Customer journey map: What it is and why you need one

A customer journey map is a visual storyline of every engagement your customer has with your service, brand, or product. The creation of a journey map puts you ... Product Pricing Resources Getstarted DelightedBlog ExperienceManagement101CreatingSurveysDistributingSurveysReporting&AnalysisTakingAction Product Pricing Resources Signin Getstarted Categories ExperienceManagement101CreatingSurveysDistributingSurveysReporting&AnalysisTakingAction    Whenyouthinkofyourcustomer,whocomestomind?  Canyounametheirintentions,motivations,andpainpoints?Betteryet,doyouknowwhytheyarechoosingyourcompanyamongcompetitors?  Definingcustomerneeds,problems,andinteractionswithyourcompanymayseemoverwhelmingandattimes,unnecessary.However,understandingeverycustomer’sexperienceateachstageofthecustomerjourneyiscrucialforturningbusinessinsightsintolong-termimprovementstrategies.  Creatingacustomerjourneymapcanhelpyouandyourcompanyvisualizehowcustomersfeelatallbrandtouchpointssoyoucanavoidpotentialissuesaheadoftime,increasecustomerretention,anddiscoverkeyinformationtomakethebestdecisionsforyourbusiness. Inthispost,wewillcover:  Whatisacustomerjourneymap?Howcancustomerjourneymapsimprovecustomerexperiences?WheredoIstartwithmycustomerjourneymap?Whyaresurveyscrucialfordevelopingmycustomerjourneymap? Whatisacustomerjourneymap? Acustomerjourneymapisavisualstorylineofeveryengagementyourcustomerhaswithyourservice,brand,orproduct.Thecreationofajourneymapputsyoudirectlyinthemindoftheconsumer,soyoucanseewhereyoumaybemissingthemark,whatyouaredoingright,andwhereyoucanmakeimprovementsacrossthecustomerlifecycle.  Ajourneymaplaysoutalltouchpointsthatyourcustomermayhavewithyourbrand–fromhowtheyfirstheardofyouthroughsocialmediaorbrandadvertising,totheirdirectinteractionswithyourproduct,website,orsupportteam–andincludesalloftheactionsyourcustomertakestocompleteanobjectiveacrossaperiodoftime.  Usingacustomerjourneymaptoimprovethecustomerexperience Outliningyourcurrentprocesseshelpstovisualizewhatthecustomerisexperiencinginrealtimeandmayunveilcommonpainpointsthatneedtobeaddressed.  Throughthisexercise,you’llalsobeabletoconnectwithyourbuyerandinturn,influenceyourorganizationtoprioritizethecustomerexperience(CX)throughsharedunderstanding.  Gainingadeeperunderstandingofyourcustomer “Experiencemapslookatabroadercontextofhumanbehavior.Theyshowhowtheorganizationfitsintoaperson’slife.”-JimKalbach,authorofMappingExperiences Howdoesyourcustomerfeelwhentheycan’tgetintouchwithcustomerserviceonanissuethey’reexperiencing?Or,iftheirpackagedoesn’tarriveontime?  Youmaybeimaginingasituationwherethoseinstanceshappenedtoyououtsideoftheworkplaceandcanrememberfeelingsoffrustration.Youassumethiscustomermayfeelthesameandcanrelatetotheirsentiment.  Theabilitytoestablishempathyforyourcustomersandidentifyhowthey’refeelingateveryturniswhatmakescustomerjourneymappingapowerfulexercise. Acustomerjourneymapexpandsthatempathyonabroaderlevelsoyouhaveatrueunderstandingoftheirexperienceandcanbemeaningfulinyourorganization’scustomerexperienceimprovementstrategies.  Yourmapcanhelpanswerquestionssuchas: Ismyonlineinterfaceuser-friendlyandmatchingcustomerexpectations?Whyistheusernavigatingawayfromthesitesoquickly? Howoftenismycustomerreachingouttocustomerserviceandistheteamabletoaddresstheissuesinatimelymanner?Howisthecustomerinteractingwithmybrandbeforetheydecidetomakeapurchase?Howaretheyfeelingatthisstage? Understandingthecustomerfromanempathetic,bird’seyeviewmeanshavingadeeperinsightintotheirneedsateverytouchpointsoyoucanimproveCXprocessestomeettheirexpectations.  Creatingacustomer-centriccompany Aligningtowardsthesamecompanyobjectivesisessentialforstrategiccustomerexperiencegoalplanningandsuccesstracking.Whenyoucreateajourneymap,youhaveacustomer-centeredtooltorefertoanddistributeacrossthecompany.  Withyourcustomerjourneymap,youcan: UseyourmaptotrainteammembersonCXstandardsandbestpracticesPresentthevisualdiagramincompany-widemeetingstomapoutcustomer-focusedquarterlygoals Includethesalesteaminyourmapassessmenttoimproveonboardingflows Reviewthemapwithyourcustomerserviceteamtostrategizehowtoreduceobstaclesthroughoutthecustomerlifecycle  Usingvisualmappingtotellastorytoyourcompanywillnotonlysetaunitedstandardforexceptionalcustomercare,butimprovecustomerexperienceandcustomerretentioninthelongrun. Customerjourneymapdesign There’snocorrectorincorrectwaytocreateacustomerjourneymap.However,beforeyoubegin,consideraligningyourmapwithachosencustomerpersonaandthinkthroughwhichjourneysandstagesmakethemostsenseforyourbusinesstomeasure.  