“What is a customer journey map?”
On the surface this would seem to be a self-explanatory question – a customer journey map is a diagram/infographic/flowchart the shows the steps a customer goes through to engage with a company. Journeys can show the path to buying goods or services or gathering information.
Simple, right? … Not so fast.
Sure, a customer journey map is a simple idea – document the steps a customer transcends to reach its goal. But with the myriad of touch-points to consider, and influencers affecting the path, these journeys can quickly become complicated. Factor in whether you are trying to map one sub-section of the journey or take more of a “cradle to grave” approach, looking at the entire path of the engagement, things can get very complicated. The deeper you dive into the mapping process, the more difficult it becomes. The more complete the map, the more you will learn about the intricacies of the interactions and impacts of the players (customer service, technology, channels, etc.) have on the journey. Only then can you figure out how to optimize and orchestrate the journeys to provide the best possible customer experience.
Bits and pieces, or the entire journey?
To really understand your customers, you will want to map the entire journey, from initial contact (marketing) to post-sales analysis (follow-up survey and customer support). Any distinct point where the customer interacts with the organization should be mapped. To do this right, you will need data: customer data, web data, social data, marketing, and sales data. This information on its own is interesting but pull it together as part of a customer journey mapping effort and it can prove to be incredibly insightful by revealing the frustrations and experiences of customers. That is the true value of a customer journey map.
“Seems like a lot of work.”
In a word, yes.
But the tasks don’t have to be onerous. All you really need is some wall space, a bunch of Post-It notes (the name brand ones work the best), a few Sharpie markers, and a few colleagues who care about your customers, and you are ready to go. From there, you can go deeper, and deeper still depending on the available time and resources, as well as goals for the journey maps. And it doesn’t have to be done all in one session.
“What will I get out of effort?”
Simply put – value. According to Forrester, 72% of businesses say that improving customer experience is their top priority. A study from NewVoiceMedia indicates that companies lose more than $62 billion due to poor customer service. There isn’t an industry or company that can afford to not understand their customers and in turn, the experience they are delivering them.
So, ask yourself do you ….
- Understand f all your customer’s needs at both functional and emotional levels?
- Know the impact on your business when you meet those needs?
- Recognize what is getting in the way of delivering the best possible customer experience?
- Realize that understanding customer journeys is NOT about getting better customer satisfaction scores; it is about driving revenue and operating income.
- Customer journey mapping can give you and your organization the insights needed to take advantage of opportunities and address issues that translate to a positive impact on your customers’ experience. They can also empower and kick-start innovation for new products and services.
Some of the other benefits of customer journey mapping can include:
- Moving the organization from inside-out to outside-in thinking, which helps a company be more customer-centric.
- Removing silo mentalities, which can make making companies more efficient and productive, and helps creates a common understanding of areas outside of their sphere of influence.
- Instilling “Big Picture” thinking which in turn can help make a company more innovative.
- Fast-tracking efficiency issues and areas for improvement, and most importantly, new revenue possibilities.
So, what do you have to lose by not completely understanding your customers’ journeys?
… A lot.
