A Journey Map is NOT a Strategy

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I’ve always been a bit jealous of craftspeople. Carpenters. Mechanics. Tailors. Chefs. People who create tangible things—things you can see, touch, taste, and use. When they finish a project there’s a chair, a car that runs smoothly, a perfectly tailored jacket, or a beautifully plated dish. Their progress and impact are right there for all to see.

That’s part of why I branded my company LoyaltyCraft. In customer experience, we’re crafting something just as meaningful: people, and their experiences. We’re designing for emotion and connection—intangibles that are harder to measure, but equally powerful in shaping a brand’s legacy.

And like those craftspeople, we CX practitioners have our own tools of the trade. Journey mapping, for example, is a listening device, a visual map that helps us understand the path a customer takes, revealing where frustrations lie, what delights them, and where we might add something truly valuable.

Here’s where we often go wrong: when asked for a plan to drive customer centricity, we start talking about journey maps. But a journey map is not a strategy; it’s just one tool among many.

It’s like a carpenter telling me about his saw when I ask him to build a desk. The saw is essential, yes, but it’s only one part of the process. To drive true customer centricity, we have to take those insights from the map and translate them into an actionable strategy that shapes meaningful interactions.

We get excited about tools—they help us build. To drive this home, I started carrying a literal toolbelt and a fishing tackle box to visit my clients. It’s my way of showing that I’m not just observing from the balcony; I’m here to roll up my sleeves and help leverage CX tools effectively.

But you’ll never see me carry my toolbelt into the boardroom.

At the heart of every effective customer experience (CX) strategy is the aspiration to cultivate a truly client-centric organization. The companies I collaborate with—those committed to delivering a differentiated customer experience—start with this goal in mind. Yet, reaching that client-centric ideal comes with its own set of challenges.

The companies I work with, committed to delivering a differentiated customer experience, always start with a client-centric goal. Yet, reaching that vision comes with its own set of challenges.

Like what?:

1. Lack of Strategy: Without a clear mission and vision guiding CX, organizations struggle to find their North Star. Often, there is no dedicated CX leader with a seat at the boardroom table, no assessment or benchmarking in place, and no roadmap to enhance CX capabilities.
2. Customer Confusion and Misalignment: Organizations frequently face confusion around customer needs due to a lack of clear segmentation and a deep understanding of personas and their specific jobs to be done. Additionally, voice of customer programs often fail to provide actionable insights that inform decision-making.
3. Employee Disengagement and Silos: When employees aren’t engaged and departments operate in isolation, it hampers effective communication and collaboration, further obstructing the journey toward a client-centric approach.
4. Inability to GSD (get shit done): Many organizations are plagued by a backlog of ideas and projects without the necessary discipline to execute them. This lack of discipline impacts the measurement and tracking of outcomes. Consequently, organizations often struggle with a lack of delivery cadence and follow-through on initiatives.

And so, in the boardroom, we talk about CX in terms of our objectives:

• ?? A clear strategy that leads to a differentiated experience and impacts both customer and business (financial) outcomes.
• ?? A deep understanding of our ideal customers—and a clear vision of who we want to attract and retain.
• ?? An engaged workforce that collaborates to drive efficiency and design innovative solutions for customers.
• ?? A disciplined execution framework, based on Agile principles, to deliver faster with higher quality.

I haven’t even mentioned journey maps yet. While the 40 tools on my belt are impressive, they’re useless without a coherent strategy. I get paid to know when to pull out the hammer—and when it’s time for a wrench, a level, or even a chisel.

Think of it like moving between the balcony and the dance floor. From the balcony, we get the big picture, the strategic view that shows where we want to lead our customers and our organization. But when I step onto the dance floor, that’s where I pick up the tools, where I’m in the details, listening, learning, and responding in real-time. The key is knowing when to be in each place. To create real value, we have to keep shifting between the two: vision from the balcony and action on the dance floor. Strategy in CX isn’t about perfecting a single map or tool; it’s about mastering that movement, knowing when to zoom out for clarity and when to zoom in for precision.

We, too, are craftspeople—building something intangible but just as impactful as a sturdy chair or a well-tuned engine. When our work is done, the results may not sit on a shelf or hang on a wall, but they’re just as real: loyal customers, thriving teams, and valuable outcomes that set a brand apart.

LoyaltyCraft was built from a passion for helping companies create meaningful customer experiences. Founded in 2016 by Lauren Feehrer CCXP, we focus on strategy, qualitative research, customer design, and employee engagement to help mid-market companies open the door to new customers and keep existing ones from leaving out the backdoor.