Customer journey maps empower businesses to make informed plans based on customer experiences. They help stakeholders gain a deep understanding of buyer behaviors and thoughts, helping you create actionable target and drive more sales.
The technique is becoming increasingly popular across a range of industries. Because it involves visualizing your business from your customers’ points of view across multiple areas, it helps to bring the different departments closer together rather than staying in silos.
Looking at an organization from a customer’s perspective often has surprising results. You can ask yourself important questions like:
- How easy is it to find us online?
- Is it clear where to go if there is a problem or complaint?
- Are our staff friendly and helpful?
- Do our customers behave in the way we expect?
- Is it clear that we really value our customers?
- Are we missing any opportunities?
Analyzing all the different times a customer comes into contact with your business (touchpoints) allows you to identify areas where you shine, and think more about those you can improve on.
Journey mapping serves a lot of important functions. Of course it’s ultimately there to ensure that your customers receive the best possible service, but it will also help you to:
- Involve employees across the entire organization in business planning, leading to a more engaged, valued and ultimately more productive workforce
- Support senior managers in driving improvement and motivating teams
- Understand the “why” behind customer behaviors
- Create a holistic understanding of the overall customer journey
- Develop change management and governance tools
- Create targeted marketing campaigns
- Drive innovation
You can create detailed reports and multi layered graphs which will appeal to different personnel and stakeholders. A good customer journey map is a living document that tells a story and outlines the things that motivate and frustrate buyers, enabling you to create connected, personalized experiences. It’s also a great opportunity to identify disjointed elements which can inhibit customer satisfaction levels and impact on retention.
In a world where likes and shares are key to brand building, it’s easy to forget the people behind them. Personalizing experiences and really getting to the bottom of what makes your customers tick shows them you see them as more than just a number. Taking the time to ask the right questions and put yourself in your customers’ shoes will always put you in better stead than someone who is only interested in taking their money.
There’s no one size fits all way to create the perfect customer journey map, just as no two businesses are exactly the same. What is always the same is the need to get the customer experience spot on, so it leads to increased sales and long term loyalty. You might have the best products and services in the world, but unless you have a deep understanding of what your customers need that can never be enough.
To find out more about customer journey mapping and keeping your buyers happy, contact Ethos.
