Customer Journey: How to Drive Profitable Business Growth

A customer journey is the complete experience a customer has with an organization. It encompasses all customer interactions across all ... JoinThrive-acontentseriescreatedtohelpyouturnrelationshipsintorevenue JoinThrive CustomerJourney:HowaHolisticStrategyDrivesProfitableBusinessGrowth PostedbyStevenMacDonald - 13Comments Lastupdated: 10May,2021 Postsummary: Companiesthatputthecustomerattheheartoftheirbusinessaremoreprofitablethantheircompetitors.The biggestgrowthfactor?Theyfocusonacustomerjourneystrategy. Thecustomerjourneyfollowsthecompletelifecyclefromawarenesstoloyalty,allowingyoutomatchcommunicationstrategieswithcustomerexpectationsateachstageofthejourney. Theprocessrequiresmappingthejourney,theirtouchpointsandyourstoidentifygapsincommunication.Here,weprovideyouwiththetemplatesandframeworktomapthecustomerjourney. "Thecustomerisking!" Howmanytimeshaveyouheardthatstatementbeforeandactuallybelievedit? Myguess…notthatoften. Butwhenacompanytrulymeansitandmakesyoufeellikeaking,itmakesyoufeelspecial. Inturn,yourecommendthecompanytoyourfriendsandfamily,youcontinuetobuyfromthem,andyoubecomeahappyandloyalcustomer. Fromabusinessperspective,thecompaniesthattreattheircustomerswell,outperformthosethatdon’tonalmosteverygrowthmetric. Moreimportantly,theyare60%moreprofitable! So,whataretheydoingdifferently? Itallstartswiththecustomerjourney. FirstintroducedmorethantwentyyearsagobyOxfordSMaspartoftheEurostardevelopment,it’sstillrelativelynew tothebusinessworld. Forexample, researchbyEconsultancy foundthat50%oforganizationshavelittletonounderstandingabouttheircustomerjourney. That’swhytodayI’llbesharingwhatthecustomerjourneyis,howtomapthejourneyforyourorganizationandhowtouseittoreducecosts,increaserevenueandcreateabettercustomerexperience. Whatisacustomerjourney? Acustomerjourneyisthecompleteexperienceacustomerhaswithanorganization. Itencompassesallcustomerinteractionsacrossallchannels,devicesandtouchpointsthroughouteverystageofthecustomerlifecycle–fromawarenesstoloyalty. Companiesuseawiderangeofchannelstocommunicatewiththeircustomers,butoftenfailtoconnecteachactivitywiththecustomerjourney.Salesandmarketingstrategiesbecomeisolatedfromoneanother,whichleadstoadisconnectedcustomerexperience. But,isn’tthecustomerjourneythesamethingascustomerexperience? Well,notquite. Thedifferencebetweenthecustomerjourneyandcustomerexperienceisthis: Thecustomerjourneyiswhattheydoateachstageofthecustomerlifecycle Thecustomerexperienceishowtheyfeelabouttheentirecustomerlifecycle SearchingforanewpairoftrainersinGoogle,makingapurchaseonlineandthenwearingthemthenextdayispartofthecustomerjourney.Findingthewebsiteeasytouse,beingsurprisedwithovernightshippingandfeelingappreciatedwithahand-writtenthankyounotefromthebrand,isanexampleofcustomerexperience. Andthat'sthekindofexperiencethatcustomer'sarewillingtopaymorefor. 