How to Create a Customer Journey Map | Lucidchart

A customer journey map is a visual representation of a customer's experience with your brand. These visuals tell a story about how a customer moves through ... PINGDOM_CANARY_STRINGCategoriesEducationEngineeringHowTosLucidNewsOperationsProductDevelopmentProductUpdatesProductivitySalesTemplatesBusinessCustomerFeaturesTechBlogSignupfreeHowtocreateacustomerjourneymapReadingtime:about8minPostedby:LucidContentTeamHowtoMakeaCustomerJourneyMapSetgoalsConductpersonaresearchDefinecustomertouchpointsMapcurrentstatesMapfuturestatesSteveJobs,thegeniusbehindApple’sone-of-a-kindcustomerexperience,said,“You’vegottostartwiththecustomerexperienceandworkbacktowardthetechnology,nottheotherwayaround.”Nowadays,aclearvisionandstrategyforcustomerinteractionsisnolongeranoptional“nice-to-have”—it’sessential.Asyourefineyourcustomerexperience,oneofthemostpowerfulwaystounderstandyourcurrentstateandfuturestatesisacustomerjourneymap.Wanttocreateasharedvisionforcustomerexperiencethatisreadytoscalewithyourorganization?Checkoutourcustomerjourneymapexamplethat’seasytoeditandsharewithyourteam.CustomerJourneyMapExample(Clickonimagetomodifyonline)Whatisacustomerjourneymap?Acustomerjourneymapisavisualrepresentationofacustomer’sexperiencewithyourbrand.Thesevisualstellastoryabouthowacustomermovesthrougheachphaseofinteractionandexperienceseachphase.Yourcustomerjourneymapshouldincludetouchpointsandmomentsoftruth,butalsopotentialcustomerfeelings,suchasfrustrationorconfusion,andanyactionsyouwantthecustomertotake.Customerjourneymapsareoftenbasedonatimelineofevents,suchasacustomer’sfirstvisitonyourwebsiteandthewaytheyprogresstowardstheirfirstin-productexperience,thenpurchase,onboardingemails,cancellation,etc. Yourcustomerjourneymapsmayneedtobetailoredtoyourbusinessorproduct,butthebestwaytoidentifyandrefinethesephasesistoactuallytalktoyourcustomers.Researchyourtargetaudiencestounderstandhowtheymakedecisions,decidetopurchase,etc.Withoutanessentialunderstandingofyourcustomersandtheirneeds,acustomermapwillnotleadyoutosuccess.But,awell-constructedandresearchedcustomerjourneymapcangiveyoutheinsightstodrasticallyimproveyourbusiness’scustomerexperience.ThebenefitsofcustomerjourneymappingAccordingtotheAberdeenGroup,lookingattheimpactofmanagingthecustomerexperience,companiesseeanaverageof24.9%YOYincreaseinincrementalrevenueassociatedwithmarketingcampaigns,a21.2%reductioninservicecosts,anda16.8%shrinkageinthesalescyclewhenthecustomerjourneyismappedandmanagedsuccessfully.But,understandingacustomer’sjourneyacrossyourentireorganizationdoessomuchmorethanincreaseyourrevenueassociatedwithmarketingcampaigns,reduceyourservicecosts,andshrinkyoursalescycle.Itenablesyoutodiscoverhowtobeconsistentwhenitcomestoprovidingapositivecustomerexperienceandretainingcustomerloyalty.Whendonecorrectly,customerjourneymappinghelpsto:Increasecustomerengagementthroughchanneloptimization.IdentifyandoptimizemomentsoftruthintheCX.Eliminateineffectivetouchpoints.Shiftfromacompanytoacustomer-focusedperspective.Breakdownsilosbetweendepartmentsandcloseinterdepartmentalgaps.Targetspecificcustomerpersonaswithmarketingcampaignsrelevanttotheiridentity.Understandthecircumstancesthatmayhaveproducedirregularitiesinexistingquantitativedata.Assignownershipofvariouscustomertouchpointstoincreaseemployeeaccountability.MakeitpossibletoassesstheROIoffutureUX/CXinvestments.Byfollowingtheprocessweoutlinedabove,customermappingcanputyourorganizationonawholenewtrajectoryofsuccess.AccordingtotheAberdeenGroup,only36%ofcompaniescurrentlyhaveaprocessinplaceformappingcustomerjourneys.Makingtheinvestmenttomapyourcustomerjourneyandsolidifythatprocessaspartofyourcompany’sDNAcanresultinsignificantadvantagesinyourcompetitivelandscape,makingyoursolutionthego-tooptionthatcustomerslove.HowtocreateacustomerjourneymapSonowthatyouhavethebasicsinmind,let’sstartyourvisualization.Customerjourneymapscanbecomecomplicatedunlessyoukeepthemfocused.Althoughyoumaytargetmultiplepersonas,choosejustonepersonaandonecustomerscenariotoresearchandvisualizeatatime.Ifyouaren’tsurewhatyourpersonasorscenariosmightbe,gathersomecolleaguesandtryan