Getting into the minds of your customers isnโt easy, but itโs crucial to the success of your business. Have you ever heard of a customer journey map? If not, itโs time to get familiar. If you have heard of it and youโre reading this, Iโm guessing youโre looking for tips on how to take any hurdles out of that journey. Either way, youโve come to the right place. First things first, letโs delve into what a customer journey map really isโฆ
What is a Customer Journey Map?
A customer journey map is a tool that allows you to visualise the experience of interacting with your brand, from your customers point of view. Without this map, you wonโt truly understand how customers actually experience your brand. You might have an idea of what their journey looks like, but without the map, itโs almost impossible to know exactly what happens along the way. If you can better understand your customers, youโll know how to cater to their wants and needs or improve the experience.ย
What Are The Benefits?ย
Understanding your customerโs journey will only strengthen your brand, here is why:
- Give Better Experiences – As you get familiar with your customerโs journey, youโll soon realise whatโs working and whatโs not. With this inside knowledge, you can tailor your experience so that it better meets your customerโs expectations and gives them the customer journey that they truly desire. This will result in faster sales cycles, and more satisfied, loyal customers who make follow-on purchases.
- Meet Customer Goals – Itโs important to remember that if your customers succeed, so do you. Your customer journey map will present you with the opportunity to adjust and enhance any key touchpoints that enable a more efficient and effective journey. As a result, your customers will be better able to achieve their goals with your brand.
- Give Your Company Clarity – If you donโt understand your customer journey, do you really know your customers? How can you even be sure youโre targeting the right people? Nowadays, personalisation is unmatched when it comes to impressing your customers. A superficial understanding of your customers will no longer suffice. A customer journey map will give you an invaluable and essential view of your potential/existing customers and equips everyone in your company to better engage with them.
- Set Yourself Up For Better Results – If you understand your customers and know exactly what to give them on their journey, thereโs less chance that theyโll have a negative experience with your brand. Therefore, youโre likely to see an increase in customer satisfaction and better results for your brand.
Creating Your Journey Mapย
Weโve explored the benefits of a customer journey map, but how do you actually go about creating one? Here are a few tips for getting startedโฆ
- Research Is Key – The one thing to remember is, you can never do enough research into your customer. To conduct your research, you need to actually talk to your customers. Itโs useful to โinterviewโ a mixture of prospects and customers, but only if they fit your ideal customer profile, otherwise their input could put your journey on the wrong track.
- Be Your Own Customer – You need to walk a mile in your customerโs shoes and capture the journey through their own eyes. Itโs crucial that you gain an understanding of the WHOLE journey and identify any make or break moments that influence the decision of your customer. A customer journey map gives you the ability to see what leads to a sale and what leads them off the path. This information is invaluable.
- People Arenโt Projects – Whilst creating your customer journey map, itโs crucial to remember that your customers are people, not projects. Just like you, they experience emotions that could influence their buying habits and decisions. In order to create an accurate picture of their experience, how could they be feeling whilst taking this journey? Ask yourself, what emotions could crop up for you?
Now that youโve got a better understanding of what a customer journey map is, itโs time for you to get a better understanding of your customer. Remember, this map is invaluable to the success of your business and sales. Itโs not going to be an overnight process, but the results will be worth it. The chances are, your map will have to adapt as buyer behaviours change and technology advances. But, once you know your customer, youโll know how to keep up. Good luck!