Keys to creating an effective Customer Journey

The Customer Journey Map concept is becoming increasingly popular. This tool allows you to improve the customer experience during the purchase process. And real data is used to generate it. Its importance is increasing and it is a great help to improve conversions.

What is the Customer Journey Map

The customer experience map shows, in a visual way, the steps taken by the same customer from his first contact with the company to the achievement of his goal. By creating this type of graphics, information of great value to the company can be obtained. From recognizing critical points to better understanding your needs.

To generate this type of data we start with certain key events to which information is added from the moment before and after. To achieve this data, the best option is to go to the source, the client himself.

The complexity of today’s market means that the journey of customers from start to end is not linear. It mixes multichannel experiences, outputs, inputs and much more. Representing it in an infographic can be complex, what matters is that those of us who must interpret it understand it.

Benefits it brings to the company

Carrying out this process is laborious and sometimes we may think that the effort is not worth it. But nothing could be further from the truth. Having this information is of great value to the company:

• Develop inbound marketing: Thanks to the data obtained we can improve the sales process. We will identify what is useful and annoying for customers, enhancing the former and improving the latter.
• Knowledge of the target customers: It allows us to better define our target audience. This will help focus our campaigns on a smaller segment making them more effective.
• Dealing with the client: Knowing their path implies a better understanding of their needs. Thanks to this we will be able to anticipate and generate a more effective customer service with fewer errors.
• Loyalty: Improving the negative aspects that a customer detects in the purchase process allows them to be retained more easily. It is crucial to keep in mind that it is more profitable to retain a customer than to attract a new one.

Steps to create it

To implement our route map

it is important to follow a process. Setting a series of steps will make it easier for us to elaborate and interpret it.

Know the customer

It is the first step to start the process on the right foot. It is essential to make a profile of the potential client in order to understand it better. To obtain the information the best solution is to resort to surveys. This research process is essential and we must direct it towards old and potential customers.

Some questions that cannot be missed are:

• How did you hear about our company?
• What do you look for in our company?
• What do you find attractive about our website?
• How would you rate the usability of our website?
• Do you visit us frequently?

This questionnaire should be extended and customized according to the activity of the company. In addition, it should include questions about sociodemographic data. Of course, it is key that it is not excessively long for the respondent to finish it.

Define the customer

With all this data in hand it is time to make a profile of our buyer person. It must specify the data of a fictitious client that is perfect for our company.

The more precision we have in this part of the process, the more useful the data obtained will be. It is important to create a profile specific enough, but at the same time broad so as not to limit it to a very small percentage of our clients.

Points of contact

These are the places where the customer interacts with the brand. They are not restricted to the website alone, they also include ads, social media, reviews and much more. With the data collected we will analyze if there is any type of overlap or if we detect any white space.

The interactions we have with the customer help guide them from point A to B and it is imperative to find a balance. Choosing those that are most repeated we can detect actions or emotions associated with them. At this point we will find elements that the client detects as obstacles and others that generate a positive feeling and make him move forward.

Define the map

It is time to establish the different points of the trip that will appear on the map. To the route you must add the points and elements that we have detected as keys. This allows us to define one of these four models:

• Current status: These refer to customers who are currently interacting with the company.
• Daily life: Analyzes daily activities whether or not they have to do with the company, it is ideal to detect needs.
• Future vision: Interprets the actions that customers will take in the future to help us better define the objective.
• Service plan: Based on one of the above we will add external factors that affect the customer journey.

Interpret and improve

Once we know the path that our ideal clients follow, it is essential to do it to understand it better. From that point our marketing team must analyze and understand the process to improve it. It is essential to improve it to prevent the client from leaving it and reaching the goal we have set in our company. We must make decisions that help the company grow.

Customer Journey Map Examples

There are as many different maps as there are companies, there is no type model. The format of this data must be adapted to them, to the company and to those who will use it. The main component must be visual.

To achieve this, line graphs are usually used in which actions are annotated. Another option is to resort to arrow schemes that show the path and cycles it undergoes. There is no perfect method, we must find our own.

A Customer Journey Map is an essential tool. It allows to know the behavior and journey that a client makes since he knows us until our objective. Thanks to the data we can improve to avoid the loss of consumers along the way.