8 Free Customer Journey Mapping Templates and Examples

So you want to create a customer journey map and are looking for a template to get you started. Well, you've come to the right place! Skiptocontent Publishedin:JourneyMapping/Lastupdate:July2020 Soyouwanttocreateacustomerjourneymapandarelookingforatemplatetogetyoustarted.Well,you'vecometotherightplace!Inthisarticle,you'llfindanoverviewofthebesttemplatesoutthere.Nexttogivingyouacomprehensiveoverview,thegoalofthisarticleisalsotohelpyougetthemostvalueoutofthesetemplates.That’sbecause—nomatterhowgoodatemplateis—ifyoudon'tknowhowandwhentouseit,youmightaswellpickanyrandomone.Youcaneitherusethetableofcontentsbelowtojumpstraighttothetemplatesorcontinuereadingtobuildadeeperunderstandingofhowtogetthemostvalueoutoutthesetemplates.Asyou'llsee,theoverviewinthisarticlealsocontainsserviceblueprinttemplates.Asacustomerjourneyisalwaysembeddedinserviceblueprint,itmakessensetoincludethem.Justaquicknotethattheremightbeaffiliatelinksinthisarticle,whichmeansIgetasmallcommissionwhenyousignupforoneofthejourneymappingtoolsmentionedhere. TableofContents Whyandwhentousecustomerjourneymaptemplates?AQuickWordonOnlineJourneyMappingTools1.Miro2.Mural3.Smaply4.Custellence5.UXPressia6.ThisIsServiceDesignThinking7.DesignaBetterBusiness8.NielsenNormanHowdoIpicktherighttemplate?WhenshouldIcreatemyowntemplate?Conclusion Whyandwhentousecustomerjourneymaptemplates?Therearemanygoodreasonsandsmartmomentstouseajourneymaptemplate.Youjusthavetoknowwhattheyareandbeabletorecognizetheirvalue.Thisisalsoawordofwarning,sincereachingforatemplateatthewrongtime,astemptingasitmightbe,willeventuallydomoreharmthangood.So,let'sgooversomecommonscenariosinwhichyoucouldbenefitfromusingacustomerjourneymaptemplate.DOmakemoreinformeddecisionsandbuildasolidfoundation.Whenyou'restartingoutwithcustomerjourneymaps,you'regoingtohavealotofquestionsaroundhowtostructureyourmap.Whichkindsoflanesshouldyouadd?Howmanyshouldtherebe?Whatistherightorder?Thisisastageinwhichtemplatesandexamplescanbeextremelyhelpful.Seeinghowotherorganizationshavestructuredtheirjourneymapswillopenupyoureyestowhat'spossibleandexpandyour"vocabulary."Themoreinformedyouare,thebetteryou'llbeabletojudgewhichinformationisrelevantinyourjourneymapandwhat'stotallyfinetoignore. Rememberthatyoushouldstrivetomapaslittleaspossibleandnotmore.Youwouldn'twanttospendalotoftimemappingthejourneyjusttorealizethatyourmapisfullofinformationyoudon'tneedanyway.DOgetaheadstartwithplentyoftime.Startingwithablankpieceofpaperisoneofthehardestthingsinanysituation.Whatisthefirstwordyouwrite?Wheredoyoudrawthefirstline?Whatshouldyousaytostarttheconversationwithastranger?Thenicethingisthat,whenyou'vegoneovertheprocessafewtimes,you'llstarttorecognizepatterns.Ifyou’reabuddingartist,onceyou’vedrawnafewstickfigures,you'llhavefiguredoutthebasicstructureofaface.Thesameappliestocustomerjourneymaps.Atsomepoint,you'llknowwhatthegenericstructureisofyourcustomerjourney.Fromthatmomenton,itmakessensetocreateatemplatefromthisjourneysoyoudon'thavetorecreatethatoverandoveragain.Atemplateallowsyoutofocusonthecontentofyourjourneymapratherthanhowtostructuretheinformation.DON'Tcopyandpastetheperfectrecipe.Imaginethis:YoumeticulouslyfollowtheperfectrecipetopreparethemostamazingpastaBolognese...onlytofindoutthatyourguesthasatomatoallergy.:-/Asunlikelyasthismightsound,thisisthemostcommonpitfallregardingcustomerjourneymaptemplates.Youfindtheperfectcustomerjourneymaptemplateonlineandstartfillingitinwithyourfulldedication.Andofcourse,youmanagetocreateanimpressivejourneymap.Whenyoufinallysharethemapwithintheorganization,youcometotherealizationthatitdoesn'tgivetheanswerstothechallengesthatneedtobesolved.Alwaysbecriticalabouttheelementsinyourjourneymaptemplate.Doyoureallyneedallofthem?Istheresomethingimportantmissing?Couldalittletweaktothetemplategiveyoumuchbetterresults?DON'Tgetdistractedbythevisualaspects.Untilnow,journeymapshavebeenproducedusingtoolsrangingfromPowerPointtoInDesign.Theeffectisthat:Therearealotofdifferentjourneymapsouttherethatallhaveauniquelookandfeel.Youfeelthateveryjourneymaphastobenothinglessthanaworkofarttohaveanyvalue.So,whenyou'relookingattemplatesandexamples,theplethoraofoptionscaneasilybeoverwhelming.ThetruthisthatmostofthesetemplatescontainattheircorethesamekeyelementsdescribedinourPracticalGuidetoCustomerJourneyMapping.Theyarejustvisualizedinadifferentway.It'seasytogetdistractedandloseyourselfintryingtomakeyourjourneymaplookgood.Justtrytokeepthevisualsconsistentandclear.Onceagain,lessismore!DON'Tmapjustforthesakeofit.What'sthefastestwaytocreateacustomerjourneymap?Notmakingamapwhenyoudon'tneedone. Abitcheesy,Iknow.Butitholdsalotoftruth.Don'tbethepersonwhocreatesacustomerjourneymapjustbecauseyoucan.We'vegotenoughofthemalready.Beatrueprofessionalandmakesurethatyou'remappingfortherightreason.Youreffortsneedtoaddrealvaluetotheorganization.Usingajourneymaptemplatewithoutfirstunderstandingwhatquestionsitneedstoanswerisaguaranteethatyou'llwasteyourtime.Unless,ofcourse,youaspiretobecomeanartistwhocreatesnicevisualsintheformofajourneymap.Downbelow,you'llfindanoverviewofcustomerjourneymap(andserviceblueprint)templates.Theoverviewisdividedintotemplatesofferedbyonlinejourneymappingtoolsandtemplatesyou'llfindinbooks,articles,etc.I'veincludedaprosandconslistforeachtemplate,whichshouldhelpyoudecideifthetemplatefitsyourneeds.AQuickWordonOnlineJourneyMappingToolsThereisadifferencebetweenprofessionaljourneymappingtools(likeCustellenceandSmaply)andgenerictoolsthatalsoallowyoutocreatejourneymaps(likeMiro,MuralandGoogleSlides).Whenyoudecidetopickoneofthesetools,it'sgoodtounderstandthelong-termimplications.Ifyouwanttolearnmoreabouthowthesedifferentjourneymappingtoolscompare,checkthisplaylistontheServiceDesignShowYouTubechannel.TemplatesinOnlineTools 1.MiroMiroisaveryuser-friendlyandflexibleonlinewhiteboardingtool.IdidafullreviewofhowtocreatejourneymapsinMiro.InMiro,you'llfindalotofusefultemplates.Andthegoodnewsisthatthereisacustomerjourneymapandaserviceblueprintamongthem.CustomerJourneyMapTemplate(link)Thisisprobablythemostbare-bonesjourneymaptemplateyou'llfind,whichisgoodwhenyoupurelyneedtofocusonthecustomerexperienceaspectofthejourney.