All You Need To Know About Customer Journey Mapping

“Stories have defined our world. They have been with us since the dawn of communication, from cave walls to the tall tales recounted around fires. They have continued to evolve, with their purpose remaining the same: to entertain, to share common experiences, to teach and to pass on traditions.”

Francisco Inchauste wrote those words1 on this website back in 2010. His post is just one of many on this website that talk about the power of storytelling to engage users.

But storytelling is not just a tool to engage users. It is also a powerful way to teach organizations more about their customers.

Most organizations are reasonably good at gathering data on their users. But data often fails to communicate the frustrations and experiences of customers. A story can do that, and one of the best storytelling tools in business is the customer journey map.

What Is A Customer Journey Map?

A customer journey map tells the story of the customer’s experience: from initial contact, through the process of engagement and into a long-term relationship.

It may focus on a particular part of the story or give an overview of the entire experience. What it always does is identify key interactions that the customer has with the organization. It talks about the user’s feelings, motivations and questions for each of these touchpoints.

It often provides a sense of the customer’s greater motivation. What do they wish to achieve, and what are their expectations of the organization?

A customer journey map takes many forms but typically appears as some type of infographic. Whatever its form, the goal is the same: to teach organizations more about their customers.

All You Need To Know About Customer Journey Mapping2
A customer journey map takes many forms but typically appears as an infographic. (View large version3) (Image: Effective UI4)

It will come as no surprise that marketers often use customer journey maps. But more and more digital professionals are adopting them, too.

Why You Should Create Customer Journey Maps

A customer journey map is a powerful tool.

If you are a designer, it will help you to understand the context of users. You will gain a clear picture of where the user has come from and what they are trying to achieve.

If you write copy, it will help you to understand what questions users have and how they are feeling.

It gives managers an overview of the customer’s experience. They will see how customers move through the sales funnel. This will help them to identify opportunities to enhance the experience. The map will show how enhanced customer service can differentiate the organization’s digital experience.

For the user experience designer, a customer journey map helps to identify gaps, points in the customer experience that are disjointed or painful. These might be:

  • gaps between devices, when a user moves from one device to another;
  • gaps between departments, where the user might get frustrated.
  • gaps between channels (for example, where the experience of going from social media to the website could be better).

Most of all, a customer journey map puts the user front and center in the organization’s thinking. It shows how mobile, social media and the web have changed customer behavior. It demonstrates the need for the entire organization to adapt.

It encourages people across the organization to consider the user’s feelings, questions and needs. This is especially important with digital products and services.

All You Need To Know About Customer Journey Mapping
Even the process of creating a customer journey map will help people to focus on the needs of users. (Image: Adaptive Path5)

With so many benefits, a customer journey map makes a lot of sense. But where do you start?

How To Research A Customer Journey Map

The process of creating a customer journey map has to begin with getting to know users.

Many organizations already have some information about users. In fact, you might meet resistance from those who feel that repeating this exercise would be a waste of time. This is why gathering existing research is a good start. Often, this research will be out of date or buried in a drawer somewhere.

By gathering existing research, you will see what the organization knows and how relevant that information is. This will placate those who are resistant, while potentially saving you some research effort.

There are two types of research: analytical and anecdotal.

Analytical Research

You can turn to many sources for data about users. The most obvious is website analytics, which provide a lot of information on where users have come from and what they are trying to achieve. It will also help you to identify points in the process where they have given up.

But be careful. Analytics are easy to read wrong. For example, don’t presume that a lot of clicks or long dwell times are a sign of a happy user. They could indicate that they are lost or confused.

Social media are also a useful source of data. Tools such as SocialMention6 tracks mentions of a brand and whether those mentions are positive or negative.

All You Need To Know About Customer Journey Mapping7
Tools such as SocialMention help you gather data about how the brand is perceived. (View large version8)

Search data also provides valuable insight into what users are looking for, revealing whether your existing website is providing the right information.

Finally, consider running a survey. This will help you build a more detailed picture of users’ questions, feelings and motivations.

Anecdotal Research

Although data can build a compelling case, it does not tell a story by itself. For that, you need anecdotes of user experiences. You can get these by speaking to users in interviews or on social media.

You will also discover that users volunteer experiences by posting them to social media. Be sure to collect these mentions because they will be a useful reference point in your final map.

Speaking to front-line staff who interact with customers daily, such as those in support and sales, is another useful way to understand customer needs.

The detail of the research will be constrained by your time and budget. If your organization has many different user groups, then creating detailed customer journeys for each might be hard. Therefore, focus the research on primary audiences.

You can make educated guesses about the customer journeys for secondary audiences. Do this by workshopping solutions with front-line staff and other internal stakeholders. Although this “quick and dirty” approach will not be as accurate, it is still better than nothing.

Be careful to make clear what has research behind it and what does not. Making many decisions based on assumptions is dangerous. Once management sees the benefits of research, they will be willing to spend more time on it.

With your research complete, it is time to create the map.

Presenting Your Customer Journey Map

As mentioned, there is no right or wrong way to produce a customer journey map. Normally, it will be some form of infographic with a timeline of the user’s experience. But it could just as easily be a storyboard or even a video.

All You Need To Know About Customer Journey Mapping9
A customer journey map has no set form. Use whatever form that most clearly communicates the story. (View large version10) (Image: Jonathan Lupo11)

The goal is to ensure that the user’s story remains front and center in people’s minds. Get a designer to produce the graphic to ensure it is as clear as possible and grabs people’s attention.