86%ofcustomer'sarewillingtospendmore onproductsforagreatcustomerexperience. So,howdoyoumakesurethatthecustomer'sexperiencewithyourcompanyisapositiveexperience? You startbymappingthecustomerjourney. Mappingthecustomerjourneyisthenumberone strategy thathighperformingCXexecsuse toimprovethecustomerexperience.Ifyouwanttobeahighperformer,thenfollowthestepsbelow. Mappingoutcustomerjourneycanbesplitinto3distinctstages: Drawingout thecustomerjourneylifecycle Identifyingcompanyandcustomertouchpoints Analyzinggapsbetweenexistingstrategiesandexpectations It’simportanttonotethatthecustomerjourneycannotbedrawnoutfromyourownperspective–ithastobedrawnoutfromyourcustomers’pointofview. Thismeansthatyouputyourselfintheirshoesandthinklikeacustomer. Todothis,youneedto speakwithyourcustomersandcollectwhatisknownasvoiceofcustomerfeedback. Notsurewhattoaskyourcustomers? Here'ssomesamplequestionsthatwe'veusedduringourowncustomerjourneyprocess: Whathappenedinsideyourcompanythatcausedyoutosearchforanewproduct? Whatisyourresearchprocessforfindinganewproduct? Howdidyoufind[yourcompanyname]? Howimportantisafreetrialduringyourbuyingprocess? Specifically,whatmadeyouchoose[yourcompany]versus[acompetitor]? Hearingthestepsyourcustomerstooktomakeapurchase withyouisincrediblyvaluable. Yetsurprisingly,only1in5businessescollectthiskindoffeedbacktoimprovethecustomerjourney. Ifyou'renot optimizingthejourneybasedonwhatyourcustomersdo,thenit'snothingmorethanguesswork. Here'sagreatexampleofwhenguesswork(asinmostcases)goeswrong. In2015,SuperOfficelaunchedafreetrialoffering. Formorethan3years,ourmaincalltoactiononthewebsitewastopromoteafreetrial. Butwhen ourChiefMarketingOfficer, JenniferLimLund, interviewedourcustomersinAugust2018,wefoundoutthatafreetrialisnotpartofthebuyingprocessforouridealtargetcustomer.Instead,theyprefertosignupforalivedemonstration.Andourdemoformwasdifficulttofind. Inotherwords,weweremakingitdifficultforouridealtargetcustomerstobuyfromus. Sincethen,we'vereplacedourmaincalltoactionfromafreetrialsignuptoademo requestandbydoingso, we'veseen thenumberofrequestsfrom ourtargetaudienceincrease bymorethan double. Optimizingthecustomerjourneybasedon directfeedback resultedin174%moresignupsfromouridealtargetcustomer. Now,imaginebeingabletoscaletheseresultsacrosseveryphaseofthejourney? Thissimpleinterviewprocesshelpedusunderstandourcustomersneedsbetter. Onceyouunderstandtheneedsofyourcustomerinallphasesontheirlifecycle–youcanthenmeetandexceedtheirexpectationsateveryphaseofthecustomerjourney. Butbeforewegointothediscussionofphases,let’stakealookatwhatthebenefitsofmappingoutthecustomerjourneyareforyourbusiness. Thebusinessbenefitsofthecustomerjourney Imaginebeingabletopredictthenextstepofyourtargetcustomer… ...that’sthe“super”powerofthecustomerjourney! Infact,thisistheexactreasonwhy69%ofbusinesseslistthecustomerjourneyasatopinvestmentprioritythisyear. Marketershavegoneonestepfurther,statingthatthecustomerjourneyisatoppriorityforthenexttwoyears! Yet,forcompaniesthathaveaformalcustomerjourneystrategy,theevidenceiscompelling. AnAberdeenGroupresearchpaperfoundthatcompanieswithaformalcustomerjourneyprogramexperienceyearoveryeargrowththatincludes: 18Xfasteraveragesalescycles, 56%morecross-sellandup-sellrevenue, 10Ximprovementincustomerservicecosts, 5Xgreaterrevenuefromcustomerreferrals, 54%greaterreturnofmarketinginvestment(ROMI). Thebusinessbenefitsofoptimizingthecustomerjourneyareclear. But,there’smoregoodnews. ThesamestudybyAberdeenGroupfoundthatonly36%ofcompanieshaveaprocesstomapoutthecustomerjourney,makingthisahugeopportunitytocreateacompetitiveadvantageforyourbusiness. Butwhatarethecustomerjourneyphases? The7phasesofthecustomerjourney