Do you have a customer journey map? I know this is kind of a rhetorical question, since you can’t immediately respond, but it is something I am very curious about. The more I ask people about it, the more I realize that understanding and owning your customer journey map is not the norm for our industry. Actually, I don’t think it is the norm for most industries, because it’s a lot of work. 

We are still designing, marketing, and selling for ourselves, or a very skewed version of what we think the customer wants. Whether we realize it or not, our ego often gets in the way of seeing the perception and the truth. I mean, come on, no one wants to admit they are experiencing ugly baby syndrome. So, it is easier to think our years of experience give us all the answers.

For example, I recently spoke with a group about the customer journey map, and a woman responded with, “It’s too new agey.”  You can probably imagine my giant eye roll. It was so big it almost gave me a headache. But, it also made me feel a little defeated. A customer journey map is not anything new. It is often what determines any company’s future growth and success, especially when communication and information sharing changes as quickly as it does today.

Put in the work, and do your research. And, commit to not making another reactionary decision until you have completed your customer journey map. 

I might have gotten on a bit of a rant, so let’s back up and define customer journey map. It is a way to identify the different customer touch points that create those moments of interaction with you, your product, and your service. It is a big web of occurrences that work together and influence each other. None of these touch-points stand alone, and some are out of your control.

Your customer journey map is all about the experiences. When you define it, you are thinking from the outside in. Ask yourself these four questions to get your map started.

• What is your prospect doing at each stage? What is the action?
• Why is your prospect motivated to continue? What are their emotions?
• What questions do they have during each stage of the journey?
• What barriers are preventing the close or slowing the progress? This could be cost or availability, among other things. 

There is no right or wrong customer journey map, and it will definitely not be linear. It is unique to your property and ideal prospects.