Whatever its form, the map should contain both statistical and anecdotal evidence. It should highlight users’ needs, questions and feelings throughout their interaction with the organization.

All You Need To Know About Customer Journey MappingProducing a clear map is a design job. Work with a designer to find the right approach. (Image: Philips12)

Don’t make it too complex. It is easy to get caught up in the multiple routes a user might take. This will just muddy the story.

The graphic is not meant to map every aspect of the customer’s experience. Rather, it should tell a simple story to focus people’s attention on the customer’s needs.

Think of the customer journey map as a poster pinned to the office wall. At a glance, people should be able to see the key touchpoints that a user passes through. It should remind them that the customer’s needs must always be at the forefront of their thinking.

All You Need To Know About Customer Journey Mapping13
The map should be clear and simple, something you could pin to the office wall.

There are so many ways to approach the customer journey map. I would love to hear of any good examples you have seen. Please post them in the comments below.

(il, al)

原创文章,作者:Smiler李想,如若转载,请注明出处:https://www.iamue.com/2910/

(0)
Smiler李想Smiler李想
上一篇 2015-01-16 12:51
下一篇 2015-01-20 09:20

相关推荐

  • 案例:交互设计七大定律分享

    一费茨定律(Fitts' Law)1、费茨定律(Fitts’ Law)简介费茨定律是由保罗·费茨(Paul M. Fitts)博士,在对人类操作过程中的运动特征、运动时间、运动范围和运动准确性进行研究之后提出的,时间是1954年;该定律被用来预测从任意一点到目标中心位置所需时间的数学模型,在人机交互(HCI)和设计领域的影响却最为广泛和深远。费茨定律指的是:使用指点设备到达一个目标的时间,与当前设备位置和目标位置的距离(D)和目标大小(...

    2018-02-28
  • 基于数据的可用性研究

    小编语:这是一篇关于交互设计与可用性研究的古老的文章,今天小编翻出来给新交互师们看一下~ Thomas Baekdal在The Battle Between Usability and User-Experience中提到,可用性较高的产品并不一定带来好的用户体…

    2015-01-24
  • 别骂携程了,来看看Booking上如出一辙的“暗黑套路” 【UXRen译#182】

    作者:Roman Cheplyaka   |  翻译:林龙飞,校审:天蛙   近来,有很多网站和应用的设计者会诱导你做他们想做的。以下是来自timewellspent.io的例子: Youtube自动播放更多的视频来把用户留住; Instagram使用无限…

    交互专题 2017-10-25
  • 译文 | 我在餐厅工作时学到的关于用户体验的心得

    本人在涉足设计专业之前学习过两年的酒店管理。在我实习的过程中,经历过许多与客户之间的沟通交流,这其中有积极的也有负面的。在我看来,酒店餐厅服务也是交互的一种形式,而且这其中涉及到很多体验设计的理论和方法,当我作为交互设计师工作多年以后,仍然觉得很受启发。当我看到篇文章的题目时,我就决定要把它翻译出来!下面进入译文。

    2017-05-30
  • 开始自己的建筑笔记 | Sketch Journal 作品展示

    大家是否在网络时常看到精美的建筑师手绘本?是否也准备打造一本属于自己的建筑笔记?今天为大家带来笔者大一阶段的Sketch Journal。笔记虽不算精美,但却是自己一年辛勤努力后的结果,它记录的不只是这一年的想法,更是自己一年的学习历程。相信这也是大家在不断完成自己的建筑笔记时最享受的一个过程吧。建筑笔记的几点心得:慎用大尺度手绘本!笔者本科第一年的Sketch Journal选择了A3尺寸,结局是很悲惨的。你需要付出比常人多的时间去完...

    2018-04-21
  • 美国UX达人:用户体验从入门到进阶书籍推荐

    想了解用户体验(UX)并进一步学习?美国的UX达人Witney Hess列出了20本UX爱好者必读的20本书。你可以收藏这个书单。

    2017-05-19
  • 【交互设计】入门交互设计需要注意什么

    作者:Mufly 最近一直在想,交互设计的核心是什么?因为身边不少设计师对交互设计有也兴趣,常常被问到怎么学呢?交互设计要注意什么?对于入行不久的我,如何回答这类问题成了难点,因为我怕回答得不好,误人子弟…

    交互设计 2015-07-20
  • 当我们爱上宜家的时候,我们在爱什么?

    第一次去宜家是在2007年。那年大三,学校组织在上海为期一周的参观和考察,除了各大博物馆、美术馆,宜家是我们这帮学设计的人必须去的地方。那时候逛宜家没有用户体验的概念,只感觉我能想到的家居宜家都有,我没想到的宜家也有,每一个样板间都很有格调,很有家的感觉,让人忍不住想赶紧结婚,赶紧买房子,然后照着宜家的样板间好好装修一把。

    2017-06-03
  • 设计要以人为本,用户的目标才是最重要的!

    来源:简书 作者:老D   为什么需要计原则? 设计原则其实就是对一些设计过程中基于人类的认知规律对设计做出的一些指导性原则,并且对已经成为行业共识的设计经验做个总结,用来指导设计师界定问题、提高效率。 …

    2014-09-27
  • 做设计不得不讲究的一个点:平衡

    做设计,最难的不是搞清楚解决问题的最佳答案是什么。而是,站在全局去平衡问题与问题之间的关系,做当下资源条件下相对正确的设计决策。

    2017-05-05