Set the foundations for a productive Customer Journey Map
The ultimate guide to Customer Journey Mapping – Part 1 of 5:
Customer Journey Maps are essential for any business that’s serious about developing rewarding customer experiences. But they require careful planning or you risk wasting time and money. Our series of five step-by-step articles will guide you through the opportunities and obstacles.
By Amanda Salter
Ready to take your customer experience to the next level? Great! But before you jump in at the deep end, you need to do the groundwork. Here’s how to build for success:
1. Scrutinise your current state
Before you implement the new, you need to understand the old. Your vision may be to create a seamless journey across all touchpoints but if, like a lot of organisations, your business operates in individual silos, this needs to be addressed. So before you do anything else, you must establish how far you are from the ideal. Only then can you start prioritising ways to achieve your goals.
2. Do your research
Knowledge is power so read as much as you can on Customer Journey Mapping so you know what to expect. Every organisation will need a different map tailored to the specific dimensions of their business and customer segments and behaviours. One size does NOT fit all.
Bruce Temkin’s blog is a great place to start gathering contextual and practical insights.
3. Clearly define your goals
What are you trying to get out of your Customer Journey Map? Do you want to get buy-in for a vision, improve loyalty, increase employee engagement, fix the basics, identify pain points or innovate new services? Your goals will impact the way you map your customer journeys and help you establish the most effective deliverables.
4. Look at the bigger picture
If you’re focusing on one area of the business, e.g. digital, always be aware of your wider multichannel environment. From a consumer’s perspective all your touchpoints are connected and customers will often jump between journeys, for example from your website to social media. By considering the ‘next biggest context’ you can make sure your map caters for connected touchpoints, helping you to create seamless and enjoyable experiences.
5. Carefully consider your scope
To be as productive as possible, you need to prioritise.
Other articles in the series:
Part 2 – Define the scope of your customer journey map
Part 3 – Choosing the right level of granularity for your customer journey map
Part 4 – Shape your customer journey map for today and tomorrow
Part 5 – What to do after your customer journey map
Recent Articles
Top five things to do after Customer Experience Benchmarking
Benchmark your way to Customer Experience success in three steps
Be Inspired
Subscribe to our Newletter for a monthly round up of news and views on Service Design. Plus get our exclusive white paper on Customer Value Models for Retail.
Got a project in mind?
Get in touch and tell us what you’re thinking.
