What is a Customer Journey?
A customer journey is the set of interactions that a customer has with your brand in buying your service.
Although it might not be ideal, you have one in your business right now. Some studies show that 80% of customers consider their experience with a company to be as important as its service.
Your customer journey is not linear (customers don’t always go from A -> B). The image below shows an example of the many ways a customer may experience your business and fall out of the typical funnel.
Why is a Customer Journey Important?
What makes a customer journey important? The customer journey serves multiple purposes, benefiting both the customers and the business itself.
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Enhances Customer Experience – An effectively designed customer journey contributes to creating a positive and seamless experience for customers. By considering each touchpoint and interaction, businesses can ensure that customers feel satisfied, valued, and supported throughout their journey.
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Identifies Pain Points – Mapping out the customer journey enables businesses to pinpoint areas where customers may encounter difficulties or frustrations. By recognizing these pain points, businesses can proactively address them, improving the overall experience and customer satisfaction.
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Boosts Employee Performance – A customer journey provides employees with a clear understanding of the customer experience and their role in delivering it. This awareness empowers employees to perform better, aligning their actions and efforts to meet customer expectations.
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Drives Customer Acquisition – A positive customer journey has the potential to generate word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations. Delighted customers are more likely to share their positive experiences with others, leading to increased customer acquisition.
How do you start building a Customer Journey?
Developing a well-crafted customer journey is crucial for cultivating strong relationships and achieving customer satisfaction. Although the task may seem daunting, there are four practical steps that can simplify the process of creating your customer journey. By following these steps, you can effectively map out the path your customers take, optimize their interactions, and ultimately provide a seamless and gratifying experience.
Let’s explore these steps to streamline the creation of your customer journey.
Define Customer Types – Start by defining the different types of customers that you serve. This can be commercial vs residential. Or the different kinds of services you provide (pressure washing and paver sealing).
Identify Touchpoints – Identify all of the touchpoints where customers interact with your brand, including digital and physical interactions
Map the Journey – Map out the journey that customers take as a new lead to the service and beyond.
Monitor and Refine – Gather feedback from customers to refine and improve the experience over time