A journey of a thousand miles is said to begin with a single step. The same principle can be used to describe a customer’s journey. Your customers experience several moments of truth, from the initial contact to the purchase and beyond, for which they can provide feedback.

This is a little window of opportunity to guide your customers down a successful path where you create experiences that leave them delighted. You will need a greater understanding of their needs, motives, and behavior at each stage to create powerful experiences.

According to research, “86% of customers say that they are ready to pay more if it means getting a better customer experience”.

Customer Journey Map

A customer journey map is a diagram that depicts the steps a customer or prospect takes to achieve a goal with your company. The aim could be anything from making a purchase to signing up for a newsletter to joining a loyalty club. You will have a better grasp of what will encourage your consumers to attain these objectives with the help of a customer journey map.

The current customer journey, which appears complex and arbitrary, may unravel wonderfully if you put customer data at the center of marketing and manage it in real-time. While the overarching goal of customer experience is to improve customer understanding and service.

Below are the four variables to measure while optimizing the customer journey:-

1. Inspect: Examine what the consumer is doing at each level and what steps are being taken to move to the next stage.

2. Motivations: Understand why the consumer is compelled to go to the next level and what feelings they are experiencing as a result of the product.

3. Questions: Look into the ambiguities, jargon, or other obstacles that are keeping the consumer from progressing to the next stage.

4. Hurdles: Examine the process, cost, implementation, and other roadblocks that prevent you from progressing to the next stage.

For example, suppose you have an eCommerce site where you have a customer named Brittany who has purchased twice from you. You see from her visitor data that she had one unresolved customer service conversation with an agent, and it was only after that interaction that she stopped purchasing from your site. What exactly does this imply? It was most likely a negative customer service experience, but you won’t know for sure until you interact with the consumer again and gather her feedback.

In Brittany's example, you understand that she adores your collection, which is why she is a loyal customer, her motivations are understandable. However, there was little information on the questions and difficulties she experienced, preventing her from escalating and resolving the issue in real-time.

Scenarios like this occur frequently, resulting in the loss of recurring consumers. You can assess what is working and what is not from the customer’s perspective by mapping out consumer expectations and hurdles at each stage.

After you have decided which consumer type to map, you will need to figure out what their end aim is. Although this may appear to be a simple task, it is critical to take the time to analyze the details, especially if your company serves a variety of customers.

Steps To Create A Successful Customer Journey Map

• Create a map with clear objectives.
• Identify your personalities and their objectives.
• Your target consumer personas should be highlighted.
• Create a list of all of the touchpoints.
• Determine whatever components you wish to display on your map.
• Define the resources you have and which you will require.
• Take a look at the customer's trip for yourself.
• Make the necessary adjustments.

Make A Map of Reality, not your Perception of it

This is the point at which your customer journey map transforms into a tool. Examine each stage of the customer journey map to see how far clients have progressed toward their goals.

Customers are falling through the cracks on your map, and quantitative data can show you where they are, and qualitative data can tell you why.

Only by directly asking customers what they need and expect at each stage of your company’s customer journey can discover customers’ needs and expectations. With customer feedback, you will have a clear picture of your customer’s experience at each stage and you can learn what you need to improve that experience.

You can improve the customer’s journey and systematically fix any holes in your map by carefully soliciting customer input. You may automate survey dissemination with DropThought to collect ongoing responses in real-time.

For improved response rates, collect feedback through channels you already use with your customers or integrate it directly into emails and web pages. Measure the customer experience across the customer journey map and receive important, actionable insights quickly.

DropThought assists you with focusing on experience measurement, particularly the necessity of excellent listening. Adapting to this ‘new normal’ begins with the implementation of a feedback management system. We are committed to your success from beginning to end. Speak to a Dropthought Experience Consultant if you have any additional questions!