How to Produce An Effective Customer Journey Map

In 2022, 70% of online shoppers abandoned their shopping baskets, according to one source. The question that marketers are asking is how are people spending so much time browsing a site to choose things they want just to fail to follow through with their purchases? One of the ways in which you can identify the problem is through a customer journey map. But what are they, why are they important and how can you make one yourself? Let’s take a closer look:

What is a customer journey map?

A customer journey map is a visualisation of how your customers are shopping on your website, from start to finish. It helps you to further understand the customer experience, subsequently highlighting where your successes lie and where you’re failing to make an impression that is great enough to convert a lead into a sale. 

Creating a customer journey map is a simple and easy thing to do in the world of marketing. However, if you’re not in the industry, it can be difficult to get a grasp on it. But don’t worry because we’ll be on hand to tell you everything you need to know about a customer journey map. 

Why is a customer journey map so important?

You might be wondering what the point is of making a customer journey map? But they’re actually far more valuable by way of a marketing tool than you might have otherwise thought. From creating content to turning as many leads into sales as possible, here are several reasons as to why it’s important to make a customer journey map:

• It gives you targeted customer insights
• It increases customer engagement
• It results in higher customer retention
• It optimises touchpoints
• It improves customer focus
• It allows for more business
• It results in fewer business silos
• It helps you to refocus your company with an inbound perspective

How to create a customer journey map

A customer journey map is simply enough to create, even if you’ve never made one before. All of the steps are quick, simple and easy to complete and they can be broken down into four key steps and they are as follows:

Set some goals

Before you start to think about customer journey maps, you need to set out some solid goals. You can do this by taking a few things into consideration. The first is what do you want to achieve from creating a customer journey map? Secondly, which customers are you going to be targeting? Lastly, which types of experiences are you wanting your map to look more closely at? You need to make sure that your goals, and the answers to the aforementioned questions, best reflect your overall company goal. 

Define your personas

Personas are crucial when it comes to mapping out a customer journey. If you’re not sure how to create your personas, or to learn more about them, then take a look at one of our latest articles: ‘How to Adapt Your Personas for Different Channels’. It involves looking more closely at different insights that you’ll need for a customer journey map. Those insights include things like:

• Surveys
• Interviews
• Testimonials
• Reviews
• Feedback from customer relations

Determine your touchpoints

Firstly, a touchpoint is any form of engagement that occurs between your brand and your customers. They’re the starting point for mapping out any customer journey. When it comes to identifying your touchpoints, think about all of the places where a customer might interact with your brand, whether it be through your website or social media channels. 

Make sure to factor in indirect engagement also, such as reviews that are left about your business on Google. Every touchpoint along the way has the potential to influence a customer conversion, so you need to think about every possibility to get accurate touchpoints and to see where leads convert into sales, or where you’re failing to achieve that. 

Map both the current & ideal buyer journey

Now that you have an idea of what your touchpoints are, you can start mapping out what the current custom journey is together with what you’re aspiring for it to be like. Essentially, you’re mapping the steps that your customers will take that takes them on a journey to making a purchase. Make sure to include every variation of the journey, such as:

• Multiple product and services options and versions
• Small-volume purchases
• Large-volume purchases
• Different types of sales channels

Now that you know what the current buyer journey is, that’s tailored to the inner workings of your business and what you’re selling, you can start to map out the most ideal buyer journey that gives you the best possible results. The journey you want them to take will almost always be different from the journey they’re actually taking, especially if you’ve released a new product or service recently. When mapping out an idea customer journey, represent the ideal buyer journey alongside the actual buyer journey to see where the similarities and the differences lie. 

Kumo is proud to have a dedicated team of marketers on hand who are able to carry out extensive SEO, PPC, content writing and website design services, to name just a few on offer here at Kumo. We have the skills and expertise needed to catapult your business into the spotlight. With over two decades of experience in the field, you’ll always be able to count on our expert team. For further information about how we can help you today, get in touch with a member of our professional, friendly team – we’re always pleased to hear from you.