Creatingacustomerpersona Acustomerpersonaisafictionalcharacterthatrepresentsyouraveragecustomerbasedonuserandmarketresearch.Imaginingthispersona’sage,jobfunction,personalgoals,etc.canhelpyoustepintothecustomer’sshoesandthoroughlydevelopthecustomerjourneystory.  Startbycreatingthreepersonasatmosttohelpinnarrowingyourcharacteranddesignfocus. Decidingwhattomeasure  Next,youwillneedtodecidewhatyouwanttomeasureandwhatgoalyou’retryingtoachieve.  Perhapsyouwanttorevisitcurrentcustomersuccessprocessesortakeacloserlookatyourprospect’sexperiencethroughthesellingtimeline.Whateveryouchoose,yourcustomerjourneymapiscustomizableandshouldevolveovertimetomeetyourbusinessneeds.  Organizingwithtouchpointsandstages  Asyoubeginyourcustomerjourneydesign,youmaywanttoorganizeyourmapwithtouchpointsandstages:  Identifytouchpoints:Atouchpointisanymomentacustomerinteractswithyourbrand.Fromadvertisements,toathankyounotetheyreceiveafterapurchase,considerincludingthesetouchpointswithinyourmapsoyoucancollectfeedbackandidentifypatternsonhowthey’refeelingateachinteraction. Writeoutthestages:Everytimeyourcustomerengageswithyourbrand,thereisagoal-drivenactionbehindit.Breakdownthecustomerjourneyinstages(orphases)basedonthecustomer’sneedthroughouttheirjourney.  Mappingoutpersonasanddefiningspecificcustomertouchpointscanseemtime-consuming.UseExceldocumentstoorganizeyourmaporworkfromcustomerjourneytemplatessuchasQualtrics’JourneyMapTemplatetosetasimplefoundationforyourdiagramcreationprocess.  Usingsurveydatatoboostyourcustomerjourneymap Researchiscrucialtofindoutyourcustomer’smotivations,roadblocks,continuedpainpoints,andsuccesses.Ifyoudon’thavethesurveydatatoanswerthesequestions,youcouldbebuildingyourmapfromassumptions,leavingroomformisguidedstrategicplanningdowntheline. ConsiderusingNetPromoterScore(NPS),CustomerSatisfaction(CSAT),orCustomerEffortScore(CES)surveystocapturefirst-handcustomerfeedbacktoincludewithinyourcustomerjourneymap.Then,choosebetweenavarietyofsurveyingchannels(Email,SMS,Web,Link,orSDK)toreachyouraudiencewherevertheyare.   Herearesomequestionexamplestoincludeinyoursurvey: [CSAT]:Howsatisfiedwereyouwithyouronboardingexperience? [CSAT]:Howsatisfiedwereyouwithourcheckoutprocess? [NPS]:Howlikelyareyoutorecommendthissolutiontoyourpeers? [NPS]:Howlikelyareyoutorecommendthisstoretoyourfriendsorfamily? [CES]:Thewebsitemadeiteasyformetocompareoptions[CES]:Thesupportrepsmadeiteasytogetmyquestionsanswered Afteryouselectyoursurvey,question,andchannel,specifywhenandhowoftensurveysaretriggeredthroughoutthecustomerlifecycle.Beforeyouknowit,yourcustomerjourneymapincludesup-to-datefeedbackforyoutostartanalyzingandactingonCXfeedbackregularly.  TIP:Togetgreatercontextbehindacustomerexperienceateachjourneystage,createcustomizedfollowupquestionsafteryourinitialsurveyquestion.Fromfreeresponsetomultiplechoice,craftupto10AdditionalQuestionstogiveyourjourneymapaboostwithdetailedverbatimfeedback. Delightedmakesiteasytoasktherightquestionsattherighttime.Signupforafreetrialtodayandbegincraftingimpactful,automatedcustomersurveystoincludewithinyourmappingjourney.  Additionalcustomerjourneymapresources Foradditionalresources,checkoutthesearticlesonhowtooptimizeyourcustomerexperienceprogram,andthequestionsyoucanaskateachstageofthecustomerjourney: 7tipsforaneffectivevoiceofthecustomerprogram 52popularcustomersatisfactionsurveyquestionsbycustomerjourney Howtokickstartacustomerexperienceprogram Yourultimateguidetocustomerjourneymapping AboutAlexBischoff AlexBischoffisaContentStrategistandhasworkedinexperiencemanagementfor5+years.Alexhasapassionfordiscoveringanddeliveringcontentthatwillentertain,teach,andinspireteamstocreateexceptionalexperiences.Whensheisn'thikingaroundtheSeattle,WAarea,youcanfindhertryingoutthelatestrestaurantsorbingeingtruecrimeonNetflix.More Customerjourney Getmoretipsandtricksforcraftingworld-classexperiences,deliveredtoyourinbox. 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