The Customer Experience
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Customer Journey Mapping
Customer Journey Mapping defines your audience’s buying journey towards a commercial goal. Empathy and data become friends, while team members involved in the mapping process need to dive into the mindset of customers and identify the real life pain points.
Journey Mapping carefully plots all the information your audience needs to facilitate buying decisions; taking them on a psychological journey where they will then be receptive to your brand and sales messages.
The customer journey map itself is a visual representation of every experience your customers has.
It can be used to design and forecast for new experiences and to optimise and repair a chink in the current journey chain that is not currently working.
There are two primary types of mapping:
Proactive journey mapping – acts as a wake up call for an organisation to promote new products or design for the best interactions from the outset. It is best used to reinvent and perceive entirely new experiences and is further used to:
- Create new offerings and envision the future
- Fix broken experiences
- Capitalise on an opportunity
Reactive journey mapping – utilised as ‘response’ mapping to changes in the market or internal business. Also it is used to:
- Continuously deliver the best experiences
- Differentiating from competitors
- Move beyond repairing experience to elevating it overall
While most organisations have cottoned onto the importance of journey mapping, only 21% of–primarily B2B companies–have expanded this to include the full eco-system of business operations including people, process and technologies that deliver the journey.
Creating Your Customer Journey Map
Steps along the customer journey
Steps along the customer journey
More than half (61 per cent) of buyers consult third-party sources before consulting a company’s Salesforce. These sources include third-party sites, feedback from a business partner, social channels and conversations with peers who already have experience with the product or service. These sources beyond the reach of a company’s Salesforce are a factor for 89 per cent of buyers when making B2B buying decisions.
More than half (61 per cent) of buyers consult third-party sources before consulting a company’s Salesforce. These sources include third-party sites, feedback from a business partner, social channels and conversations with peers who already have experience with the product or service. These sources beyond the reach of a company’s Salesforce are a factor for 89 per cent of buyers when making B2B buying decisions.
How do customers become brand advocates?
Let's take a closer look!
How do customers become brand advocates?
The customer advocate doesn’t just love what you do, they are also willing to go the next step and actively recommend your brand to other potential customers.
Journey Mapping carefully plots all the information your audience needs to facilitate buying decisions; taking them on a psychological journey where they will then be receptive to your brand and sales messages.
The customer journey map itself is a visual representation of every experience your customers has.
It can be used to design and forecast for new experiences and to optimise and repair a chink in the current journey chain that is not currently working.
Acquiring new customers can be 25 times more expensive than retaining new ones.
It's a symbiotic relationship
The most important thing to realise is the value of steadily and consistently building a relationship with customers and donors. It’s important to maintain a positive brand connection over the course of their journey. This also includes steps that sit towards the latter stages of the purchasing process like customer service and billing. Focus areas here for your brand include building trust, and increasing the ease of service.
Make sure you have carefully accommodated for your loyal customers and are connecting with them in meaningful ways. Where possible, think up strategies that allow you to expand on this power base either through loyalty programs, special offers or exceeding expectations. The idea is to turn your customers into raving advocates for your brand. Reach donors and customers where they are on the journey.
We can help you design a customer journey worth following
For the last twenty years Make it Happen has brought brands and customers together through inventive and inspiring marketing.
If you’re ready to design a customer journey with a memorable point of difference, or would like to discuss how we might collaborate with your internal marketing team, contact us for a limited 30-minute consult.