The reason customer journey mapping intimidates people is that people have the wrong view of it. They think it has to be a precise representation, something that’s representative of every nuance of the experience of the customer. But that’s impossible.
Instead, think of it like a persona – a much better way. It’s representative of usual experience. In fact, customer journey maps greatly resemble personas. The difference being is that they concentrate more on questions and tasks. They also express the experience of the customers over time, rather than as a snapshot. That means the two complement each other well. A customer journey map focuses on the customer experience, while a persona focuses on the person.
Obviously, this means that it requires more effort to create a customer journey. Consequently, you’ll produce a handful of them. Usually, people only create a journey for all primary audiences. They also concentrate more on an overview of the whole journey, instead of digging into too much detail.
With that being said, you can flesh out the journeys over time. You can address secondary audiences or even look at segments in more detail. Another way to think of a customer journey map is that it’s a story designed to offer insights into the journey of the customer. But in a more digestible form. In simple words, a customer journey map isn’t going to be perfect.
That might leave you thinking, what the point is? Why even consider a map that’s not entirely representative of the experience? Well, this is why customer journey mapping is mandatory:
§ If you’re a designer, it will enable you to understand the users’ context. You’ll gain a clear picture of where the user has come from and what they are looking to accomplish.
§ If you write a copy, it’ll assist you in understanding what questions users have and how they’re feeling.
§ It offers managers an overview of the customer experience. They’ll witness how customers move through the sales funnel. That’ll help them to identify opportunities to improve the experience. The map will demonstrate how improved customer service can differentiate the digital experience of the firm.
§ For the user experience designer, a customer journey map assists in identifying gaps, points in the customer experience that are painful or disjointed. These might be:
o Gaps between devices when a user moves from a single device to another.
o Gaps between departments, where the user might get irritated.
o Gaps between channels (for instance, where the experience of going from social media to the website could be enhanced.
If you’re looking for more information regarding the customer journey map in the form of an eBook, “The journey - How to Create the Happiest Customers in the World?” by Jaakko Männistö is highly recommended.