What is a customer journey map?
A customer journey map tells the story of the customer’s experience: from initial contact, through the process of engagement and into a long-term relationship.
It may focus on a particular part of the story or give an overview of the entire experience. What it always does is identify key interactions that the customer has with the organization. It talks about the user’s feelings, motivations and questions for each of these touchpoints.
It often provides a sense of the customer’s greater motivation. What do they wish to achieve, and what are their expectations of the organization?
A customer journey map takes many forms but typically appears as some type of infographic. Whatever its form, the goal is the same: to teach organizations more about their customers.
A
customer journey map takes many forms but typically appears as an
infographic. (Image: Effective
UI2)
(View
large version3)
It will come as no surprise that marketers often use customer journey maps. But more and more digital professionals are adopting them, too.
Why you should create customer journey maps
A customer journey map is a powerful tool.
If you are a designer, it will help you to understand the context of users. You will gain a clear picture of where the user has come from and what they are trying to achieve.
If you write copy, it will help you to understand what questions users have and how they are feeling.
It gives managers an overview of the customer’s experience. They will see how customers move through the sales funnel. This will help them to identify opportunities to enhance the experience. The map will show how enhanced customer service can differentiate the organization’s digital experience.
For the user experience designer, a customer journey map helps to identify gaps, points in the customer experience that are disjointed or painful. These might be:
•gaps between devices, when a user moves from one device to another;
•gaps between departments, where the user might get frustrated.
•gaps between channels (for example, where the experience of going from social media to the website could be better).
Most of all, a customer journey map puts the user front and center in the organization’s thinking. It shows how mobile, social media and the web have changed customer behavior. It demonstrates the need for the entire organization to adapt.
It encourages people across the organization to consider the user’s feelings, questions and needs. This is especially important with digital products and services.
Even
the process of creating a customer journey map will help people to
focus on the needs of users. (Image: Adaptive
Path4)
With so many benefits, a customer journey map makes a lot of sense. But where do you start?
How to research a customer journey map
The process of creating a customer journey map has to begin with getting to know users.
Many organizations already have some information about users. In fact, you might meet resistance from those who feel that repeating this exercise would be a waste of time. This is why gathering existing research is a good start. Often, this research will be out of date or buried in a drawer somewhere.
By gathering existing research, you will see what the organization knows and how relevant that information is. This will placate those who are resistant, while potentially saving you some research effort.
There are two types of research: analytical and anecdotal.