(clicktheimagetothetemplateopeninMiro) Pros Supersimpleformat,meaningnodistractionsandquiteeasyforanyonetoparticipateinthejourneymappingprocess Youdon'tgetdistractedbythinkingaboutotherinformationlanes. Step-by-stepinstructionvideoonhowtousethistemplateandaquitecomprehensiveblogarticleworthreading Cons Thetemplatepresentstouchpointsasthemainstoryline,whileitshouldbecustomeractivities&situations(don'tmaptouchpoints).Bybasingyourjourneyontouchpoints,you'revisualizingtheorganizationalperspectiveandwillmissimportantmomentsforthecustomer’sperspective.Becarefulwiththis! It'stemptingtofillthistemplatebasedonassumptionswithoutfurtherquestioningthedata.Itwouldhelpiftherewereaplacetoaddsupportinginsightsfromuserandfieldresearch. You'llonlybeabletocomeupwithmeaningfulpainandgainpointsifyouknowtheneedsofyourcustomers.Youshoulddothatfirstinsomethinglikeanempathymap. WhenwouldIusethistemplateIwouldusethisCustomerJourneyMaptemplatefromMiroasaninitialconversationstarterinaworkshopwhereyouhavelimitedtime. ServiceBlueprintTemplate(link)We'vediscussedthedifferencebetweencustomerjourneymapsandserviceblueprintsbefore.ThistemplatebyMirodoesadecentjobinbreakinguptheserviceexperienceinthefrontstageandbackstage.(clicktheimagetothetemplateopeninMiro) Pros Thefivelanesinthistemplateprovidequiteagoodstartingpointforthemostbasicserviceblueprintinalotofsituations. Cons Itdoesn'tmakesensetoplacephysicalevidenceasthetoplane.Itshouldalmostalwaysbecustomeractivities&situations. Thisserviceblueprinttemplateismissingthehumanaspect.It'snotinvitingyoutoenrichitwiththickdatalikephotosorquotes.Thereby,youruntheriskofcreatingaprocessmapandmissoutonthecustomer-centricapproach. Thetemplatecontainsnonlinearsequences(thearrows),whichbreakstheoneofthemostimportantrulesofaclearjourneymap:ajourneyalwaysmovesfromlefttoright. Foraserviceblueprinttobeuseful,you'llquicklyneedtoaddmoredetailedandspecificinformation,whichthistemplatedoesnotcaterto. Addingmoredetailedinformationtothistemplatewillgetmessyandcomplex.Onceyougettothestagewhereyouneedaserviceblueprint,it'sbettertoconsiderusingaprofessionaljourneymappingtool. WhenwouldIusethistemplateI'dmaybeconsiderusingthisMirotemplatetoexplainthebasicstructureofaserviceblueprint. 2.MuralMuralis,justlikeMiro,anotherpopularonlinewhiteboardingtool.IdoawalkthroughonhowtocreatecustomerjourneymapsusingMuralinthisvideo.You'llfindmanyhelpfultemplatesinMural.Forourneeds,theyofferoneserviceblueprinttemplate.ThetemplateisbasedontheworkdonebythePracticalServiceDesigncommunity.(clicktheimagetothetemplateopeninMural) Pros Thereare3versions:ablanktemplate,onethat'sfilledinasanexample,andonethatprovidesaguideonhowtousethistemplate.There'salsoavideothatwalksyouthroughtheprocess. Thetemplatecontainingthereal-lifeexampleprovidessomereallyhelpfulquestionsandgoodinspiration. Cons Thetemplategetsintotheprocessesandsystemsofaservicequitefast.Itwouldbegoodifthereweremoreemphasisonthecustomerjourneyandexperience. Color-codinginformationlanescreatesaninterestingvisual,butitcaneasilygetquitechaotic. Thechoseninformationlanesaremeaningfulbutdon'tfollowgeneralconventionsaroundhowtostructureaserviceblueprint.Thismightcausesomeconfusion. WhenwouldIusethistemplatetobehonestit’shardformetofindausefulapplicationforthisjourneymaptemplate.Ononehand,Ifeelit'stoodetailedtobefilledinduringaworkshop.Ontheotherhand,thestructureandcolor-codingmethodwouldn'tbemypreferredwayofdoingthiswithateamoutsideaworkshop. 