The internet has completely transformed the way in which businesses and customers operate in recent times and businesses need to stay current if they are to succeed.

Understanding the journey that your customer goes on from the first time they are made aware of your brand, right through to completing a purchase is crucial for businesses to ensure a ROI on marketing campaigns. Plus, understanding how consumers interact with your brand is helpful to maximize performance in KPIs.

Customer Journey Mapping

The customer journey map is the first step to take and involves collecting the sequence of experiences that a customer goes through when interacting with your business, with each individual interaction being a touchpoint which offers insight into behaviour and motivations.

In today’s digital age, the customer journey map is more complex than it used to be, but usually can be broken down into these five stages:

• Awareness - The consumer has a need and starts searching to find what they are looking for
• Consideration - Evaluating the available options
• Purchase - Decides on a brand and makes a purchase
• Experience - Experiences the product/service
• Loyalty - The customer returns based on the post-sales experience

Digital Touchpoints

There are a number of digital touchpoints that a customer interacts with and identifying what these are and how they can be improved will provide a greater experience for your customers. A few of the main digital touchpoints along the customer journey that should be considered include:

Awareness:

• Search engines
• Social media exposure
• Online ads
• Email marketing

Consideration:

• Web content
• Influencer marketing
• Reviews
• Webinars

Purchase:

• Website
• Billing
• Reviews
• Discounts
• Payment options

Experience:

- Automated fulfilment

- Delivery and shipment tracking

• Online help centre

Loyalty:

• Newsletters
• Email
• Loyalty programs

Benefits of Customer Journey Mapping

So, why exactly should you be customer journey mapping? Understanding the journey that a customer goes through will help a company to understand the context behind customer interactions, identify the best conversion methods and opportunities and identify (with accuracy) the best places to make improvements.

Additionally, keep in mind that most of your competitors will be using this so it is important for staying competitive too.

Connecting Multi-Channel Experiences

When you are able to connect multi-channel experiences, it will give you a much better understanding of customer journeys across all channels.

This is something that is possible with innovative call tracking UK technology as you are able to determine what campaigns, channels and keywords led customers to pick up the phone, allowing you to determine what is working and what is not so that the best marketing decisions can be made.

This should deliver better results and allows you to spend your budget more effectively to improve your ROI.

Don’t Forget About Customer Service

All business owners need to keep in mind that the customer journey and customer service are intertwined. You’re going to want to ensure that the customer knows exactly who to reach and how to reach in the event that assistance is needed. Incorporating customer service, whether it be through chatbots or instant Call Handling on the shopping page, can give customers both trust and reassurance that they’re making the right decision by purchasing through you.

Personalised Experiences

It is also important to note that in today’s day and age, customers are more likely to purchase and become a loyal customer when they have a personalised experience. This is something that has developed in recent times and can go a long way in customer retention, so it is an area that all businesses should look into.

Understanding the customer journey map can provide a business with a clear insight into each touchpoint and the motivations and behaviours of the consumer. This allows a business to make strategic decisions in relations to marketing campaigns and maximising ROI while improving your brand reputation.