To create a Customer Journey Map, analyze the customer’s path from first contact to purchase, identify key touchpoints and associated emotions, and map interactions with your brand. Optimize each phase with targeted content and offers to improve the customer experience and double your sales.
If you want to sell, you must provide customers with a clear, linear path without stumbling blocks. To understand how your customers interact with your brand and what you can do to improve their experience, the key to success is the Customer Journey Map!
By mapping their “journey”, you put yourself in their shoes and understand if everything is going well or if customers are encountering obstacles and difficulties.
Keep reading and discover how to effectively map the customer journey to double your sales.
What is a customer journey map?
A customer journey map is a graphic representation that outlines the path a customer takes, from the moment they discover your brand to the “purchase and potential loyalty”.
It’s not very different from classic road maps that indicate, in this case, the interaction points (touchpoints) that a customer has with your brand during their customer journey.
Why mapping the customer journey is important for your business
Mapping the customer journey is a fundamental activity for your business for several reasons:
1. Find potential problems and improve the customer experience
By having a clear understanding of the customer’s journey, you can identify areas where the “experience needs improvement. For example, you might discover that the purchasing process is too complicated or that customer service is not up to” par and act accordingly to improve the critical issues.
2. A better user experience increases sales
Satisfied customers are more likely to purchase from you again and recommend your brand to others. Always remember to put yourself in their shoes and interpret your customers’ needs and expectations. Only then can you grow your business and make it solid.
3. Sell more and build customer loyalty
Every business and brand aims for customer loyalty. By fostering customer loyalty, you increase the chances of repeat purchases over time. The customer journey map helps you understand how to facilitate your customers and make their experience memorable.
4. Optimize your marketing strategy
The customer journey map helps you understand which marketing channels are most effective in reaching your customers at each stage of the journey. This way, you can optimize your marketing campaigns and maximize ROI.
How customer journey mapping fits into customer experience management (CXM)
Customer journey mapping is a piece of customer experience management (CXM), which is the management of the customer experience.
The customer journey map acts as a roadmap within CXM, helping you to:
- Visualize the customer journey and identify the touchpoints (points of contact) they have with your company.
- Highlight the stages of the customer journey that work well and those that need improvement.
- Understand the customer’s needs and what they expect from you.
- Devise strategies to improve the customer experience at every
stage
of their journey.
Customer journey mapping is like a pat on the back from a faithful ally that helps you understand how you can guarantee your customers a pleasant experience that they’ll want to repeat!
The 5 phases of customer journey mapping
Imagine customer journey mapping as a process divided into 5 phases, which may vary slightly depending on the type of company, product, or service:
1. Awareness:
This is the moment when the customer becomes aware and understands they have a need or problem to solve. This is where your company needs to be visible and promote its brand as well as its products or services.
2. Consideration:
The market offers a sea of opportunities and competitors are fiercer than ever. What does the customer do after the “awareness” phase? What we all do, which is search for and evaluate the different available alternatives. Your company needs to aim to become the best choice compared to competitors.
3. Convert:
The customer has done their research, gathered all the necessary information, cleared away any doubts, and is ready to purchase. Have they chosen you? Great! But now you need to ensure that the buying process is simple and without obstacles. Otherwise, you risk losing the customer forever, because there’s nothing worse than a frustrating purchasing experience!
4. Loyalty:
The customer journey has been pleasant, the customer has obtained what they wanted without difficulty. It’s now up to you to capitalize on this success and turn it into a habit. Ensure that your customer returns every time they need something and doesn’t look elsewhere. Strengthen the relationship with the customer and increase their loyalty!
5. Advocacy:
Do you know what every marketing strategy aims for? To sell, yes, but above all to transform the customer into the most passionate ambassador. Because no one, more than a satisfied customer, will be able to push your brand and promote your product or service.
Keep in mind that the consumer’s journey is not a straight highway but can involve reversing and different starting points.
Examples of how some well-known companies use customer journey mapping
Here are some examples of how different companies use customer journey mapping (CJM):
1. Airbnb uses CJM to better understand their customers and improve the booking and stay experience. For example, through the Customer Journey Map, they understand the difficulty in finding suitable accommodation or the complexity of the booking process and can improve communications with customers by integrating a chat.
2. Amazon uses CJM to identify, for example, cart abandonment points and implement various measures to address this issue, such as the ability to save products for later and receive personalized recommendations based on previous purchases.
3. Netflix uses CJM to improve customer retention. The Customer Journey Map has helped the company, for example, identify reasons why customers unsubscribe and implement various measures to retain them.
These are just a few examples of how companies can use CJM to improve their business. If you’re an entrepreneur, we recommend considering creating a CJM for your company. It’s a crucial investment that you won’t regret.
The different types of customer journey maps at your disposal
The customer journey map is a versatile tool that can be adapted to different needs. In fact, there are various types of CJM that focus on specific aspects of the customer journey. Let’s look at some of the most common:
1. Current State Journey Map:
Analyzes the current state of the customer journey and informs you of how customers currently interact with your company. It’s very useful if you want to know the strengths and critical points.
2. Future State Journey Map:
Allows you to have a future perspective and move based on how you would like customers to interact with your company.
3. Day in the Life Journey Map:
You can understand how customers face their needs and challenges every day. It’s useful for identifying potential touchpoints where your company can offer value and improve the customer’s life in general.
