Modern Customer Journeys need Modern Teams to Win

The buyer journey has become much more complex, with multiple touchpoints across various channels. All led by digital.?This holds true for B2C and B2B brands.

I work with clients who have disparate marketing and sales teams trying to figure this out. I find this approach a liability in today’s context. The traditional linear path to conversion is now either a winding one or an instantaneous one. To get it right is an iterative process that requires a more data-driven, sophisticated approach.?

Simply put, the modern journey mandates unification of both customer-facing functions to reflect the CTV / TikTok / Insta - led realities that our customers inhabit. Several new models have been presented to solve for this new reality.

Something simple like what Hubspot which re-imagines the funnel as a flywheel...

to Deloitte's more comprehensive model that is layerd, multi-dimensional and interconnected. (I find this to be more grounded in truth)

The good news is; organizations are now more open than ever to break down silos and foster cross-functional collabs.?

Restructuring traditional, siloed customer-facing org structures present a strategic opportunity to overcome these obstacles and get teams on the same page.

By breaking down silos and fostering cross-functional collaboration, companies can create a unified front that optimizes the buyer journey and maximizes revenue potential.?

That all sounds good. But how do you do actually do this??

First things first, teams must take a holistic perspective to even approach this challenge.

It begins with both teams sitting on the same side of the table then across each other…metaphorically speaking.?

Once this alignment is established, teams should collaborate to remap A specific customer journey. Not EVERY type of customer they have but the most important ONE. I emphasize ONE. Not ONES.?This forms the fountainhead upon which other journeys are mapped.

For that ONE customer type, let's called it the MVP customer, both teams must delve deep, analyze existing First Party data and define each phase of THAT specific journey. Thus establishing a clear set of criteria / filters for qualification for the journey path.?

When done right and chaperoned smartly, this is a magical process. Doing this in earnest, the unified team gains valuable insights into audience behaviors, preferences, touch points, messaging needs, value-exchange needs etc. From which then spurs specific set actions that each of the teams need to undertake to get the other metrics right.?

Remapping the audience journey is just the first step. Additional challenges remain. Data-driven unification of customer personas, testing of touch points and messaging, getting teams to become more agile in their marketing approach, finding the right voice/creative etc.?All remain.

That said, this first-step process lays the groundwork for a unified approach that puts the digital-first customer at the center of all efforts. Which alone will help you reap customer love and customer dollars that somehow seem to be so elusive and challenging these days.?

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