The Customer Journey Mapping Series:
1. Stop losing customers to bad exeriences
2. How to create a customer journey map – You are here
3. The business case for creating customer journey maps
This is part two of our three-part series diving into the world of customer journey mapping and its crucial role in delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX). In a fast-paced business environment, it’s easy to overlook small but significant issues that can lead to losing customers. By understanding the customer journey, you can prevent these unnoticed pain points. This series explores what a customer journey map is, how to create one, and why it’s essential.
This article will cover:
- Preparation
- The mapping process
- Tools and techniques
- Validation and refinement of your journey map
Steps to create a customer journey map
Creating an effective customer journey map starts with solid preparation and a clear strategy.
1. Prepare
- Set clear objectives and goals
Begin by establishing the purpose of the mapping exercise. Are you documenting the current state of your customer experience? Identifying pain points? Enhancing a specific area of the journey? Define what success looks like for your map. - Personas/customers
Clearly define who your customer is, whether by demographics, behaviors, or specific needs. A deep understanding of your personas will guide the mapping process. - Define the stages/timeline
Break down the customer journey into distinct stages, such as awareness, consideration, decision, retention, and loyalty. You can also tailor the timeline to a specific time frame, buying season, or task, like purchasing a product or signing up for a service. - Gather data, insights, and emotions
Collect valuable insights through customer feedback, interviews, surveys (e.g., NPS or customer effort scores), and analytics. This data will form the backbone of your journey map and help identify emotional highs and lows.
2. The journey mapping process
- Assemble your internal team
Bring together a cross-functional team from departments like marketing, sales, customer service, and more. A variety of perspectives is essential for creating a well-rounded map. - Identify touchpoints/steps
With your team and a moderator, identify the key touchpoints where customers interact with your company at each stage. This is crucial to understanding how customers engage with your brand. - Visualize the journey
Create a visual representation of the customer journey, pinpointing key touchpoints, emotions, pain points, and goals. A clear visual map is essential for aligning stakeholders and helping everyone see the experience from the customer’s perspective.
- Analyze for improvements
Leverage your journey map to pinpoint areas where improvements can be made and develop actionable strategies to enhance the customer experience. Remember, the journey map should be a living document within your organization—a dynamic view of the customer that evolves alongside their needs and your business. Continuously revisit and refine it to stay aligned with your customers’ expectations.
3. Tools and techniques
Numerous tools and techniques are available to facilitate customer journey mapping.
- In-person journey mapping
If possible, conducting journey mapping in person with key stakeholders is ideal. There’s a unique energy and creativity that emerges when everyone is together in the same room. Plan for a two- to four-hour session, depending on the complexity of the journey you’re mapping. Essential tools include a large wall for documenting the journey, colored sticky notes, masking tape, markers, a skilled moderator, and key team members. This collaborative setting fosters dynamic ideation and problem-solving. - Remote journey mapping
Journey mapping can easily be done remotely, though it requires a bit more coordination and engagement from participants. Plan for a shorter session—around two hours—due to the reduced attention span of virtual meetings. Ensure teams are on-camera and actively participating. Tools like Miro, Smaply, UXPressia, and Lucidchart offer templates and features specifically designed for journey mapping. For more complex maps, consider a customized approach using tools like Illustrator or Figma to meet your specific needs. - Validating and refining the map
Once you’ve completed your initial journey map, it’s essential to validate it with real customer feedback and insights. While a “current state” unvalidated map is still useful for aligning internal teams and ensuring they view the customer experience through the eyes of the customer, validation makes the map far more accurate and impactful. Real feedback helps identify true pain points and key moments that matter most to your customers, offering a more precise roadmap for improvements. - Ways to get customer feedback
Gather customer insights through qualitative research, such as interviews and focus groups, to better understand their experiences. You can also leverage existing data sources like NPS scores, customer satisfaction surveys (CSAT), customer effort scores (CES), call logs, website analytics, and social media feedback. This feedback not only verifies the accuracy of your map but can also uncover hidden touchpoints or pain points you may have missed. Be sure to gather insights from a diverse group to ensure a well-rounded view. Based on what you learn, iterate and refine the map to accurately reflect the customer journey. - Keep your maps alive
Journey maps shouldn’t be static. To get the most value, treat them as living tools that evolve with your business. Update them regularly as you make changes or implement improvements. Monthly or quarterly updates usually suffice, depending on what you’re measuring and adjusting. Keep the journey map at the center of stakeholder discussions to reinforce a customer-centric approach across all teams.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Creating a customer journey map is a detailed process that demands thoughtful preparation, the right tools, and ongoing refinement. By following these steps, you can create a map that offers powerful insights into your customers’ experiences. Implementing journey mapping within your business gives you a complete understanding of your customers, allowing you to craft more personalized, effective interactions that drive loyalty and fuel business growth. Many organizations unknowingly operate in silos, lacking a customer-centric focus. While this might go unnoticed internally, it’s often very clear to your customers. Journey mapping helps break down these barriers, aligning your teams around the customer’s experience.
Interested in learning more about how customer journey mapping can help your business? Give us a call or connect with me on LinkedIn.
The Customer Journey Mapping Series:
1. Stop losing customers to bad experiences
2. How to create a customer journey map – You are here
3. The business case for creating customer journey maps
