With the hundreds of trending marketing terms around, people often get confused when defining “Buyer Persona” and “Customer Journey Map”. Let’s clear it up.
A buyer persona gives you a workable depiction of your average customer. A customer journey map, however, visualizes the experience a customer has across various stages of the buying process.
Customer journeys provide a look at the big picture, while buyer personas offer a snapshot. No concept is better than the other, however, and both should be used by businesses to understand their customers more in-depth.
What is Customer Journey Mapping?
An effective customer journey map should highlight your customers’ needs, as well as their touch-points and pain-points across various purchase phases.
“Touch-points” are the channels through which a customer interacts with a business, while “pain-points” are the underlying motivators that prompt customers to engage with a business. For example, a potential buyer with a dusty home is more likely
As customer journey mapping must always consider the emotions and the actions of a customer, the process of customer journey mapping should involve your business’ various internal and external stakeholders. Doing so assures that all customer variables are accounted for.
With well-researched customer journey maps, businesses can identify all touch-points and pain-points that customers are experiencing within their business’ funnel.
Benefits of Customer Journey Mapping
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Clarification on the current state of the customer journey helps to pinpoint how the business currently gains and retains its customers.
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Identification of gaps and pain-points in the overall business strategy helps to smooth out any possible negative customer experiences, improving efficiency and reducing buyer friction.
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Improvement of customer targeting and personalization helps your customers believe you are an informed and empathetic business, listening to their needs at every step.
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Unification of the customer data with the business helps to align the organization’s vision more closely to the consumer’s goals.
Creating a Customer Journey Map
Creating an effective and truly representative customer journey map can be an extensive process. Take a look at our example below to get an idea of how to accurately customer-map your business.
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Involve all stakeholders from departments that handle customer touch-points to offer their take on how the customer moves through their purchasing journey.
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Divide the customer journey into clear steps or stages. Remember to consider the customers’ perspective, not only your business’ funnel.
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After understanding your customers’ stages, list the possible touch- and pain-points that a customer could experience during these stages.
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List the emotions customers may be feeling at various stages. If you need deeper insight, ask your customers for feedback, or consult your departments that maintain high-touch with customers, such as customer support.
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After gathering your information, find a meaningful, visual way – infographics, video, or presentation – to communicate your discoveries to your employees.
Have your customer journey all figured out? All right then! Get selling.
