Whether you’re redesigning your website, creating a marketing campaign, or developing a new product, being able to understand how your customer thinks is key. It’s also easier said than done, which is why tools like digital customer journey mapping were created.
In this post, we’re going to cover the key steps to customer journey mapping so that you can better predict and understand your customers’ behaviours, preferences and needs.
6 simple steps to customer journey mapping
1. Identify and list all branded touch points
The first step in digital customer journey mapping is identifying all of your branded touch points. Touch points are any form of contact or engagement that a customer (or potential customer) has with your brand.
That could include:
- Your website
- Ads for your business, both digital and print
- Your physical store (if you have one) or seeing your product displayed at a retail store
- Social media
- Product packaging
- Staff interactions (customer support, retail staff, etc.)
All of the touch points that your brand has, that are identifiable as being your brand to the customer, need to be accounted for. This will give you an idea of your brand’s ecosystem and how a customer might interact with that ecosystem.
2. Choose a target customer persona
Next, you’re going to choose your target customer persona. This is key to taking your vague ideas about your touchpoint interactions and nailing them down into concrete concepts.
If you’re not sure which customer persona to choose, look at your marketing statistics surrounding demographics. Start with your most frequent, loyal customers. Maybe your brand is most successful with C-Suite business executives, or maybe it appeals to 20-year-old males.
Either way, uncover who this key customer demographic is and build a persona around them. And don’t worry — you can always repeat the process of customer journey mapping with another persona later on.
3. Empathise with your customers’ goals
After you’ve chosen a customer persona, the next step in the digital customer journey mapping process is to empathise with your customers’ goals. This is where you’re going to start getting into the mindset of your customer so that you can understand how and why they interact with your brand.
Go back to the touchpoints you listed in the first step. Then, try to figure out what is going through your target customer’s mind when they interact with that touchpoint.
Are they visiting your website because they saw an ad? Are they ready to buy? Or are they leaving a review? Did they get an email because they’re subscribed to your newsletter, and if so, how engaged are they with that newsletter? Why?
Go through each touchpoint and answer these questions.
4. Create a map for the customer’s interactions
Once you’ve come up with your ideas about how this target customer persona interacts with your various touchpoints, you will begin the mapping process.
Here, we’re going to figure out how they move from one touchpoint to the next. What is the flow, or the map, that guides them through your brand’s ecosystem? Don’t just write this down – create a diagram that helps you visualise the flow.
5. Decide on prioritisation for your touchpoints
Next, you need to prioritise your touchpoints. Which are the most critical touchpoints for your customers as well as for your brand? You can prioritise these interactions in a few ways, from how frequently a customer interacts with a touchpoint, to how influential that touchpoint is on your customer’s experience.
6. Update your digital customer journey map periodically
Last but not least, you should be updating your digital customer journey map every so often. This will ensure that it’s updated, relevant, and, more importantly, that you’re in touch with it.
Craft an effective customer journey with Thunk
Are you ready to take your digital customer journey map out of the drawing-room and into the real world? Thunk can help! Our experts can work with you to create digital products and experiences that will effectively shape and improve your customer journey. Reach out today to learn more.