How Accurate Is Your Customer Journey Map These Days?

No, it’s not just about conversions...

You’ll usually find this in a digital marketing 101 anything, but for those of us who find ourselves fully immersed in the world of online marketing strategy, it’s always important keep yourself in the shoes of the end-user. So, what does the online discovery journey of a new user/customer look like?

Most people:

1. land on website

2. browse content

3. share and/or make an actionable decision

Of course, the journey from discovery to purchase is far more complex and, usually, happens over an extended period of time. But the magic lies in the path to customer loyalty and sustainable, repeat business, and ultimately customer advocacy.

This is called the Complete Customer Journey.

The Complete Customer Journey is a robust way of viewing all of a single user's engagement. Lead generation experts who understand the Complete Customer Journey can drastically grow awareness, new business and retention, CLV (customer lifetime value), and sales. Here is a quick summary on the basics of what your map should look like:

1. Awareness

- recall advertisement, shared post, tip from a friend, etc…

- visit site (direct, organic, paid)

2. Evaluation process

- high-level research

- feedback from others

- in-depth research (in no particular order)

3. PURCHASE

- post-purchase analysis — taking into consideration their experience and how they feel as a result of purchase…)

- further evaluation

4. Repeat purchase

- amazing customer experience

- user feedback is welcomed and easily accessible

5. Brand advocacy!

- user shares and speaks actively and positively about product/service

Relevance, efficiency, and opportunity to provide feedback are what users deserve and will be what will ultimately determine the success of your journey mapping.

Don't make the mistake of basing your marketing decisions off your own feelings and experience. Even though your customers may be like you, everybody is different. Too often, marketers let their bubbles make the decisions... let your data do that for you.

As we go further into the mobile revolution, users will also expect engagement and usability to match. Businesses (online and offline) need to place mobile UX at the heart of the complete customer journey while harnessing relevance and geo-sensitive marketing as well as optimized customer support and fulfillment to create a satisfying experience throughout.

What else have you found your customers engaging with? Do you find there is a particular moment where conversion or advocacy happens? How do you capitalize on that? Let us know, and share your findings in the comment section below.

About the author: John Morton is the Co-Founder and Digital Strategy Lead atArchive Digital – a digital marketing agency specializing in transforming underperforming companies into digital leaders.