Thecustomerjourneyislinkedto eachinstancethatthe customercomesintodirectcontactwithyourcompanyorproduct: Beforeapurchase-customer'swillcomeintodirectcontactwithonlineadvertising,socialmedia, emailmarketing Duringapurchase-customer'swillcomeintodirectcontactwithsalesteams, consultants andyourcompanywebsite Afterapurchase-customer'swillcomeintodirectcontactwith trainingmaterial,follow-upenquiriesandfuturecustomermarketingcommunication Brokendown,thecustomerjourneyconsistsof7phases;Outofmarket,trigger,initialbrandconsideration,activeevaluation,purchasedecision,experienceandloyalty. Let’stakealookateachphase(andthecustomer’smindset)inmoredetail–startingwiththeout-of-marketphase.Inthisexample,we’llbeviewingthecustomerjourneyfromtheperspectiveofaB2Bbuyer. 1.Out-of-marketphase Intheout-of-marketphase,thecustomerislookingtoimprovetheirbusiness.Theywanttheircompany,departmentorteamtobemoreproductiveandmoreefficient.Atthisphase,theymaynotknowhowtoachievethesegoals,buttheyareopentoinspiration. 2.Triggerphase Thetriggerphasebeginsoncethecustomeruncoverstheopportunitytogrowtheirbusiness.Itcouldbethatsalesaregoingdownorthatcustomercomplaintsaregrowing,buttheseindicatorsactasatriggertochangingthewaytheywork. 3.Initialbrandconsiderationphase Oncethecustomeridentifiesasolutiontotheirproblem,theywillbegintheirinitialsearch.Aprojectgroup,involvingallstakeholderswillbeformedtoidentifythetopbrandsintheirmarket,toscopetheprojectandtoreviewkeyfunctionalityandtechnicalrequirements–leadingtoa“longlist”ofpotentialsolutions. 4.Activeevaluation Thelonglistbecomesashortlistoncetheinitialbrandreviewiscomplete.Thecustomerwillthencontacteachvendorandinvitesthemtoameetingordemo.Afterthedemo,thecustomerwillreviewsolutionsbasedontrust,expertiseandscalability. 5.Purchasedecisionphase Thecustomerchoosesavendor,agreesonasolutionandsignsthecontract.Theimplementationprocessbeginsandaninternal“rollout”teamisformed.Withsupportfromthesolutionprovider,thecustomeroutlinessuccesscriteria,KPIsandlaunchtimeline. 6.Experiencephase Thecustomerwantstogetthesolutionupandrunningquicklyandforthelaunchtobeassmoothaspossible.Thisinvolvesmakingsureallusersarefullytrainedandhaveaccesstoaconsultantoraccountmanagerforsupport(whentheyneedit). 7.Loyaltyphase Aftertheinitialrollout,thecustomerishappytoseefastresults.Theprovidercontinuestofollowup,implementsthesolutioncompany-wideandandcontinuestohelpthecustomerreachtheirgoals. Mappingthe customertouchpoints Ifthejourneyisthemindsetofacustomer... ...thenthetouchpointsarethepathhe/shetakestoengagewithacompanyateachphase. Mappingthetouchpoints,andputtingtherightcontentassetsanddistributionchannelsto eachphaseofthejourneyisoneofthemostimportantfactorsoffuturedigitalinitiatives,accordingtoasurveybyRegalix.   