherty, K. (2016, December 4). How Channels, Devices, and TouchPoints Impact the Customer Journey. Neilson Norman Group. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/channels-devices-touchpoints/.

Interaction Design Foundation. (2015). Google’s HEART Framework for Measuring UX Success. Interaction Design Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/google-s-heart-framework-for-measuring-ux.

NTT Data, (2015, November 4). Customer Journey Mapping is at the Heart of Digital Transformation. Wharton University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved from https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/customer-journey-mapping-is-at-the-heart-of-digital-transformation/.

Richardson, A. (2010, November 15). Using Customer Journey Maps to Improve Customer Experience. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/11/using-customer-journey-maps-to.

Rohr’s, J. K. (2014, April 30). Seth Godin’s ‘Permission Marketing’ Turns 15. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/04/30/seth-godins-permission-marketing-turns-15/#1abd06fd58e4.

Ross, L. (n.d.). Six Steps to Creating the Complete Customer Journey Maps. Invesp. Retrieved from https://www.invespcro.com/blog/six-steps-to-creating-the-complete-customer-journey-maps/.

St. Louis, M. (2017, September 21). How to Create Customer Personas That Breathe Life Into Your Marketing. Inc. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/molly-reynolds/how-to-create-customer-personas-that-brealife-into-your-marketing.html.

Toman, N. Adamson, B., & Gomez, C. (2017, March to April). The New Sales Imperative. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-new-sales-imperative.