3.SmaplyIfyou'reintojourneymapping,Smaplyisprobablyatoolthathasbeenonyourradar.It'soneofthefewdedicatedonlinejourneymappingtoolsthatI'dsayisspecificallydesignedforcustomerexperienceprofessionals.I'vepublishedaSmaplywalkthroughvideoonhowtocreateajourneymapusingSmaplyaswellasamorein-depthreviewofthetool.Smaplyoffers4differentjourneymappingtemplates:ServiceBlueprintCommunicationJourneyMapEmpathyJourneyMapComparisonJourneyMapYoucanalsofindabriefexplanationofthepurposeofeachtemplate.Smaplyalsooffers10+examplejourneymapsdirectlyontheirwebsite.Soifyou’relookingforevenmoreinspirationdefinitelytakealookattheseexamples.Forthisreview,we'regoingtolookattheempathyjourneymaptemplateinsideSmaply.Itfocusesonunderstandingyourcustomerandbringstheoutside-inperspectivesomanyorganizationsarelookingfor.(clickimagetoenlargethetemplate) Pros Themainfocusinthistemplateisonyourcustomersandtheirneeds.Havingadeepunderstandingofthishelpstocreatealltheotherjourneymaps. Thelanesmimicthequestionsofanempathymap.Ifyou'refamiliarwithhowthatworks,you'llhaveaheadstarthere.Andifyou'renotfamiliarwithempathymaps,theyarewelldocumented. Cons Dependingonyourservice,theexperiencethroughoutthejourneymighteventuallyhavemoresimilaritiesthandifferences.So,youmightendupduplicatingtheinformationinalotoffields.Ifyourecognizethatthisishappening,trytoidentifythemomentswheretheexperienceissignificantlydifferentandmapthosefirst. WhenwouldIusethistemplateInsituationswhereyouneedtogetstakeholdersoutoftheirinside-outmindsetandintoyourcustomers’shoes,especiallywhenyou'redealingwithstakeholdersfromsupportingdepartmentsthatdon'tdirectlyinteractwithcustomersonadailybasis.Tocreateafoundationforallfuturejourneymappingandserviceblueprintinginitiatives 4.CustellenceCurrently,Custellenceismypreferredonlinejourneymappingtool.Andit'stheoneIrecommendtoanyonewhoisseriousaboutusingjourneymapsasawaytodrivesustainablecustomer-centricchangewithintheirorganization.AtthetimeofwritingtherearesevenjourneymaptemplatesinCustellence,dividedintogeneralandtailoredtemplatecategories:CustomerJourneyMaptemplateforIdeation(PDF)ServiceBlueprintTemplate(PDF)ThePracticalServiceDesignBlueprintTemplate(PDF)RetailOnline/OfflineCustomerJourneyandServiceBlueprintTemplate(PDF)RestaurantFoodOrderingandDeliveryCustomerJourneyMapTemplate(PDF)ElderlyNeedforCareCustomerJourneyMapTemplate(PDF)VacationTravelCustomerJourneyMapTemplate(PDF)JustlikewiththedifferenttemplatesinSmaply,youhavetochoosewisely.WhatIlikeaboutthetemplatesinCustellence(comparedtotheonesofferedbyMuralandMiro)isthatthetailoredversionsmuchbetterreflectthetypeofinformationyourjourneymapmighteventuallycontaininreallife.Generictemplatesareagoodstartingpoint.Butoften,you'llneedtotweakthemtogetanypracticalvalueoutofthem.ThetailoredtemplatesinCustellencegiveyouanimpressionofwhatthatmightlooklike.Forthisreview,I'velookedatthetraveljourneymaptemplate.(clicktheimagetoopenthetemplateinCustellence) Pros It'snicethatthecustomeractivitiesinthetemplatearepre-filled.Thishelpstoexpressyourownjourneyontherightlevelandintherightlanguage. Thetemplateinvitesyoutoelaborateontheexperienceofyourcustomerandtoprovide"insightevidence."You'rechallengedtohaveaconversationonhowmuchyouknowaboutyourcustomersbasedonresearchversusyourownassumptions. Theseparationoftouchpointsintochannelsshowshowyoucanreflectyourinternalorganizationinthejourneymapandassigninternalstakeholdersperlaneinthemap. Cons Dependingonyourgoal,thistemplatemightbetooelaborateandtoodetailed. WhenwouldIusethistemplateThistemplateisagreatexampleofwhatajourneymapusedtodrivesustainablecustomer-centricchangecouldlooklike,ratherthanaone-offvisualization.Iwouldusethistemplatewhenmygoalistocreateacentraljourneymapthathelpstomakesmarterdecisionsabouttheprojectsandinitiativesweshouldinvestin. 