4. Service Blueprint Journey Map:
Visualize the back-end of business processes that support the customer journey and identify critical issues to optimize, ensuring a seamless customer experience!
5. Empathy Map:
Do you know what’s at the core of marketing? Understanding the market, but above all, the desires, thoughts, doubts, and emotions of customers. Empathy is precisely this, knowing how to establish an emotional bond that allows you to connect deeply and effectively with the customer.
To choose the right type of CJM for you, you must first know what your goals are. If you want to identify problem areas in the current customer experience, a Current State Journey Map is the ideal solution. If instead you want to plan the future customer experience, you should create a Future State Journey Map.
In mapping, there are no limits or silos, you can also use different types of CJMs to get a complete view of the customer journey.
How to choose the right customer journey map model for your business
Choosing the right customer journey map (CJM) for your business depends on several factors, including:
1. The goals you want to achieve:
If you want to better understand your customers and their needs, a Current State Journey Map or an Empathy Map are the best options. To identify weak points in the customer journey and take action to improve them, a Current State Journey Map or a Future State Journey Map are right for you. Aiming to increase sales and loyalty? Then choose a Future State Journey Map or a Service Blueprint Journey Map.
2. The type of business:
B2B companies have more complex customer journeys compared to B2C companies. If you work in the B2B sector, a Current State Journey Map or a Future State Journey Map can help you map the different touchpoints and identify areas for improvement. Operating in the B2C field? Then use a Current State Journey Map, a Future State Journey Map, a Day in the Life Journey Map, or an Empathy Map. Remember, the choice depends on your business objectives!
3. The resources you have available:
Creating a CJM requires time and resources. If you have a limited budget, start with a simple CJM. If you don’t have the internal expertise to create a CJM, turn to digital marketing experts like us at Qreativa! Don’t risk wasting time and energy, invest immediately in a safe and effective Customer Journey Map that allows you to fully understand your customers’ needs.
4. The level of analysis you want to obtain:
If you want an in-depth analysis of the customer journey, you need to create a detailed CJM that includes all touchpoints and interactions. On the contrary, if you need a general idea of the customer journey, you can create a simple CJM that includes only the key points.
How to create an effective customer journey map
Creating an effective CJM requires planning, research, and collaboration. Here are the main steps you need to take:
1. Define your objectives and establish what you want to achieve with the CJM.
2. Choose among the various customer journey maps, from the Current State Journey Map to the Empathy Map.
3. Identify who your target customers are and develop detailed profiles (customer personas) that include demographic and behavioral data.
4. Define the stages of the customer journey and break down the customer’s path into main phases, such as awareness, consideration, purchase, use, support, and loyalty.
5. Identify the touchpoints where customers come into contact with your brand.
6. Map customer actions at each stage of the journey.
7. Analyze customer emotions and thoughts at each stage.
8. Identify areas for improvement and resolve, or rather, remove every type of obstacle!
9. Plan all necessary actions to improve the customer experience.
10. Never stop, keep checking that the customer journey always goes smoothly. Monitor and update the CJM. Make sure the customer experience is memorable.
Follow these additional tips to have an effective Customer Journey Map:
- Involve your team to always have a complete view of the customer journey. Remember, every piece is an important part of the puzzle.
- Use analytical data and market research to support your actions. Don’t make decisions based on unfounded assumptions or intuitions.
- Experiment with different layouts and approaches to find the CJM model that works best for you.
- The Customer Journey Map should be easy to read and understand. Avoid complicating life for yourself and your team.
Creating a CJM requires effort, but it’s an investment that will help your business grow!
Discover some tools and software that can help you with customer journey mapping
There are various tools that can simplify the creation and management of CJMs. Here are some of the most used ones:
- Lucidchart is a versatile tool that includes specific features for CJM.
- Miro is an online collaboration platform with features for creating CJMs.
- UXPressia, dedicated to customer experience (CX), includes tools for CJM.
- Visme is useful for creating visual content and includes templates for CJM.
- Canva is a well-known online graphic design platform that offers CJM templates.
- Gliffy is an online tool with CJM functionality.
An important thing you need to understand is that these tools are very useful for creating a CJM, but they don’t work magic! Without your complete vision of customer needs and activities to make the customer journey agile and satisfying, there will never be an effective Customer Journey Map!
10 Common Mistakes You Must Avoid When Creating a Customer Journey Map
Creating an effective Customer Journey Map improves the customer experience and grows your business. However, be careful not to make these mistakes:
- Not involving different company teams in creating the CJM.
- Basing the CJM on personal opinions or anecdotes, rather than concrete data.
- A CJM that’s too generic doesn’t provide useful information and doesn’t allow for identifying areas of improvement.
- Using uncommon terminology can create confusion and hinder collaboration between teams.
- A CJM that isn’t visualized clearly and comprehensively is difficult to use and share.
- Not updating the CJM regularly can make it obsolete and of little use.
- Not using the CJM to make decisions and improve the “customer experience negates its” usefulness.
- Not communicating the CJM to the team and customers can limit its impact and potential effectiveness.
- Lack of alignment with the marketing strategy.
- Using inappropriate tools for creating and managing the CJM.
Start Mapping Your Customer Journey!
In this article, we’ve explored Customer Journey Mapping and the importance of the Customer Journey Map, a powerful tool for understanding customers and improving their experience.
Are you ready to start? Contact us today to learn more!
Together, we can create an exceptional customer journey for your clients.
