A customer journey map is a visual representation of the customer's journey through a series of brand touchpoints , before, during, and after purchase.
Also known as a customer journey map, it's highly recommended to implement it in your company before you start offering a product or service to consumers , and in this article, we'll explain why.
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Customer journey map: what it is and how to create it step by step
What is the purpose of a customer journey map?
The customer journey map tells the story of the brand relationship from the customer's perspective , helping us better understand what we can offer them at every step of the way. Its usefulness relies on the power of storytelling to provide companies with valuable insights on how to improve customer relationships.
The customer journey map is related to the conversion funnel model , in which each user goes through different stages to become a loyal customer. But unlike this model, in practice the customer journey is not always linear . The customer journey map, therefore, more accurately captures the reality of each brand.
Basic elements in a customer journey map
To fulfill its purpose, a customer map must include the following elements :
A series of events that influence the relationship with the brand and can occur before, during, and after the customer interacts with the product or service.
The channels through which customer contact points take place.
The actions performed by the client
The motivations that drive the customer to continue advancing along the customer journey.
Customer doubts about each step.
Critical points or obstacles that prevent the client from moving forward.
How to create your customer experience map step by step
1) Set your goals
Before you begin the process of designing your customer journey map, you need to ask yourself what you're trying to achieve with it, what experience you want to analyze, and who your customer is.
You can create a map of a real customer experience or outline what a future experience might look like to guide your marketing accordingly.
Here are some examples of typical customer journeys we can map
Target journey: acquisition – conversion – retention . This customer journey focuses on the company's commercial objectives.
Engagement journey: brand awareness – interest – consideration – purchase – post-purchase – repeat purchase. This journey list to data subdivides the acquisition process into different phases to better identify specific customer needs and also analyze the loyalty journey.
Activity journey: search – booking – check-in . Here we go one step further, shifting from considering the journey based on business objectives to focusing on the customer's perspective.
2) Research your potential clients
Now it's time to gather as much information as possible about your customer and their experience with the brand . It's best to use a combination of different sources:
Compile existing studies from other organizations.
Analyze website statistics: source of visits, pages visited, time spent on the site, exit pages, etc.
Analyze statistics from other brand channels, such as social media or email marketing.
Conduct customer surveys.
Analyze customer reviews found on the web.
3) Create a buyer persona
To create a customer journey map, we have to put ourselves in their shoes. And one of the best tools for doing this is the buyer persona.
A buyer persona is a representation of our brand's ideal customer , focused on their lifestyle, needs, and pain points. It should be a kind of "composite portrait" focused on a specific person, including a name and even a photo. This way, it will be easier for us to identify with them and understand what they need from our brand.
4) Identify the points of contact
The customer journey map is structured around a series of events in which the customer either comes into contact with the brand , either before, during, or after consuming its products or services, or helps them recognize their related needs. Therefore, we must define these points, through which channel they occur, and how we can help the customer progress through each of them.
5) Detect potential drop-out points
When developing the customer journey, we must pay special attention to points where we identify potential problems or frustrations that cause the customer to abandon the interaction . It's necessary to determine the cause of this frustration and find a way to resolve it so the customer has an efficient and satisfactory experience.
6) Share the customer experience map with your team
Ideally, all departments within the company that interact with the customer should be involved in creating the map and be able to provide input, especially those in marketing, sales, and customer service .
Once we've created the map, we must pay attention to the internal communication strategy to ensure it reaches the entire team and that everyone understands how they can help at each point in the process.
7) Review and update the map
A customer journey map isn't a fixed image, as the entire digital marketing ecosystem is constantly evolving . New customer spending habits, new products and services, new regulations, new companies entering the market... There are many factors that can affect customer experience, so it's necessary to periodically review your customer journey map and adapt it to the new reality.