The customer journey map is a critical component of the success of a brand and retailer, as it offers a visual narrative of the manner in which consumers interact with the brand, services, and products.
Given the numerous modifications that occur within a retail strategy, it is imperative that this document be maintained as a living document. The customer journey map should offer a comprehensive perspective from the consumer’s perspective and function as a valuable aid for predicting consumer behavior, anticipating the customer’s requirements, and understanding the consumer.
The experience at each customer contact point should be improved by a profound comprehension of the customer experience.
In a blog post, Simon Fraser emphasized the importance of brands comprehending the shopping habits of their consumers, their preferences, and, most importantly, how to identify the elements of success.
Although the creation of a consumer journey map may appear to be a straightforward task, experts emphasize that there are numerous dos and don’ts and a significant amount of research required.
RetailCustomerExperience.com conducted email interviews with two distinguished experts to solicit their insights, guidance, and expertise regarding the creation of a customer journey map.
Eric Karofsky is the CEO and founder of VectorHX, a human experience agency that aligns the business strategy of its clients with the experiences of their customers, users, and employees.
Jon Picoult is the founder and principal of Watermark Consulting, a customer experience advisory firm.
Q. What is the most significant obstacle to constructing a consumer journey map, and what is the most effective method for surmounting it?
Karofsky: It is imperative to comprehend the entire consumer experience. It is a difficult and ongoing challenge for brands to accurately capture the consumer perspective across all contact points while maintaining actionable insights for the business. In the intricate retail environment where physical and digital interactions intersect, it is imperative that brands capture all consumer sentiments, expectations, and behaviors.
Those who concentrate on customer journeys typically resolve 80% of common CX challenges and approach them holistically, rather than contemplating specific personas. It is imperative to analyze high-value personas and their critical requirements, which may truly be included in the remaining 20% of CX challenges. The journey map must be indicative of this methodology and facilitate tangible enhancements, particularly for these high-value personas.
Picoult: The most significant obstacle is guaranteeing that the map accurately represents the customer’s perspective, rather than the company’s perspective on the experience. That is a challenge because, in all honesty, it is much simpler to simply gather a group of employees and have them create a journey map. Incorporating the customer’s perspective into the map necessitates a significant investment of time and effort, whether through surveys, interviews, or the inclusion of selected customers in the mapping process.
However, it is imperative to take that additional step, as failing to do so will result in the journey mapping task being reduced to a mere navel-gazing exercise, where internal personnel engage in discussions and debates regarding the highs and lows of the customer experience, without considering the customer’s actual voice. A journey map that is constructed in this manner will inevitably be disconnected from the true nuances of the consumer experience and will be prone to blind spots.
Q. What advice or suggestions would you offer to a retailer who is just beginning to create a consumer journey map?
Picoult: Initially, refrain from creating the map in a vacuum. It must be informed by genuine consumer feedback, preferably a combination of quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., in-depth customer interviews and customer surveys). Subsequently, ensure that you are developing a journey map rather than a process map. The primary distinction? Your company may not presently be involved in duties and activities that your customer encounters. This is irrelevant for an internally-focused business process map; however, it is essential for a journey map and can assist in the identification of opportunities for new products and services that address customers’ neglected or unarticulated requirements.
Third, it is important to consider that a journey map is merely a starting point, as it offers a 30,000-foot perspective on the consumer experience. However, the reality is that customers’ emotions and minds are captured by experiential details that they may not even be aware of, such as the design and positioning of navigational signage, the scent and lighting of a store, and the structure of a checkout queue. To implement an effective customer experience enhancement initiative, it is necessary to conduct a more thorough investigation than is feasible through a journey map. It is necessary to assess the most minute details of the experience, necessitating a level of analysis that surpasses that of conventional journey maps.
Karofsky: It is imperative that you adhere to the following guidelines.
Action Items:
Begin by conducting research. Conduct comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research to guarantee that you are designing for the appropriate personas.
Recognize true occasions. Identify the critical moments that influence consumer perceptions and concentrate on optimizing these interactions.
Engage in internal social interactions. The journey map should be shared with a variety of internal teams, including marketing, sales, and support, in order to identify gaps and obtain diverse perspectives.
Utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate extensive datasets for themes, sentiment, and behavioral patterns.
Things to avoid:
Do not inquire about NPS or CSAT at the outset of journeys. Frequently, these are distributed prematurely, prior to the individual’s having encountered the event.
Do not depend solely on the “Happy Path.” Identify potential pain points by proactively establishing alternative paths, including scenarios in which events may not go as planned.
Refrain from generating a singular voyage map for all customers. Tailor journey maps to accommodate the distinctive requirements and behaviors of various personas.
Begin with the basics and gradually incorporate more detail. Teams may be overwhelmed and the map’s utility may be diminished by an excessively intricate initial map.
Do not generate the voyage map in isolation. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather input to ensure that the map is comprehensive and based on a variety of perspectives.
It is crucial to involve consumer support. Frequently, they possess valuable insights that are not evident in other areas of research.
A. What is the optimal maintenance/update approach for a customer journey map. Is there a specific time frame within which it must be updated?
Picoult: It should undoubtedly be a document that is constantly evolving, updated as new products, services, and experiences are introduced. Furthermore, it should be revised in response to the retailer’s efforts to attract new customer segments or as customers’ expectations, requirements, and aspirations change. Therefore, the appropriate time frame for updating a journey map is determined by the changing environment of your business, rather than the calendar.
Karofsky: When new customer interactions arise, such as product introductions, website updates, or store layout changes, it is important to consider the impact on the experience and the associated journey. In the same vein, assess the influence of corporate strategy changes or substantial market fluctuations on consumer journeys.
Within this context, data is of the utmost importance and must be developed in order to promptly identify emerging trends or sore points. The efficacy of each stage of the consumer journey is monitored through the use of metrics, which provide a real-time feedback loop. It is important to review customer segments and personas annually (or more frequently if significant changes are observed) as customer behaviors and expectations may change, necessitating revisions to their specific journey paths.
Karofsky furnished the subsequent two illustrations of a customer journey map.