5.UXPressiaThecollectionofjourneymappingtemplatesandexamplesyou'llfindinUXPressiaisquiteastonishing.Atthemomentofwriting,thereareabout40templatesthataresortedbasedonindustry.Eachtemplateisbasedona"real"customerjourneymapthattheUXPressiateamfoundontheinternet.Intheaccompanyingarticles,theyaddedalinktotheoriginalsourcesoyoucancomparehowthatjourneymaplooked.Forthisreview,I'velookedatthetemplateforfoodandretail.(clicktheimagetoopenthetemplateinUXPressia) Pros There'sastrongemphasisonthecustomerperspectiveinthistemplate. Thetemplateispre-filledwithastory,whichhelpstounderstandwhatkindofinformationandonwhatlevelshouldbeinthemap. Thestoryboardlaneinvitesyoutovisualizethecustomerjourney—averyimportantaspectthatisoverlookedinmosttemplates. Cons Theprocessandchannelslaneisabitcomplex.Theinformationinthislaneoverlapswiththetouchpointlane. Introducingnonlinearelements(intheprocessandchannelslane)isapotentialsourceofconfusion. WhenwouldIusethistemplateThislookslikeaprettygoodtemplatetokickoffahigh-leveljourneymappingworkshop.Thenumberandchoiceoflanesstrikeanicebalancebetweendepthandbreadthofinformation.Thetemplatealsoprovidesaverynaturalflowofquestionsfromtoptobottom,fromwhatthecustomerdoesandexpectstotheproblemstheyfaceintheservice,andideasforsolutions. TemplatesinBooks,BlogsandPresentations 6.ThisIsServiceDesignThinkingWhenyoulookatthisjourneymaptemplate,you'llimmediatelynoticethatithasadifferentstructurethanalltheotherones.ThistemplatewaspartofThisIsServiceDesignThinkingwhenitwaspublishedbackin2010.Alothashappenedsince,butit'sstillgoodtotakethistemplateintoconsideration,asitwasoneofthefirstoutthere.Youcouldquestionifthisisarealjourneymappingtemplate.Thetitlealreadygivesacluethatit'snot,asit'scalledTheCustomerJourneyCanvas.So,itmoreresemblesacanvas(inthespiritofthebusinessmodelcanvas)ratherthanatemplate.Thatmightseemlikeasubtledifference,butinpractice,ithassomeimplications. Pros Thequestionsinthetemplateareveryhighlevel.Youcanusethistemplateevenwhenyouknowlittleaboutjourneymapping. Cons It'snotvisuallyorganizedintolanes,whichcancausesomeconfusionifyou'reexpectingtoseeajourneymap. Thetemplatedoesn'tinviteorguideyoutoreallystepintotheshoesofyourcustomer. Theinformationmanipulation-credibilityaxisprobablyisn'tthebestsourceofinsights.Itwouldmakemoresensetojusthaveachannelslaneanduseiconstoillustratethetypeofinformation. WhenwouldIusethistemplateIhaven'tbeeninasituationwherethiscanvasseemedtobetherightwaytogo.Thecanvasstructuremightbefamiliartopeoplewhohaveseenothercanvasesandallowforaneasiertransitionintojourneythinking.ButIthinkinthelongrun,it'ssmartertogowiththeclassiclanestructureofajourneymap. 