affinitydiagraminLucidcharttogenerateideas.1.SetgoalsWithoutagoal,itwillbedifficulttodeterminewhetheryourcustomerjourneymapwilltranslatetotangibleimpactforyourcustomersandyourbusiness.Youwilllikelyneedtoidentifyexisting—andfuture—buyerssoyoucansetgoalsspecificallyforthoseaudiencesateachstageoftheirexperience.Considergatheringthekeystakeholderswithinyourcompany—manyofwhomlikelytouchdifferentpointsofthecustomerexperience.Tosetalogicalandattainablegoal,cross-functionalteamworkisessential.Gatheruniqueperspectivesandinsightsabouteachpartoftheexistingcustomerjourneyandwhereimprovementsareneededandhowthoseimprovementswillbemeasured.2.ConductpersonaresearchFleshoutasmuchinformationaspossibleaboutthepersonayourcustomerjourneymapisbasedon.Dependingonthematurityofyourbusiness,youmayonlyhaveahandfulofrecords,reports,orotherpre-existingdataaboutthetargetpersona.Youcancompileyourpreliminaryfindingstodraftwhatyouthinkthecustomerjourneymaylooklike. However,themostinsightfuldatayoucancollectisfromrealcustomersorprospectivecustomers—thosewhohaveactuallyinteractedwithyourbrand.Gathermeaningfulcustomerdatainanyofthefollowingways:Conductinterviews.Talktoemployeeswhoregularlyinteractwithcustomers.Emailasurveytoexistingusers.Scourcustomersupportandcomplaintlogs.Pullclipsfromrecordedcallcenterconversations.Monitordiscussionsaboutyourcompanythatoccuronsocialmedia.Leveragewebanalytics.GatherNetPromoterScore(NPS)data.Lookforinformationthatreferences:HowcustomersinitiallyfoundyourbrandWhen/ifcustomerspurchaseorcancelHoweasyordifficulttheyfoundyourwebsitetouseWhatproblemsyourbranddidordidn’tsolveCollectingbothqualitativeandquantitativeinformationthroughoutyourresearchprocessensuresyourbusinessmakesdata-drivendecisionsbasedonthevoiceofrealcustomers.DiscovermorewaystounderstandtheVoiceoftheCustomerReadhow3.DefinecustomertouchpointsCustomertouchpointsmakeupthemajorityofyourcustomerjourneymap.Theyarehowandwherecustomersinteractwithandexperienceyourbrand.Asyouconductresearchandplotyourtouchpoints,besuretoincludeinformationthataddresseselementsofaction,emotion,andpotentialchallenges. Thenumberandtypeoftouchpointsonyourcustomerjourneymapwilldependonthetypeofbusiness.Forexample,acustomer’sjourneywithaSaaScompanywillbeinherentlydifferentthanthatofacoffeeshopexperience.Simplychoosethetouchpointswhichaccuratelyreflectacustomer’sjourneywithyourbrand.Afteryoudefineyourtouchpoints,youcanthenstartarrangingthemonyourcustomerjourneymap.4.MapthecurrentstateCreatewhatyoubelieveisyouras-isstateofthecustomerjourney,thecurrentcustomerexperience.UseavisualworkspacelikeLucidchart,andstartorganizingyourdataandtouchpoints.Prioritizetherightcontentoveraesthetics.Inviteinputfromthestakeholdersandbuildyourcustomerjourneymapcollaborativelytoensureaccuracy. Again,thereisno“correct”waytoformatyourcustomerjourneymap,butforeachphasealongthejourneytimeline,includethetouchpoints,actions,channels,andassignedownershipofatouchpoint(sales,customerservice,marketing,etc.).Then,customizeyourdiagramdesignwithimagesandcolorandshapevariationtobettervisualizethedifferentactions,emotions,transitions,etc.ataglance.Mappingyourcurrentstatewillalsohelpyoustarttoidentifygapsorredflagsintheexperience.CollaboratorscancommentdirectlyondifferentpartsofyourdiagraminLucidchart,soit’sclearexactlywherethere’sroomforimprovement.5.MapfuturestatesNowthatyou’vevisualizedthecurrentstateofthecustomerjourney,yourmapwillprobablyshowsomegapsinyourCX,informationoverlap,poortransitionsbetweenstages,andsignificantpainpointsorobstaclesforcustomers.UsehotspotsandlayersinLucidcharttoeasilymapoutpotentialsolutionsandquicklycomparethecurrentstateofthecustomerjourneywiththeideal,futurestate.Presentyourfindingscompany-widetobringeveryoneuptospeedontheareasthatneedtobeimproved,withaclearroadmapforexpectedchangeandhowtheirroleswillplayapartinimprovingthecustomerjourney.CustomerjourneymaptemplatesYouhavealltherightinformationforacustomerjourneymap,butitcanbedifficulttoknowexactlyhowtostartarrangingtheinformationinadigestible,visuallyappealingway.Thesecustomerjourneymappingexamplescanhelpyougetstartedandgainsomeinspirationaboutwhat—andhowmuch—toincludeandwhere.BasicCustomerJourneyMapExample(Clickonimagetomodifyonline)LogisticsServiceBlueprintExample(Clickonimagetomodifyonline)CoffeeShopCustomerJourneyMapExample(Clickonimagetomodifyonline)Don’tletthepossibilityofabadcustomerjourneykeepyouupatnight.Knowthecurrentstateofthecustomerjourneywithyoubusiness,andmakethechangesyouneedtoattractandkeepcustomershappy.CustomerjourneymappingiseasywithLucidchart.GetstartedforfreeStartdiagrammingwithLucidcharttoday—tryitforfree!SignupfreePopularnowWhatDoesHRActuallyDo?11KeyResponsibilitiesAFeatureComparisonofManagedComputerVisionServicesKeepingPaceWithAWSInnovation:ARecapofNewYorkSummit2018AboutLucidchartLucidchartistheintelligentdiagrammingapplicationthatempowersteamstoclarifycomplexity,aligntheirinsights,andbuildthefuture—faster.Withthisintuitive,cloud-basedsolution,everyonecanworkvisuallyandcollaborateinrealtimewhilebuildingflowcharts,mockups,UMLdiagrams,andmore.ThemostpopularonlineVisioalternative,Lucidchartisutilizedinover180countriesbymillionsofusers,fromsalesmanagersmappingouttargetorganizationstoITdirectorsvisualizingtheirnetworkinfrastructure.