Three Principles for Navigating and Mapping the "Connected" Customer Journey

The modern holy grail for marketers and executives alike is understanding today’s connected customer, and one of the best ways to do that is by mapping out customer journeys all the way from the first meeting to the much-coveted happily ever after. Whether a brand is looking for true love and loyalty, more market share, or increased sales for q1, mapping customer journeys can be an instructive and revealing exercise, answering critical questions like: How do our customers prefer to learn about our product or service? Which social channel is the most effective? How can we incentivize repeat customers? Is a rewards program a good fit for what we offer?

A better understanding of the brand’s touchpoints, the customer’s pain points and delights, and the quality of the overall experience can help set priorities, direct investments, and ultimately woo the connected customer.

However, as the saying goes, the map isn’t the territory, and when it comes to anticipating the connected consumer’s needs and wants, the traditional model needs an upgrade.

With the traditional model, it’s easy to think in silos and see the customer journey as a linear, one-directional experience. Unfortunately, that mindset and approach is out of sync with today’s customer. The connected consumer has many options, and the research, interaction, and evaluation of a brand can span multiple devices and both physical and digital reference points.

In other words, we need to question the silos.

Let’s say Suzie Q first hears of a new beauty brand on Instagram and it piques her interest. She follows the brand on social media and gets a sense of their “vibe.” She may not make an actual purchase until that initial impression and ongoing engagement in her newsfeed is combined with complimentary samples in the mail and a glowing review from her local esthetician.

Once she’s made a purchase, what determines whether she recommends it to others, or moves on to try a different line? Is it the follow-up email she gets with a gif that makes her laugh, or the quality of the product itself, or the ways in which sharing her experience is incentivized?

In-store, in-person, or on-site experiences can and do flow seamlessly into and overlap with their digital counterparts, and if your map is one dimensional or can’t factor in multiple parallel sequences, it might be time to go back to the drawing board and contemplate a more integrated approach.

With such a dynamic landscape, the next principle represents a critical shift in mindset: think about thresholds of conversion, rather than direct response funnels. In the example above, it wasn’t one single touch point that converted Susie into a customer but a convergence of touch points, both online and offline. As a rule of thumb, the more competitive a market is, the more engagement it will require for a brand to stand out and forge a real connection with the connected customer. The connected customer is incredibly smart and more than a little weary of traditional advertising, so it’s not enough for brands to have good tactics or simply pump up the volume; they must simultaneously add value, demonstrate positive intent, and incorporate a human element into their marketing and outreach. The combination of these three things is what will ultimately lead to conversion at scale.

The third principle of navigating and mapping a “connected” customer journey is perhaps the most important — recognizing that today’s customer journeys are as peer-driven as they are brand-driven. To remain relevant, brands need to understand that individuals, especially those who we like, admire, or identify with, will always inspire more trust than a company, no matter how well-designed or compelling. And for the brands who do understand this, this principle can be a strength, expressed through robust ambassador programs, as well as curated user-generated content that showcase not only the brand’s core message but also its larger community of brand advocates.

Brands like Lululemon and Glossier have done a great job celebrating the passions, whether yoga or natural beauty, of their target demographic and leveraging the power of peer-to-peer recommendations. If you’re feeling a little uncertain as to how to navigate a world with so many options, you’re not alone. The connected customer is too. But if you can combine genuine empathy for the empowered, yet inundated, modern customer, with data-driven insights on how the different touch points relate, you’ll have the necessary compass to move between map and territory with the skill and sensibility of a seasoned explorer.

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Shama Hyder is CEO of Zen Media, a leading marketing and new media consultancy, a best-selling author, and an internationally renowned keynote speaker.

As seen previously on Forbes.