Unpacking the Customer Journey Map: Why It Matters

It’s been reported that in the US, 49 percent of consumers left a brand during 2022 as the result of a poor customer experience. At the same time, 86 percent of buyers shared that they would pay more if it meant they got a better customer experience (CX).

Even in light of this, a recent study showed that 30% of businesses said it took over 4 separate contacts to resolve a problem with their financial institution. But how can we make the customer experience better? How do we really know what customers go through when interacting with our company?

Enter customer journey mapping. Poor customer experiences are never intentional, but when they happen, it’s often because there are large gaps in the customer journey, communication isn’t as strong as it could be, and handoffs from one team to another are inefficient.

Journey mapping looks at these touchpoints from beginning to end to identify critical aspects of the customer experience, pinpoint areas of risk, and come up with solutions to make the experience better. Here’s what customer journey mapping is, the benefits of the customer journey map, and what it can do for your organization.

What Is Customer Journey Mapping?

According to customer journey mapping expert Tim Attinger with OvationCXM, “the customer journey map is the lifecycle of that customer’s experience with your company from their first interaction.” Ideally, it’s a journey that never ends. It answers questions like:

Who is the customer?
Who are they working with?
What team is in place at each step?
What communication channel are they working through?
What are the customer journey map touchpoints and the tasks within?

Much of the creation of a customer journey map means asking questions regarding what it’s like to experience your organization as a customer or client. What does it mean for customers to start in a particular place and bounce from silo to silo? How satisfying is that process for the customer? Does it feel disjointed? Are customers unsure of where they are in their journey?

Customer journey mapping is about shifting to an external focus to discover what it’s like for the customer. Mapping a customer journey can improve the overall CX, improve conversion rates, and boost customer retention if you take action on what you’ve learned.

Customer journey mapping involves looking at all the ways a client interacts with an enterprise on a macro- and micro-level;

Stages
Interactions
Events
Tasks

If you look at only one of these elements, you can lose the big picture along the way. Customer journey mapping looks at the entire journey, not just a snapshot of one moment, to give you a true picture of customer interactions to optimize them across the whole experience.

As customers traverse through their journey, you want your process to work as a whole to prevent each stage, interaction, event, and/or task from feeling disjointed. Customer journey mapping and horizontal visibility keep everyone on the same page.

What Does a Customer Journey Map Look Like?

The customer journey map can be broken down into three product functions or solution sets; 3 different phases of the customer journey:

Discovery and Sales Process

This is when the customer discovers that your brand exists. They learn about your product or service, and through working with your sales team, they decide they are ready to invest in your solution.

Boarding and Activation (The “Go-Live” Process)

This step is a bit more complex than the phases that come before and after it. This phase is when your team is getting your client set up and trained to use the solution they purchased and ensure they’re thrilled with it. It’s about delivering the business outcomes that were promised during the sales process.

Servicing

Journeys can vary widely after the Go-Live phase. Customers mostly interact with your organization when they need help; when the solution isn’t working the way they would like, or when there may be an issue with the solution.

The phase that can be the most valuable to address first when it comes to the customer journey map is the middle, Go-Live phase. The issue that often happens during this stage is the complexity of the numerous people, teams, and systems involved. The Go-Live process can lead to frustration and potential abandonment by the customer, hence the importance of customer journey mapping.

The Benefits of Customer Journey Mapping

The top benefit of customer journey mapping is it provides clarity for customers on where they are in the implementation process, giving them peace of mind.

Mapping the customer journey can also accelerate time-to-revenue and time-to-value for the customer, creating happier customers who are more likely to become your brand promoters.

Other reasons that customer journey mapping is so important:

Better empathize with customers.
Pinpoint gaps in service and communications.
Predict customer behavior.
Serve as a visual aid for key stakeholders.
Foster cooperation between departments toward shared goals.

Addressing the Customer Journey

Understanding customer touchpoints and frustrations allows for targeted improvements in the journey. By asking more specific questions regarding customers' experiences, you can identify and correct issues along the customer journey.

For instance, if a customer was sold an inappropriate product or service, insights from the mapping process can guide adjustments in the sales process or Go-Live phase. Your customer journey map provides a clear overview, helping to understand and resolve complications.

Engage experienced team leaders and tenured employees to pinpoint recurring pain points and frustrations.

Your All-In-One Customer Journey Mapping Resource

At OvationCXM, our mission centers around the customer experience and leveraging customer journey mapping to refine it. Our CX management (CXM) technology platform, CXMEngine, facilitates journey mapping and automations to guide progress in real time.