7.DesignaBetterBusinessThejourneymappingtemplateofferedbyDesignaBetterBusinesspositionsitselfasacanvas,justlikethetemplatefromThisIsServiceDesignThinking,whichwelookedatabove.Thisjourneymappingtemplateispartofalargercollectionoftemplatesrelatedtodifferentstagesinthedesignprocess.Whenyoulookatthejourneymappingtemplate,you'llimmediatelyseethatit'sverybasicandhighlevel.Thetemplateconsistsofjustthreeinformationlanes.ThestructurelooksalotlikethejourneymaptemplatewesawinMiro. Pros Thesimplestructureandstep-by-stepguidethatcomesalongwiththetemplatemakethisaveryuser-friendlytemplatetostartwith. There'sroomforjustfive"keymoments"inthejourney.Thisforcesyoutofocustheconversationonwhat'sreallyimportanttoyourcustomer. Thetemplateinvitesyoutovisualizethejourneyratherthanjustdescribeitwithwords.Seeingtheexperiencethroughtheeyesofyourcustomerisasimportantasunderstandingit. Cons Theinstructionsregardingthecustomerpersonaareabitmisleading.Youshouldfocusontheneeds(asstatedinthecanvasbutnotthestep-by-stepinstructions),desires,pain,etc. Thekeymomentsshouldn'tbeabouttouchpoints(asstatedintheinstructions)butratheraboutcustomeractivitiesandsituations.Otherwise,youruntheriskofturningthisintoaprocessmap. WhenwouldIusethistemplateTheguideforthistemplatestatesthatyoushouldbeabletofillitoutinabout45minutes.So,thismakesthetemplateidealforashortworkshop.Iimaginethattemplatewouldbeaverygoodfollow-upexerciseafterapresentationonwhatcustomerjourneymappingis.Youcould,forinstance,havemultiplegroupsintheworkshopfillinthesamejourneyandthencomparethedifferences.Anotherusefulapplicationforthistemplatewouldbewhenyouhaveagroupofpeoplewithdifferentbackgroundsandneedtogetthemtocreateasharedunderstandingofthecustomerjourney.Forexample,thiscouldbestakeholdersfromdifferentinternaldepartments.Usingaserviceexamplelikethecoffeeshopjourneydescribedintheinstructionswouldbeagoodstarttogetpeopleintherightmindset.Finally,Ithinkthistemplatecouldbeusefulasatoolthathelpsraisequestionsratherthanfindanswers.So,youquicklymapajourneybasedonassumptionsandthenask,“Whatwouldweliketolearnaboutthiscustomerandtheirexperience?” 8.NielsenNormanThefirstthingIwanttosayaboutthejourneymappingtemplatesharedbyNielsenNormanisthatit'ssurroundedbyawealthofknowledgeonthetopic.Youcaneasilyspendafewhoursreadingallthefreearticles,whichisgreatifyouwanttodigdeeperintowhatittakestocreateusefulcustomerjourneymaps.Andifthat'swhatyou'reinto,youmightalsoconsiderjoiningourCustomerJourneyMappingEssentialsmasterclass.WhatsetsthisjourneymaptemplatefromNielsenNormanapartisthewayit'sdividedintothreezones.Eachzonerepresentsaperspectivethroughwhichyoushouldlookatthecustomerjourney.Thisisasmartwaytohelpyoulookatthejourneyholistically.Thereareothertemplatesthatdothisaswell,butthisoneisveryclearandexplicit.Anotherstrongpointofthistemplateisthatitconnectstheexperienceofyourcustomertotheimpactonbusinessandfollowsthatupwiththequestionaboutinternalownership.Thisisgreat,astalkingaboutownershipshiftsthefocusoftheconversationtowardactionratherthanjustinsights. Pros Thethreezonesandhowtheyaredescribedmakealotofsense.Thebusinessandinternalperspectivesarereallyvaluable. Thetemplatestrikestherightbalancebetweenthewidthanddepthofinformation. Theaccompanyingguidehelpsyouunderstandwhichquestionsyoushouldbeaskingperinformationlane. Cons Thereisn'tadownloadableversionofthetemplate. Itwouldbeniceiftherewereaprefilledexample. WhenwouldIusethistemplateThisisatemplateI'dconsiderforakick-offjourneymappingworkshopwithaninternalteam,especiallywhenthegoalistohelpstakeholdersunderstandthatthecustomerexperiencehasimplicationsonbusiness.ThetemplatecouldalsobeagoodstartingpointtocreateamoreelaboratejourneymapinatoollikeCustellence. HowdoIpicktherighttemplate?Well,that'sareallygoodquestion,maybeeventhebestoneinthisentirearticle!