WHAT IS A CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP?
A customer journey map is a visual representation of all your customer experiences when it comes to your brand or business.
According to Steve Jobs, “You’ve got to start with the customer experience, and work back toward the technology – not the other way around”.
WHY USE A CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP?
People expect businesses to provide a customer experience that has a high level of personalisation and relevancy. On the other hand, metrics are more reliable and accurate than educated guesses.
Customer journey maps allow a business to track their customer’s experience from the awareness stage until it becomes a done deal. This map acts as a funnel to keep your customers moving forward.
Nowadays, due to advances in technology, a customer journey map is vital because people are interacting with brands through multiple platforms.
Anyone who values organisation and business success should make sure to have a customer journey map as part of your business plan, no matter the size of your business.
WHAT’S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT A CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP?
Aside from tracking customer experience and being organised, the customer journey map is very beneficial in many ways;
- Allows you to understand and empathise with your customer, which leads to meaningful relationships resulting in business success.
- Ability to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to improve how you cater to your customers.
- Upon understanding your customers, you will be able to create, adjust, and enhance touchpoints to make the buying and service process smoother for your customers.
- Being able to know your customers well enough will allow you to conclude if you’re engaging the right audience, and also allow you to attract more of them
- An increase in customer satisfaction comes in as less customer churn, fewer complaints, and a higher net profit.
IS THERE AN APP FOR THAT?
For our generation, technology is the first thing that comes to mind when we think about creating structures. The answer to your lingering question is yes, customer journey maps can be done from scratch using your computer and the appropriate software.
Benefits of technology-backed customer journey maps:
- Easily identify key interaction points
- Define customer needs per step of the customer-business process
- Gain objective view on the effectiveness of sales
- Understand the gap between intended customer experience and deliverables
- Determine development priorities
- Allocate expenditure for maximum gains
Content creators also benefit from the process:
- Ability to understand the customer to create relevant and timely copies
- Knowledge on where the appropriate platform is to publish content
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP
- Cover every necessary touchpoint
- Track post-purchase activities
- Stay true to the word you put out for your customers
- Overlay quantitative elements from multiple sources
Customer journey maps are known and used by a good number of businesses. Keep in mind that using a map is like moving around with your customers everywhere that they go virtually and this allows you to put yourself in their shoes.