What is Customer Journey Map? - Visual Paradigm

Customer journey map uses storytelling and visuals to illustrate the relationship a customer has with a business over a period of time. The story is being told ... Home Support Current:WhatisCustomerJourneyMap? WhatisCustomerJourneyMap? WhatisCustomerJourneyMap? WhyCustomerJourneyMap? BasicConceptsofCJM CreatingCustomerJourneyMap Step1.DefinePersona Step2.DefineCustomerPhases Step3.DescribeTouchpoints Step4.ConductResearch Step5.DeterminePointsofFrictions Step6.Resolve OtherTechniquesforapplyingaCJM RelatedLinks Youwanttocreatememorablefirstimpressionsanddeliverdifferentiatedbuyingexperiencestoyourcustomer?Youwanttofindouthowyourcustomersshopintoday'sdigitalworld?Whatarethemostinfluentialchannelsandtouchpointsintheircustomerjourneyandhowcanyouimpactthese?Howdoesthisworkforthenewproductcategoryyouwishtoenter? CustomerJourneyMapisapowerfultechniqueforunderstandingwhatmotivatesyourcustomers-whattheirneedsare,theirhesitations,andconcerns.Althoughmostorganizationsarereasonablygoodatgatheringdataabouttheircustomers,dataalonefailstocommunicatethefrustrationsandexperiencesthecustomerexperienced.Astorycandothat,andoneofthebeststorytellingtoolsinbusinessisthecustomerjourneymap. Customerjourneymapusesstorytellingandvisualstoillustratetherelationshipacustomerhaswithabusinessoveraperiodoftime.Thestoryisbeingtoldfromtheperspectiveofcustomer,whichprovidesinsightintothetotalexperienceofthecustomer.Ithelpsyourteambetterunderstandandaddresscustomerneedsandpainpointsastheyexperienceyourproductorservice.Inotherwords,mappingoutthecustomerjourneyoffersyourbusinessthechancetoseehowyourbrandfirstengagesapotentialcustomer,andthenmovesthroughthetouchpointsoftheentiresalesprocess. WhyCustomerJourneyMap? Thepurposeofcustomerjourneymappingistounderstandwhatcustomersgothroughandimprovethequalityofyourcustomerexperience,ensuringconsistencyandaseamlessexperienceatalltouchpointsandacrossallchannels.Thereisnosubstitutionforlisteningtoyourcustomersabouthowthestepsinthejourneyareworkingoutforthem.Havingbuiltanunderstandingofthecustomerjourneyswithyourbusinessyouarenowinapositiontoimprovethecustomerexperienceenables: Providesabird'seyeviewoftheentirecustomerjourney Bringteamstogethertoresolvespecificcustomerhurdlesforunderstandingcorecustomerjourneypaths,whereadditionaldevelopmentwillprovidebiggestimpact. Buildfasterandhighercustomerconversionratesbyminimizingnegativecustomerexperiences,throughidentificationofkeystepsanddecisionpoints. Improvedcustomerretention,throughunderstandinghowtheytransitthrough,say,eachstageofaprocurementcycletoensurethecorrectinformationisavailableandaccessibletoallstakeholders. Allowsabusinesstozoom-inasinglecustomerjourneyinaspecificchannel. Understandingofrequiredmetricstoidentifycustomer'sprogressandfalloutpoints,providingopportunitiestobringcustomersbackonboard. Allowsbusinessestoprioritizeactionsintheircustomerexperiencestrategy Revealsthegapsbetweenvariouschannelsanddepartments BasicConceptsofCJM Customerjourneyisajourneyofapotentialcustomeraboutdifferentpointsofcontactwithaproduct,abrandor(touchpoints)ofacompanyviaallavailablechannelsuntilheperformsadesiredtargetaction.Acustomerjourneycanextendoverseveralhoursordays. Majortargetactionsarepurchases,ordersorinquiries. Touchpointsareanykindofcontactpointsbetweencustomerandyourbusiness,fromclassicaladvertising(ads,TVorradiospot,etc.)throughonlinemarketingactivitiesthroughtotheopinionofafriendorinformationonreviewsites. Availablechannelssuchastelephone,web,branch,marketingcommunicationsandserviceinteractions. CreatingCustomerJourneyMap Journeymapscantakeawidevarietyofforms.Theendgoal,however,isalwaysthesame:findandresolvethepainpointsofyourcustomers. Step1.Defineyourpersona Personasandjourneymapsarebothimportantstrategictoolsthathelpprovideanin-depthunderstandingofwhoyourcustomersare,whattheyneed,andhowtheyinteractwithyourbusinessacrossalltouchpoints.Butmoreimportantly,forsharingcustomerinsightsacrosstheorganization.Muchoftheinformationforcreatingajourneymapcomesfromyourpersonas(e.g.,theirgoals,motivations,keytaskstheywanttoaccomplish,andcurrentpainpoints),whichiswhyit'sbesttocreatethepersonasfirst. Thefirstthingyouneedtodecideiswhosejourneyyouaregoingtomapsuchas,aspecificcustomertype(persona),apotential(target)customer,orasegmentofcustomers,dependingonthepurposeofyourjourneymappinginitiative.Onceyou'vecreateddistinctpersonas,youcanusethemtocreatecustomerjourneymapsthatdescribeeachpersona'sexperienceatvarioustouchpointsduringtheirlifecyclewithyourcompany. Step2.Defineyourcustomerphases