Customer journey mapping is known to be widely used as well as an impactful technique that is used to improve the product, marketing, user experience, and merchandising decisions. While there is no rulebook to creating the perfect customer journey maps, there are some specific guidelines that can help the dedicated team to create an insightful outline of the customer’s journey with the brand. There are several different ways of creating such maps but this article draws on creating funnel-wise customer journey maps. The reader can walk away with a clear picture of the mapping process according to the audience in each episode of the funnel.
Different episodes of the marketing funnel
A marketing funnel is the theoretical description of the customer’s journey. It has been a major part of marketing and sales strategies since time unknown and different companies adopt different models. It is as simple as awareness-top of the funnel, consideration-middle of the funnel, and conversion- bottom of the funnel for some companies whereas some prefer to add post-purchase episodes like loyalty and advocacy to the funnel. With appropriate analysis, one can identify the practices that need to be implemented to influence customers at certain episodes.
Create a customer persona
An essential step of creating a customer journey map is to first sketch out a user’s persona or profile. This exercise is the most useful for the team to aid in the visualization of the customer at the center of the journey map. This step is mentioned at the very beginning as the potential impact of the customer journey map is directly related to how deeply one understands its customers. Indulging in “psychographics” or the methodology of studying and creating fictional representations of the ideal customer that focus on their psychology is a major tool used in this process. We can now embark on the journey through the sales and marketing funnel alongside our projected customer and envision their interactions with the brand.
Awareness- TOFU (Top of the Funnel)
The journey usually starts with a potential customer understanding they have a need and perform some research regarding solution alternatives, which may or may not include your organization. Identifying the touchpoints here is crucial. Here, establishing points of contact with the customer are critical to success. Check how the persona is getting acquainted with your brand when or how the lead first discovers your brand or the product you are selling. Some of the best ways to make prospective clients aware of your brand are to develop a digital presence, foster familiarity with your brand so that the people who are likely to purchase your product know about your authority in the niche. The team can explore various options like content marketing, using social media platforms, paying attention to organic searches, and paid ads.
Consideration- MOFU (Middle of the Funnel)
Once the potential customer moves out of the awareness episode, they enter the consideration phase. Analyzing this period on the customer journey map will provide useful insights on how to strengthen the specific desire or preference that the customer has displayed in your company. The customers are in the pondering episodes and look for more information about your brand and scrutinize the product or service in detail. At this particular point in the map, the potential leads are also prone to providing more information about themselves in exchange. A customer journey map can help you identify if you are able to supply the correct information through videos, infographics, blogs, and such that can work its magic for the customer and tip the scale from consideration to conversion.
Acquisition- BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel)
When your efforts have been able to convert the potential lead into a custom by convincing them that your product or service might add value to their lives, you have to now look into the touchpoints to ensure a smooth transaction. Highlight the areas that might distinguish you from competitors like attractive and affordable costs or providing free delivery of the product. This makes the decision extra concrete for the customers and evokes a positive sentiment that they are making the right choice.
Post-purchase journey
The service post the customer has made the purchase from your company also counts as a touchpoint and should be looked at while creating a wholesome customer journey map. Look for the ways in which you can enhance the loyalty of the customer for efficient interaction with them. Come up with innovative loyalty programs that offer regular discounts, maintain a dialogue on social media or via emails. This can promote the business further by advocacy from the members of the loyalty program.
In conclusion, the funnel makes the map understandable
There are many ways to go about while creating a custom journey map, but demarcating the different phases of the journey according to the funnel seems just the right one as there is a clear demarcation between all the episodes and respective touchpoints. This is of immense help when deciding on strategies to enhance and perfect the customer interaction at each touchpoint.