Steps to Start Mapping the Customer's Journey
"80% of companies think they deliver a 'superior' customer experience. But only 8% of customers agree." This stark disconnect is why profoundly understanding the customer journey has become a critical imperative for businesses of all sizes.
In this newsletter, we'll walk you through a practical, step-by-step process for mapping the customer journey—from assembling the right team to generating actionable insights. By the end, you'll have a clear roadmap to kickstart your journey-mapping initiative and close that experience gap.
A Practical Guide to Mapping the Customer Journey
Step 1: Establish the "Why" and the "What"
The first step is to clarify the purpose and scope of your journey mapping project.
Ask yourself:
What are the specific business goals you're trying to achieve? (e.g. improving conversion rates, enhancing customer loyalty, etc.)
Whose journey are you mapping, and what experience or scenario are you focusing on?
Who will be the primary users of the journey map, and how will they leverage it?
Defining these parameters upfront is essential for keeping your mapping efforts focused and aligned with strategic priorities. It also helps you determine the right team to involve.
Step 2: Assemble Your Cross-Functional Team
Journey mapping is not a siloed exercise - it requires collaboration across the organization. Identify key stakeholders from departments like marketing, sales, product, service, and operations. Secure their buy-in and commitment to participate.
The goal is to build a diverse team that can provide a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the customer experience. Each member should contribute unique insights, data, and perspectives to inform the mapping process.
Step 3: Gather Existing Customer Insights
Before mapping from scratch, inventory customer data and research within your organization. Your inventory could include voice-of-customer feedback, customer satisfaction surveys, website analytics, and call center logs.
Compiling these disparate data sources gives you a strong foundation to build upon rather than starting with a blank slate. For example, one financial services firm we studied leveraged its existing customer support records to uncover significant pain points in the account opening experience.
Step 4: Conduct Additional Customer Research
With the internal data gathered, it's time to supplement that with new primary research. Your research could involve contextual customer interviews, ethnographic observation, or journey mapping workshops to co-create the experience with your target audience.
The key is to use qualitative and quantitative methods to develop a rich, multidimensional understanding of the customer's experience. As the former Executive Director of Academic and University Affairs at OCAD SU, I found that when we held town hall meetings and recorded students' direct opinions, we started to uncover the real, nuanced insights we needed.
Step 5: Map the End-to-End Journey
Now, it's time for you to synthesize all the insights you've gathered and start visualizing the customer journey.
Work collaboratively with your cross-functional team to:
Define the key stages, touchpoints, and channels that make up the end-to-end experience
Identify the specific actions, thoughts, and emotions customers have at each stage
Pinpoint areas of friction, delight, and opportunity along the journey
The goal is to create a comprehensive visual representation that brings the customer's experience to life.
Step 6: Uncover Insights and Opportunities
With the journey map in hand, it's time to dig into the insights. Analyze the data to identify patterns, pain points, and areas for improvement.
Consider questions like:
Where are the critical "moments of truth" that impact customer decisions?
What are the key disconnects between customer expectations and the experience?
Which touchpoints or stages have the most significant impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty?
These insights will form the foundation for your optimization efforts. For one leading financial services firm, this process revealed significant friction points in their online account opening flow - leading to a 27% boost in conversion rates after UX improvements.
Step 7: Socialize and Activate the Journey Map
The final step is to share your journey mapping findings and get buy-in for action. Present the map to cross-functional stakeholders, facilitate working sessions to ideate solutions, and empower team members to own and execute initiatives.
Remember, journey mapping is an ongoing process, not a one-time exercise. Continuously gather feedback, test new ideas, and refine the map to meet evolving customer needs. As I noted from my experience at OCAD SU, customer needs and expectations constantly evolve, so we must update journey maps to stay relevant.
Ready to Transform Your Customer Experience
By following this practical, step-by-step approach, you'll be well on your way to uncovering a treasure trove of insights that can transform your customer experience. But don't take our word for it - the numbers speak for themselves.
According to research by Bain & Company, companies that excel at cross-functional customer experience see 5.7 times more revenue growth than their competitors. The reason? They've made journey optimization a strategic priority, harnessing the collective brainpower of their entire organization.
So what are you waiting for?
It's time to start mapping your customer's journey.
Click here to book a demo and learn how we can support your journey mapping initiative every step of the way.