Journeymapsaretypicallyorganizedbycustomerstages(sometimesreferredtoasphases).Eachstagerepresentsamajorgoalyourcustomeristryingtoachieveintheiroveralljourney.Youshouldbuildacustomerjourneymapwithstagesthatrepresentyourcustomer'sgoal-orientedjourney,notyourinternalprocesssteps. Soonceyou'vedefinedyourpersona,youhavetoidentifythestagesofthecustomer'sjourney.Whatprocessdoesittaketostartfromconsiderationallthewaythroughbuyingyourproductorservices?Basedonthepersonadefinethestagesthatyourcustomerexperienceswithyouovertime.Definehow,whenandwherethey:discoveryourcompany,researchyourproductsorservices,chooseyouovercompetitors,purchasefromyou,andmaintainarelationshipwithyou. Step3.DescribetheTouchpointsYourCustomerUsestoInteractwithYourOrganization Customertouchpointsareyourbrand'spointsofcustomercontact,fromstarttofinish.Forexample,customersmayfindyourbusinessonlineorinanad,seeratingsandreviews,visityourwebsite,shopatyourretailstoreorcontactyourcustomerservice.Thisseemslikealonglist,butthesearejustafewofyourtouchpoints!Identifyingyourtouchpointsisanimportantsteptowardscreatingacustomerjourneymapandmakingsureyourcustomersaresatisfiedeverystepoftheway. Step4.Conductresearch Whileyoumayneedtooffersomeincentivesforparticipation,mostpeoplearehappytohelpiftheybelieveyouaregenuinelyinterestedintheirexperienceandwillusetheirfeedbacktoimprovethingsforothers. Foreachstageofthejourney,trytoidentify: Whatweretheirgoals,whatdidtheywanttoachieve Whatdidtheyexpecttheprocesswouldbelike Thestepsandtouchpointstheyusedtocompletethestage Howdidtheyfeelemotionallyduringeachtouchpointexperienceandwhy Otherthoughtstheyhadduringthestage Howlongdidittaketocomplete Step5.Determinepointsoffriction Onceyouhaveunderstoodyourpersona'sgoalsandwrittendowntheirtouchpoints,it'stimetolookatthebigpicture-thetotalityoftheirexperiencewithyourcompany.Everybusinesswilllookthroughthelensoftheircustomerpersonasdifferently.Walkingthrougheachofthejourneymapstageswithyourteamwillhelpyouidentifyanypointsoffrictionwithinthecustomerexperience. Ofcourse,everybusinessisdifferentandYOUwillknowyourcustomersbest.Thereareafewexamplequestionsbelowtogetyoustarted: Wherecouldfrictionappearinthisparticulartouchpoint? Arepeopleabandoningpurchasesbecauseofthis? Arecustomersnotawareofthissolutionthatyou'vealreadyprovided?Ifso,whynot? Step6.Resolve Journeymapsaren'tmeanttobepurelyillustrative.Atypicalexerciseshouldidentifyafewquickfixes,includingopportunitiestoboostenjoymentandimprovethejourney.And,ofcourse,mostfirmsdiscovertheprocesshelpsdrivebroadercustomerexperienceimprovementsascustomerneedsarebetterunderstoodandmet.Inbrief,mappingthejourneyshouldhelpleadtospecificactionsthatimprovetheexperienceanddrivetheROI.Treatyourmapasalivingdocumenttoberevisitedregularlyandupdatedasrequiredandremembertoshareitwithanyrelevantstakeholders OtherTechniquesforapplyingaCJM ImprovementandInnovationusingCustomerJourneyMap Identifyingopportunitiestodrivegrowththroughinvestingincustomerexperienceimprovementsisakeyobjectiveofmanyjourneymappinginitiatives.Youshouldbuildacustomerjourneymapasatooltouseinyouractionplanning.Thiswillshowwhereyouidentifyopportunities,assesstheirimpact,cost,etc.andeventuallysetinvestmentprioritiesforyourorganization. Somemapsexplicitlylistoutthekeyopportunitiesonthemapitself.Thiscanbehelpfulasacommunicationtool,especiallyifthekeyopportunitiesareaddedafteropportunitieshavebeenprioritized.Inthisway,thejourneymapbecomesanongoingcommunicationandgovernancedocument. VisualizeFrontstageandBackstageInJourneyMap Upuntilnow,I'vefocusedonthefrontstageoroutside-inviewofthejourney.Thebackstagereferstotheinternalsystems,processes,andpeoplethatareinvolvedindeliveringthatjourney.Thisistheinside-outviewofthejourney.Whencombinedinasinglejourneymap,thesetwoviewsareoftenreferredtoasaFrontstage/BackstageMaporanEco-SystemMap. Mappingthefrontstageandbackstageononemapcreatesvisibilitytotheinternalresourcesandprocessesthatareresponsiblefordeliveringthecustomerexperience-visibilitythatcanhelpyourorganizationunderstandwhatisinvolvedindeliveringandultimatelyimprovingthecustomerexperience. AchecklistforDevelopingCustomerJourneyMap Herearethequestionsyouwillaskyourselfwhilecreatingacustomerjourneymap: Howareyourcustomersfindingyouandhowdotheysolve(orcopewith)theproblembeforeusingyoursolution? Whatisthecustomerproblemyouaretryingtosolve?Orinotherwords,whatarethecommonproblemsandpainpointscustomersexperiencethatyourproductcanhelpalleviate? Howeasyisitforcustomerstogainaccesstocustomerserviceforsupport? Howareyoutryingtoimprovecustomerengagementacrosschannels? Isiteasyforthecustomertopayforyourproductorservice? RelatedLinks ProfessionalCustomerJourneyMappingtool YouTubevideo-WhatisCustomerJourneyMapping? TryVisualParadigmFREE Turneverysoftwareprojectintoasuccessfulone. TryVisualParadigmFree Weusecookiestoofferyouabetterexperience.Byvisitingourwebsite,youagreetotheuseofcookiesasdescribedinourCookiePolicy. OK