Customer Journey

The customer journey in marketing refers to the customer’s pathway, through touchpoints, to their decision to buy an item.

A customer doesn’t usually decide to buy an item immediately after finding out about it for the first time. Normally, customers look at a product or a brand several times before deciding on a purchase, known in marketing as touchpoints. 

The purpose of evaluating and mapping the customer journey is to find out more about consumer behavior. The customer journey can therefore be better designed, leading to an increase in the conversion rate. 

Identify customer touchpoints

To start touchpoint mapping, begin by identifying each interaction your business has with your customers. It helps to look at the experiences in categories: before purchase, during purchase, and after purchase.

While some of the touchpoints may overlap, this categorization helps you visualize and identify each potential interaction. Touchpoints marketing and advertising may include the following:

Before Purchase

• Website
• Reviews / Testimonials
• Directory Listings 
• On-hold Messaging
• Auto-Attendants and IVRs
• Advertisements and Promotions 
• Store Locations 
• In-store Advertising
• Word of Mouth 
• In-store Events 
• Digital Menu Boards
• Content Marketing 

During Purchase

• Website (E-commerce Section) 
• Showroom Design 
• Product Demo Videos
• Staff/Employee Engagement 
• Overhead Music and Messaging 
• Checkout Self-service/ Point of Sale Systems 
• Checkout Lines

After Purchase

• Order Fulfillment 
• Thank You Cards
• Customer / User Portals 
• Billing / Invoices 
• Packaging 
• Rebates 
• Follow Up Emails 
• Online Help Center
• Education / Follow-up Resources
• Customer Service Phone Lines 
• Questionnaires / Surveys

Why mapping the customer journey is important?

• Allowing you to optimize the customer onboarding process.
• Benchmarking the customer experience desired by your customers against what they receive.
• Understanding the differences in buyer personas as they move from prospect to conversion through the buying funnel.
• Creating a logical order to your buyer journey.

It helps you tell the story of your customer’s experiences with your brand across all touchpoints. Whether your customers interact with you via social media, email, live chat, or other channels, mapping the customer journey out visually helps ensure no customer slips through cracks.