Intheexamplebelow,we’llexplorethetouchpointsbasedonajourneyforaB2Bcustomer. Out-of-market:Opentoinspiration,thecustomerattendsindustryconferences,readsthoughtleadershipcontentandstaysupdatedonnewtrendsviasocialmedia. Trigger:Beingproactive,thecustomerusesGooglesearch,videoplatforms(i.e.YouTube)andreadsmorenicheblogs. Initialbrandconsideration:Withalonglistofproviders,thecustomervisitscompanywebsites,comparisonsitesandreviewplatforms. Activeevaluation:Trustisimportant,sothecustomerdownloadsresearchpapersfromthevendor,readsin-depthcasestudiesandcustomerreferences.Beforerequestingalivedemo. Purchasedecision:Dealingdirectlywiththesalesteam,thecustomersignsthepaperwork. Experience:Theimplementationphasebegins,andthecustomerisgivenaccesstoonboardingmaterial,whichincludesuserguides,trainingdocumentsandproductvideos. Loyalty:Thesolutionisrolledoutcompanywideandwhenneeded,thecustomerhasaccesstophoneandemailcustomerserviceteams,livechatonthewebsite,self-servicesupportandaknowledgebase. It’s,ofcourse,asimplifiedversionofthecustomerjourneyanditskeytouchpoints.Butitshowshowimportantitisforacompanytobeactivelypresentwhereitspotentialandexistingcustomersare. Doyouactivelyspeakatindustryconferences? Isyourbusinesslistedonvendorcomparisonwebsites? IsyourwebsitevisibleinGooglesearch? Ifyouanswered‘No’toanyofthequestionsabove,thenchancesarethatyourpotentialcustomerssimplywon’tfindyou. Saidanotherway… Ifyoudon’tbaseyourstrategyonthecustomerjourney,thenyouwillloseoutonnewbusiness. Aligningyourstrategywiththecustomerjourney Nowthatyouhavedrawnoutthecustomerjourneyandtouchpointsfromyourcustomers’perspective,youcannowmapoutthetouchpointsyouusetotrytoreachyourcustomerstoday,basedonyourexistingbusinessstrategies–allowingyoutoidentifythegaps. Asimpletablecanworkforthegapanalysisexercise. Forexample,todayweusedirectmailtoreachout-of-marketbuyersandusesocialmediaasawaytoengagewithprospectsintriggerphase. Onceyouhavemappedoutexistingtouchpoints,youcanthenlayerthemontopofyourcustomer’stouchpoints, providingyouwithanoverviewofwhatyou’recurrentlydoingtodayversuswhatyoushouldbedoingtoreachyourcustomers. Now,ifyou’reacustomer-centriccompany,youshouldgetanexactmatchwithyourstrategiesliningupexactlywiththecustomerjourney.Salesandmarketingteamsarealigned,customerchurnislow andyourcustomerbaseishappyandloyal. However,ifyou’renotcustomer-centric,therewillbeamismatchinactivityandexpectations. Onceyouhavecompletedthisexercise,what’slikelytohappenisthatyouwillnoticetwokeypoints: Youarespendingtoomuchtimeonactivitiesthatdon’timpactthecustomerjourney. Youarespendingtoolittletimeonactivitiesthatdoimpactthecustomerjourney. Basedonthis,youneedtoprioritizewhatyoudobasedonwhat'smoreimportant-activitiesthatalignwithjourneyversusactivitiesthatdon'talignwiththejourney... Now,herecomestheeasypart: Scrapalltheactivitiesyouarecurrentlydoingthathavenoimpactonthecustomerjourneyanddoubledownonactivitiesthatdo–becausethemoreoftenyoucanmeetthecustomerateachstageofthejourney,themorelikelytheyaretodobusinesswithyou. Conclusion Thepowerhascompletelyshiftedfrombrandtoconsumer. Andwhilethecustomerjourneymightbeanewterm,itwon’tbelongbeforeitbecomescriticaltoyourbusinessstrategy. Puttingthecustomerattheheartofyourorganizationisnolongera“nicetohave”,it’sanentrylevelrequirementtohavingasuccessfulbusinessin2021. Today,twooutofthreecompaniesdonotmaptheirstrategiestothecustomerjourney–givingyouahugecompetitiveadvantage,ifyoutakeit. Forthosecompaniesthathaveacustomerjourneystrategyinplace,they’vebeenabletoreducecosts,improvesalesperformanceandareoverall,muchmoreprofitable. Canyouaffordtosaynothatkindofbusinessstrategy? Likethisarticle?Youcanshareitwithyournetworkhere. NewtoSuperOfficeCRM?Learnmoreaboutouraward-winningproduct,describedas"theworld'smostuser-friendlyCRMsystem"bysigninguptoapersonalizeddemo. CRM