What is Customer Journey Mapping & Why is it Important?

A customer journey map is a visual representation of the customer journey (also called the buyer journey or user journey). Skiptocontent Sales Marketing CustomerService Commerce IT HR SmallBusiness Salesforce.com TrySalesforce TrySalesforce Home Sales Marketing CustomerService Commerce IT HR SmallBusiness ContactUS GetyourFREE30-daytrial. Pleasecompleteallfields. SalesCloud:World's#1CRM ServiceCloud SalesforcePlatform Salesforce.com 1-800-667-6389 | FreeTrial   June30,2020 BySalesforceUK WhatisCustomerJourneyMapping&WhyisitImportant? in Marketing, CustomerService, SmallBusiness   Wantthebestblogcontentviaemail?Signupforourbi-weeklynewsletter. Subscribe BacktoPosts   Onthesurface,customerjourneysmayseemsimple-youofferaproductandtheybuyit.Butlookmorecloselyandit’seasytoseethatthecustomerjourneyisbecomingincreasinglycomplex. TheFourthIndustrialRevolutionisredefiningcustomerexpectationseveryday,withtheaverageconsumernowusing10channelstocommunicatewithbusinesses.Allthesetouchpointscreateincreasinglycomplexcustomerjourneys,makingitmoredifficulttoalwaysensureagreatcustomerexperience.ButcustomerexperienceismoreimportantthaneverandaccordingtorecentresearchfromSalesforce: 80%ofcustomersnowconsidertheirexperiencewithacompanytobeasimportantasitsproducts.  69%ofconsumerswanttotalkwithacompanyinreal-time 60%ofcustomersintheUKexpectthecustomerexperiencetobeconnected   So,customerexpectationsareundoubtedlyundergoingamajortransformation.Thequestionisthen:howcanbrandsmeettheseexpectationsandensureeverycustomerjourneyissmooth? Oneexcellentwaytounderstandandoptimisethecustomerexperienceisaprocesscalledcustomerjourneymapping.   Approachyourcustomerstheirwaywithapersonalisedcustomerjourney SeehowourB2Bmarketingautomationcanhelpyouincreaseleads,boostsales,bemoreproductive-andtransformyourbusiness. Watchdemo Whatisacustomerjourneymap? Acustomerjourneymapisavisualrepresentationofthecustomerjourney(alsocalledthebuyerjourneyoruserjourney).Ithelpsyoutellthestoryofyourcustomers’experienceswithyourbrandacrossalltouchpoints.Whetheryourcustomersinteractwithyouviasocialmedia,email,livechatorotherchannels,mappingthecustomerjourneyoutvisuallyhelpsensurenocustomerslipsthroughcracks. ThisprocessalsohelpsB2Bbusinessleadersgaininsightsintocommoncustomerpainpointswhichinturnwillallowthemtobetteroptimiseandpersonalisethecustomerexperience.   Whatiscustomerjourneymapping? Customerjourneymapping(alsocalleduserjourneymapping)istheprocessofcreatingacustomerjourneymap,avisualstoryofyourcustomers’interactionswithyourbrand.Thisexercisehelpsbusinessesstepintotheircustomer’sshoesandseetheirbusinessfromthecustomer’sperspective.Itallowsyoutogaininsightsintocommoncustomerpainpointsandhowtoimprovethose.  Firstly,allthepossiblecustomertouchpointsaremappedout,forinstance,awebsite,socialchannels,interactionswithmarketingandsalesteams. Userjourneysarethencreatedacrossthesevarioustouchpointsforeachbuyerpersona.Forexample,amillennialbuyerpersonamaytypicallybecomeawareofaproductonsocial,researchitonthemobileversionofyoursite,andfinallymakeapurchaseonadesktopcomputer. Thecustomerexperienceateachtouchpointshouldbeincludedinacustomerjourneymap.Thiscanincludewhatactionthecustomerneedstotakeandhowyourbrandresponds.   Whyiscustomerjourneymappingimportant? Customerjourneymappingisimportant,becauseitisastrategicapproachtobetterunderstandingcustomerexpectationsandiscrucialforoptimisingthecustomerexperience.  Customerjourneymappingisjustasimportantforsmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesasitisforlargercompanies.Customerexpectationsarechangingforallbusinesses,regardlessofsize–customersdemandanomnichannelapproachtocustomerservice,marketingandsales. Oneofthemostimportantaspectsofthecustomerexperienceispersonalisation.Recentresearchfoundthat 84%ofconsumersfeelthatbeingtreatedlikeahumanratherthananumberiscrucialtowinningtheirbusiness.CustomerjourneymappingallowsSMEstocreatepersonalisedexperiencesacrossalltouchpoints–foreveryindividual,acrossallchannels. Mappingthecustomerjourneyhasahostofbenefitssuchas: Allowingyoutooptimisethecustomeronboardingprocess Benchmarkingthecustomerexperiencedesiredbyyourcustomersagainstwhattheyactuallyreceive Understandingthedifferencesinbuyerpersonasastheymovefromprospecttoconversionthroughthebuyingfunnel. Creatingalogicalordertoyourbuyerjourney.   However,thebiggestbenefitissimplyunderstandingyourcustomersmore.Thebetteryouunderstandtheirexpectations,themoreyoucantailorthecustomerexperiencetotheirneeds.   Howdoescustomerjourneymappingenableomnichannelmarketingandcustomerservice? Today’sconsumerswantahighlypersonalisedexperienceandthisincludesyourmarketingandcustomerserviceefforts.Thisinterconnectedapproachiscalledomnichannelmarketingandomnichannelcustomerservice. Intermsofmarketing,customerjourneymappingplaysacrucialroleinthisprocess,asmarketerscantargetoneprospectacrossmultipletouchpoints.Forexample,acustomerwhobrowsesaproductonawebsitecanberetargetedwithasocialmediaadlateron. Toofferthebestpossiblecustomerexperience,omnichannelmarketingisoftenbackedupbyomnichannelcustomerservice.Thisiswherethecustomercanreceivecustomersupportacrossanychannel,suchasonsocialmedia,messengerapps,orlivechat.Again,customerjourneymappingcanallowyourCustomerServiceteamtobetterunderstandthecustomerexperienceandimprovetheirabilitytoresolveissues.   HowcanIoptimisemycustomerjourneymap? Mappingoutmanydifferentcustomerjourneysacrossmanydifferentbuyerpersonascanbequitetime-consuming.Andonceyouhavemappedthemout,youstillneedawaytoofferapersonalisedomnichannelcustomerexperiencebasedonyourmap. Soifyou’reseriousaboutcustomerjourneymappingthenyouneedtoinvestinsoftwarethatcantakethehassleoutofdoingthis.CustomerjourneymappingtoolsaretypicallypartofmarketingautomationsoftwarelikePardot.Theyforexampleallowyoutoeasilycreatecustomisedcustomerjourneysandautomatemarketingactions.Thistakesyourmarketingautomationeffortstothenextlevel. CheckoutademoofPardot’spowerfulmarketingautomationsoftwarebuiltontheworld’s#1CRM.   Approachyourcustomerstheirwaywithapersonalisedcustomerjourney SeehowourB2Bmarketingautomationcanhelpyouincreaseleads,boostsales,bemoreproductive-andtransformyourbusiness. Watchdemo   MarketingResources:FreeArticles,Videos&Tips Resources ExploreOurTopFeaturedMarketingResources MarketingResources:FreeArticles,Videos&Tips Editors'Picks WhatisMarketingAutomation? MARKETING WhatisMarketingAutomation? WhatisMarketingAutomation? Solutionsbyrole:MarketingBuyer CUSTOMERSERVICE Create1-to-1MarketingJourneysWithanAll-in-OneCustomerPlatform Solutionsbyrole:MarketingBuyer CUSTOMERSERVICE ExploreAlltheTrailblazersWhoareSucceedingWithMarketingCloud GlobalBlogs Americas Brasil(Português) Canada(English) UnitedStates(English) Europe,MiddleEast,andAfrica Denmark(Danish) Deutschland(Deutsch) España(Español) France(Français) Israel(Hebrew) Italia(Italiano) Nederland(Nederlands) Suomi(Finnish) Sverige(Svenska) UKandIreland(English) Allothercountries(English) AsiaPacific Asia(English) Australia(English) India(English) 日本(日本語) Privacy | Security | ContactUs | Trust | Cookies © Copyright2021salesforce.com,inc. Allrightsreserved.Varioustrademarksheldbytheirrespectiveowners. Salesforce.comEMEALimited,village9,floor26SalesforceTower,110Bishopsgate,London,UK,EC2N4AY.GeneralEnquiries:08000921223|Fax:+448703515473|Sales: 0080072533333