“The customer’s perception is your reality.” – Kate Zabriskie
Imagine a scenario where a brand builds the most splendid product, something that caters to the customers effectively. However, the brand faces a problem in understanding the precise sentiments of the customer. This happens to be a critical problem that needs to be addressed for better performance.
The point by point breakdown of the pros and cons of the product experienced by the customer is what helps the brand improve their strategies going forward. This is where the power of customer journey mapping comes into play.
Customer Journey Mapping – The Path Forward
What is customer journey mapping?
A visual tool that helps businesses chart a customer’s interaction from inception to repetition. Customer journey mapping is a process that brings clarity of the customer mindset throughout the course of their journey with a brand. An important cog in the machine, this tool helps to break down each and every decision of the customer with respect to the brand’s product.
For example, the tool evaluates customer reasoning like their reluctance to browse through the products due to inconvenient displays on the phone. The tool also charts the subsequent decision of the customer to shop from the store for better assessment of the products.
How does it help exactly?
A customer journey map helps a brand see every logical explanation behind a customer’s opinion of the brand. From starting the interaction to staying, it helps understand the touchpoints of each sale and non-sale of the product through a customer’s lens.
Such information not only fires the business to do better, but also explains the strengths and potential weaknesses in the long run. A brand can reflect upon such feedback tangibly, and make altercations in their processes for improved performances.
Stages & Touchpoints – A Guide
Stage 1: Awareness
Before having a splendid product, a brand needs awareness. At this nascent stage, all the efforts of the customer journey mapping are inclined towards a customer starting a journey with the brand. Which is why, creating a buzz of the brand is step number one.
The touchpoint (i.e. a tangible metric that reflects customer sentiments in numbers) for this stage becomes social media, posters, bill boards, website traffic etc.
Stage 2: Consideration
What starts at creating awareness, progresses into a legitimate consideration. This is achieved, through hardcore evidence of the numbers and testimonials by the customers. A prime role of the customer journey mapping tool, it collates the important statistics that support the idea of a potential lead turning into a customer after stage one.
In this stage, brands showcase their product differentiation backing it by solid customer review. This stage sells the product as well as the name of the business in ways that are long lasting. Touchpoints to focus on are: time on site, physical properties like in-store experience, retargeting engagement, buying experience etc.
Stage 3: Decision
The decision stage finalises the deal, therefore it requires clarity and just a little nudge in the right direction. Therefore, creating a sense of urgency and easing last minute tensions go a long way in smoothening the process. The touchpoints to keep in mind while wrapping up the decision stage are the conversion metrics, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend etc.
Stage 4: Retention
After acquisition comes retention. How well can a brand sustain its customers? Retargeting happens when the customer journey map looks optimistic. Consistent efforts in enriching a customer’s experience is what retains them for a long time. “Keeping a customer is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.” – MNTN
Retention touchpoints include: renewal rates, repeat purchase times, customer lifetime value, engagement scores etc.
Stage 5: Advocacy
Brand loyalty plays a major role in advocating through word of mouth. It is the highest form of advertisement. Offering tangible rewards, enhancing values and deals, encouraging feedback and making end systems efficient overall promotes brand loyalty and image.
Touchpoints for effective advocacy are: referral traffic, social media mentions, feedback rates etc.
Customer Journey Mapping with Ads – A Collaboration
Your ad campaign isn’t just about the creative, it’s about when and where it shows up in the customer journey.
Spotify Wrapped – A Musical Take
Spotify uses this tool to personalize ads throughout the user lifecycle.
- Awareness: Free trial ads via YouTube and social media.
- Consideration: Personalized playlists promoted via email and app notifications.
- Decision: Push notifications reminding users of expiring trials.
- Retention: Spotify Wrapped taps into usage data to emotionally connect users to their journey.
- Advocacy: Wrapped is built to be shared, turning users into marketers.
This popular music app maps emotional and behavioral touchpoints and aligns targeted ads and messages to match user intent at each stage.
Final Takeaways
Customer journey mapping marketing strategies bring brands closer to real human behaviors. It’s no longer enough to just know your product is great, you need to know where your customer stumbles, smiles, or scrolls away.
Mapping the journey enhances ad performance, improves ROI, and ultimately builds better relationships, because the customer feels understood.
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