The global pandemic changed the way we live, and businesses worldwide were forced to transform their operations in a matter of days. 

And all of these changes influenced the way buyers behave.

Research shows that customer expectations have changed since the pandemic. Having a great product is no longer enough, and positive experiences are now essential.

So, how can you provide consumers with a good experience in the future? Well, creating a customer journey map is a good place to start. In this article, we will explain what a customer journey map is, why you need one, and how to create one.

What is a Customer Journey Map?

A customer journey map outlines every stage of the buyer’s journey. It shows you how your customers behave across different touchpoints of the sales process, from initial engagement to making a purchase. 

There are three stages of the buyer’s journey that you should be aware of when creating your own customer journey map:

1. Awareness: The consumer becomes aware of a problem they have.
2. Consideration: The consumer begins to consider options to solve their problem.
3. Evaluation/Decision: The consumer evaluates the options and decides on the right company to provide the solution.

Why Should You Create a Customer Journey Map?

An omnichannel customer experience provides customers with a seamless experience across all of your channels. 

Mapping your customer journey allows you to create a streamlined and consistent omnichannel experience from one platform to another. 

And with so many people using various online platforms, getting it right is pretty important.

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Creating a customer journey map allows you to figure out the best way to continue nurturing existing customers. 

This means you can do two things:

• Provide them with a good service
• Target them with the right communication, at the right time 

As a result, you’ve got a higher chance of engaging with existing customers and encouraging them to purchase again. 

Overall, customer retention helps businesses boost revenue and increase brand loyalty. Not to mention, it’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. 

Using a sales enablement app, like Badger Maps, can help you engage with customers and improve your relationships. 

Badger Maps allow reps to log all their customer interactions as soon as they take place, making it easy to keep track of valuable information. Not only that, reps can easily set up reminders to check-in and follow up with customers right in the app. Badger is an all-in-one sales tool that allows you to plan your day in seconds, optimize your routes, eliminate busy work by updating your CRM data from the field, find new leads around you, and more! On average, salespeople using Badger spend 20% less time driving and sell 22% more.

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By creating a customer journey map, you have a pretty good understanding of what you need to include in your inbound marketing strategy. 

Imagine you’re mapping your customer journey. Throughout the buying journey, you notice that consumers spend time reviewing which company offers what they need. 

By spotting this, you can make sure your inbound marketing strategy helps consumers identify the right company for their needs. 

But without the customer journey map, you could struggle to identify the right path for your marketing activity. 

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Mapping the customer journey allows you to: 

• Understand buyer behavior
• Identify pain points within the buyer journey

This information gives you insight into what your customers want and when they want it. As a result, you can provide your customers with a better service. 

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How To Create a Customer Journey Map in 4 Steps

By now, you might be wondering how to create your own customer journey map.

Every business is different, so you’ll need to do some research to figure out exactly what your customer journey entails. 

We’re going to show you how to create a customer journey map in 4 simple steps.

A buyer persona outlines who your customers are. It explores how they behave, what are their pain points, and how they make their purchasing decisions. 

These personas are based on a variety of data, such as demographics and online behavior. 

With this information, you can group different customer types and create a customer journey map for each one. 

No matter what business or industry you work for, creating a buyer persona will always be helpful. After all, how can you sell to your customers if you don’t know who they are?

Once you know who your customers are, it’s time to identify what they want. 

To do this, you need their feedback. Whether that’s running a focus group or asking them to fill out an online survey, the only way to find out what they want is to ask them for feedback. 

Once you know their thoughts and perceptions, you have a much better starting point to map their purchasing journey.

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A customer touchpoint is any form of contact a customer has with your brand. This could be anything from engaging with your social media channels to visiting your website. 

To effectively map the customer journey, you need to identify every touchpoint. But unfortunately, there isn’t one way to identify all of them. 

Every business will have different touchpoints, so it’s up to you to find them. A good place to start is to think about all the different platforms customers can use to engage with your brand. 

Here are a few of the most common:

• Social media posts: This includes the content you post on your channels and any messages you receive from consumers.
• Paid advertising powered by adtech: Consumers will see your ads across multiple search engines, websites, and social media channels. 
• Reviews: When people search for your company, chances are they’ll see reviews on the search engine. Here’s an example of the Google search page for Credit Saint, a credit repair company: 

All of these touchpoints influence buyer behavior. So, when it comes to mapping the customer journey, you need to be aware of each one.

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When you’re reviewing the various touchpoints, you’ll also come across pain points. 

Pain points are stages of the customer journey that cause problems or inefficiency for the buyer.

Let’s say a consumer is researching pricing information. If the consumer can’t find this information, it becomes a pain point. As a result, you need to amend the customer journey map to make sure your consumers can find the information they need when they need it. 

You can overcome any pain points by providing a simple user experience for your consumers to find the information they need.

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Conclusion

Having read this article, you’ve learned:

• The definition of a customer journey map.
• The foundations of every customer journey (Awareness, Consideration, Evaluation/Decision).
• Why it’s important to create a customer journey map.
• How to create your own customer journey in four steps.

So, what’s next?

Well, it’s time to put your newfound knowledge into action. 

Using these four simple steps as your starting point, you can create your own customer journey map. And remember to listen to your consumers. As they say, the customer’s always right.

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