“ You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, not the other way around” – Steve Jobs
Why do you do what you do? You’re passionate about your business because you get to help people and provide them with your amazing product or service. There is a way businesses are using to become more in tune with their customers- a Customer Journey Map. You need to understand what makes your customers tick and what makes them click and using a Customer Journey map is the way to do just that.
What Is a Customer Journey Map?
A Customer Journey map is a visual storyline of every connection and engagement your customer has with your service, product, or brand. Every engagement is written out and organized so businesses can see and understand what their customer is going through as they learn about your product or service to the customer support they receive after buying and receiving your product. Every touch point between your brand and your customer is listed and mapped out in an organized fashion.
Why Do You Need To Map the Customer Journey?
More than 80% of customers consider their experience with a company to be as important as the product or service itself. You need to make sure your customer journey is smooth, and cohesive across all channels, and if a problem does arise, it needs to be properly addressed. Creating a Customer Journey map will help you gain insight into your customer’s pain points, so you can better address or avoid them. You can evolve to suit more of your customer’s needs when you understand what is going on in their minds. If you are wanting your business to grow, a Customer Journey Map is a way to help you not just grow, but flourish.
How to Map Your Customers Journey
The first step to mapping out the customer journey is to figure out exactly who your customer is. You can do this by analyzing the demographics of your average or your ideal customer. Get as specific as you can. You need to put yourself in this person’s shoes and imagine what they are feeling as they move through their journey with your product or service. You can make this avatar in a number of ways. You can go with your most common demographic, the demographic that typically spends the most money on your products, or even a repeat customer, who is buying your product again They will likely each have a different journey, and you want to be able to understand all of their pain points, challenges, and emotions unique to each customer.
Once you know the shoes you are stepping into you can begin to map out every touchpoint this person has with your brand. Think about where this person found your product or service, and how they became interested in it. From the moment they saw your ad on social media to when they clicked the “Buy now” button, every time they engaged with your brand you need to make note of that engagement. This mapping will allow you to see any gaps or challenges there may be along this journey. As you map each touchpoint, think of how the customer is feeling as they move through their process. For example, in the beginning, as they are first seeing your product they feel excited and curious. The next time they compare your product to a competitor they are feeling inquisitive and maybe confused. Try to figure out their range of emotions
From here you can establish some business goals. Where are any gaps in the buying process? Where might frustration, confusion, or doubt creep in? Find those spots and figure out how you would address those points- both as a business and as a customer. Doing this can help you understand the customers who chose a competitor’s product over yours, or find where your customers can get frustrated and you can face those challenges and address them. Facing those issues as a business owner can help to streamline your customer’s process. You can create business goals to tackle these challenges.
It’s a good idea to have your Customer Journey Map on a large screen or board, where it’s clear to read and follow. Have all of your employees make a map and try to make a cohesive company-wide map, so everyone is on the same page. Your map will not be perfectly linear, it will likely have ups and downs and read more like a chart than an actual map. But when it’s followed it not only tells you where your business is, in relation to your customer’s needs, but it also is a guide to where you want to go with your business goals clearly stated.
Mapping your customer’s journey and looking at your business through their lens can be an eye-opening experience. Your business will continue to do what it does best- help people with a specific need or problem- and it will do more. You can change and innovate to better serve those that keep your business running.
Here at The Creative Agency, we would love to help you and your business with all parts of your customer’s journey. When you map everything out and find the gaps, holes, and challenges your business faces, you can address them head-on. By putting yourself in your customer’s shoes you can understand why they do what they do, and how to make them happy, satisfied customers who want to use your services again and again. Call us today and let’s talk about how you serve your customers now and in the future.
