Mapping the Customer Journey

The best way to discover the customer journey or "touchpoints' is thinking about the entire
purchasing process through the lens of a new customer, someone who has never experienced
your brand before.
Note: This can be difficult to do, seeing as you are an expert in your business/industry.
So, if you're struggling, ask a friend or peer who is not as familiar with your brand
to provide some clarity on their thought processes.
Steps to Create a Customer Journey Map 1.
Create specific objectives for the map.
What goals are you directing this map, and consequently your desired customers, towards?
What experience is this based upon?
Flush out your Customer Personas and SMART goals.
As we recommend with any strategy, you must create detailed buyer personas and conduct
discovery research.
What you think may be wildly different from the actual experience customers get, so, if
possible, directly ask your customers what their experience is like with your company.
Ask questions such as: • How did you hear about us?
• What stood out to you about our company?
• What made you decide to purchase with us?
• Did you ever require customer support?
• Is there anything we can do to further support you to make your experience more seamless?
Pick your Niche (Target Audience).
Once you've outlined your different personas, narrow your focus to one or two of them.
Remember, your map tracks the experience of one customer who's taking a very particular
journey with your company.
List out all possible touchpoints.
Touchpoints are all the possible places that your customers can interact with you, this
could be your website, your social media, ads, brick and mortar, sales team, client
service etc..
This is a crucial step in creating your journey map as it provides you with insight into what
actions your customers are performing and what objectives they may be encountering.
Conduct a Resource/Content Audit At each touchpoint, you'll need tailored content
to help nurture the desired outcome of your journey map.
It's important to take stock of what resources and content you already have and what you'll
need to overcome any barriers and create the optimal customer experience.
That means taking an audit of all your content; blog articles, social media, sales enablement
pieces, website, client service scripts, emails, chatbot flows.
Final Review and Launch.
Once you have your map completed, make sure you do a final walkthrough and take the customer
journey yourself.
If everything checks out, you're good to launch, and most importantly, track and analyze your
results.
If your customers' needs aren't being met, the results will quickly show.
This is not a set it and forget type of project, it will require regular review and updating
as you learn more about your clients and move into more niches.
Going through these steps will help you design a more efficient lead nurturing process and
a better overall experience for your customers.