🙂Pickingtherighttemplateisallaboutunderstandingwhichbitsandpiecesofinformationyouneedtogettheinsightsyou'relookingfor.Andinordertoknowwhichinsightsyouneed,wemustgobacktothemostfundamentalquestion:Whydoyouneedacustomerjourneymapinthefirstplace(hereare5goodreasons)?Whatgoalsdoyouwanttoachieve?Whatisthenextstepafteryou'vecreatedthemap?Areyouhostingaworkshoptobuildasharedunderstandingaboutthejourney?Then,atemplatewithjustthecustomeractivitiesandpainpointsmightdothejob.Doyouneedtomapyourinternalprocessontothecustomerjourney?Inthatcase,atemplatethatcontainsbackstagelaneswillbemoreuseful.Isyourgoaltoalignbrandingeffortsacrossmultipletouchpointsinthejourney?Atemplatethatsplitsthetouchpointsintotheirrespectivecommunicationchannelsmightbeagoodfit.WhatifIdon'tknowwhatthegoalofmyjourneymapisyet?Frommyexperience,thisusuallymeansthatyou'recreatingamaptobuildanoverview,tofacilitateaconversationandtogettosomeformofsharedunderstanding,whichareallveryvalidreasonstobuildajourneymap.QuickGuidetoPickingtherightJourneyMapTemplateStartwiththesimplesttemplatethathastheleastnumberofelementsbutstillsuitsyourneeds.Expandasyougoalongandlearnwhatyouneedtoadd.Pickatemplatethathaselementsthatinviteeveryonewho'scontributingtoaddtheirknowledge.Ifyou'reworkingwithIT,forexample,makesurethere'salaneforinternalprocesses.Don'tworryabouthowpolishedandfancyatemplatelooks.Morevisualsusuallymeansmoredistractions,unlessyourendgoalistocreateanartpiece.Ifyoufollowthestepsinthisguide,youmightnotpicktheperfecttemplate,butyou'lldefinitelyhaveacustomerjourneymaptemplatethat’spracticalandgetsyoutothenextstage.WhenshouldIcreatemyowntemplate?Agoodmomenttostartthinkingaboutcreatingyourownjourneymaptemplateiswhenyoustarttorecognizepatterns.Afteryou'vemappedafewcustomerjourneys,you'llstarttoseethateverymaphasrepeatingelements.Theseelementscouldbespecifictoyourorganization,yourdepartment,ortheindustryyou'rein.Whenyougettothisstage,creatingyourowncustomjourneymaptemplateisaveryvaluableexercise.That’sbecause,onceyouhaveyourcustomtemplate,you'llbeabletodivemuchquickerintospecificpartsofthejourneyratherthanwastingtimethinkingaboutthestructureofyourmap.There'soneotherreasonwhyyoumightconsidercreatingacustomtemplate:tomakeitmatchyourbrand.Dependingonyourenvironment,peoplecancritiqueyourjourneymappingeffortsjustbecauseofthecolorsandstyle.Silly,Iknow.Butithappens.Onthoseoccasions,itmightbeagoodinvestmenttomakeyourtemplatevisuallymatchyourbrandidentity.Bycreatingyourowncustomtemplate,you'regettingintothepositionofteacherormentorforothers.Andthenicebenefitofthatis,youyourselfwilllearnalotaboutjourneymappingintheprocess.What'snextHopefullythisguidehelpsyoupicktherightjourneymappingtemplateforyournextproject,soyoucaninvestyourenergyindeliveringagreatcustomerexperience,insteadofthinkingaboutjourneymappingtemplates.Ifyourfavoritejourneymappingtemplateismissinginthelist,leaveacommentdownbelow.I’lltrytoaddittotheoverview.Nowthatyou'vemadeitallthewayhereit'sprobablyagoodmomenttojointheCustomerJourneyMappingEssentialsmasterclass👇 OneReply Greatarticleonwhattoolsareavailableandwhentousethem.Savedussometimehavingtojustfigureitoutonourown. 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