Backtoarticles Wantmoreoriginalcontentinyourinbox? SignuptoThrivewithSuperOfficetolearnthesecretswehavelearnedhelpinggrowingcompaniesturnrelationshipsintorevenue. Signup RelatedPosts: DemystifyingAIandWhyCRMandAIareaGreatMatch ArtificialIntelligence(AI)iseverywheretoday.LearnhowAI-enhancedCRMcanimproveyour… WanttoHelpthePlanet?CleanupYourInbox! TodaymarksthebeginningoftheinternationalDigitalCleanupperiodandatSuperOfficewewan… AboutStevenMacDonald StevenMacdonald isadigitalmarketerbasedinTallinn,Estonia.SinceworkingwithSuperOffice,hehasledthegrowthoftheblogfrom0to3millionvisitsperyear.YoucanconnectwithStevenon LinkedIn and Twitter. ViewallarticlesbyStevenMacDonald Comments DavidHomer 2yearsago Everybusinessshouldoperatecustomer-centric.Withmarketinggettingharderinrecenttimesit'svitaltohavecustomerjourneystrategyinplacetoexecuteandsatisfycustomersinnotime.Nicewriting,Steven.GotsomevitalinformationregardingCRM.Appreciateit. StevenMacDonald 2yearsago Thanks,David!Gladyoufoundthecontentuseful. Catherine 2yearsago HiSteven, MaybeI'mjustbeingslowbecauseIhaven'thadenoughcoffee,butcouldyoutellmethesourceforthisinformation:"86%ofcustomer’sarewillingtospendmoreonproductsforagreatcustomerexperience." StevenMacDonald 2yearsago HiCatherine!Here'sthesourcefortheorignalresearchfromRightNow'sCustomerExperienceImpactreporthttps://www.slideshare.net/RightNow/2011-customer-experience-impact-report CasmiraS. 2yearsago Greattiming!I'vebeentaskedwithresearchinghowtomapthecustomerjourney.Thanksforthepracticalinformationandstats! Jack 2yearsago Thankyoufortheguidanceonthecustomerjourney. Mark 2yearsago Accordingtome,customerloyaltyissomethingthatishighlyoverlookedbybusinessesoutthere.WithAmericancompanieslosingasmuchas$62billioneveryyearasaresultofpoorexperience,customerloyaltyisthebiggestchallengewearefacing. Mark Marcel 2yearsago HiSteven, Thanksfortheinformationanddetailedexplanation,I'mjustthinking....foraninternalITTeamservicingdifferentcustomerdepartmentwhousesITservicesfortheiractivities,canyouhelpwithanysamplecustomerjourneyorwhat'sthebestapproachtothis. StevenMacDonald 2yearsago ThanksMarcel.Iwouldrecommendyoustartoutbyusingtheexerciseaboveandmapouttheentirecustomerjourneyforyourbusiness. AnthonyOkolie oneyearago HiSteven, Thanksalotforthisinsightfularticle.Ihavebeenmeetingtheterminology"CustomerJourney"inthebusinessanalysisdomainalotandyourexplanationjustnailedit.Youalsoprovidedaroadmapforapplyingitwhichishilarious,thanks StevenMacDonald oneyearago Ha,that'sgreattohearAnthony.Thankyou,andgoodluckwiththecustomerjourneymappingprocess! AlistarScott oneyearago GreatinputsSteven!Understandingacustomer’sjourneythroughthemarketingfunnelisakeypartofanymarketingstrategy.Thefunnelbeginsattheinitialpointofcontactandguidesconsumersthroughtoconversion.Seasonalinfluenceformsakeyaspectofthis.Marketingstrategiesshouldbeadjustedaccordingtoseasonalaudience.Ifyouownabrick-and-mortarstoredowntheshoreinthesummer,youshouldfocusyourtargetingonallofthetouristsvisitingthetown,tryingtomakesurethatyourstoreisapartoftheirvacationexperience. Geetha oneyearago Greatarticleonthetopicofthecustomerjourney!Veryinformativeandengaging! ×