Customer Journey Map: what it is, how to create it and examples

by Moises Hamui October 12, 2023

A customer journey map is a visual representation of the interactions and experiences a customer has with a brand, product or service throughout their lifecycle.

It helps you understand customer needs, expectations, emotions and pain points at each stage of their journey, and identify opportunities and gaps to improve their satisfaction and loyalty.

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What does customer journey map mean?

The customer journey map is a tool that allows you to visualize and analyze the relationship between the customer and the brand, product or service from the customer's perspective.

It shows the touchpoints that the customer has with the brand, product or service, as well as the actions, thoughts, feelings and challenges they experience at each touchpoint.

The customer journey map helps you empathize with the customer and understand their motivations, goals, and pain points. It also helps you align business objectives with customer needs and expectations, and design strategies and actions that improve the customer experience and value proposition.

The customer journey map is not a static or generic document, but rather a dynamic and specific one. It can vary depending on the type of customer, the type of product or service, the type of industry, the type of channel or the type of objective.

It is important to clearly define the scope and purpose of the customer journey map before creating it.

Benefits of mapping the customer journey

Mapping the customer journey has multiple benefits for both the business and the customer. Among them, we can highlight the following:

Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty . By mapping the customer journey, you can identify and eliminate friction points or obstacles that prevent the customer from achieving their desired outcome. You can also create positive moments or wow factors that surprise and delight the customer. In this way, you can increase their satisfaction and loyalty, and reduce their churn rate.
Increase sales and profits . By mapping the customer journey, you can identify and capitalize on cross-selling and up-selling opportunities that arise along the way. You can also increase your customers’ retention and referral rates by offering them personalized and relevant offers that meet their needs and expectations. In this way, you can increase your sales and profits, and reduce your acquisition costs.
Differentiate your brand from the competition . By mapping the customer journey, you can create a unique and unforgettable customer experience that sets you apart from your competitors. You can also communicate your brand values and personality more effectively, and build a stronger emotional connection with your customers. In this way, you can position your brand as a leader in your market, and increase your awareness and reputation.

What are the stages of the customer journey?

The customer journey can be divided into several stages that reflect the key moments that the customer experiences from the moment they discover the brand, product or service until they become an ambassador or promoter of the same.

These stages may vary depending on the type of business, but the following are generally considered:

Discovery : This is the stage in which the customer becomes aware of their problem or need and searches for possible solutions. At this stage, the customer may encounter the brand, product or service for the first time, either through their own means (online search, social media, etc.), through paid means (advertising, sponsorships, etc.) or through earned means (recommendations, reviews, etc.).
Consideration : This is the stage in which the customer evaluates the different options they have found and compares their features, benefits and prices. At this stage, the customer looks for more information about the brand, product or service, whether on their website, blog, social media, videos, catalogues, etc.
Decision : This is the stage in which the customer decides on one of the options they have considered and makes the purchase or contract. At this stage, the customer looks for facilities and guarantees to complete the purchase or contract process, whether in your online store, in your physical store, on your phone, in your chat, etc.
Usage : This is the stage in which the customer uses the product or service they have purchased and checks whether it meets their expectations and needs. At this stage, the customer seeks assistance and support to resolve their doubts or problems, whether from your customer service, your technical service, your manuals, your tutorials, etc.
Loyalty : This is the stage in which the customer becomes a loyal and recurring customer of the brand, product or service, and repeats the purchase or contract. At this stage, the customer seeks incentives and rewards to maintain their relationship with the brand, product or service, whether in their loyalty program, special offers, discounts, etc.
Recommendation : This is the stage where the customer becomes an ambassador or promoter of the brand, product or service, and recommends it to other people. At this stage, the customer seeks recognition and gratitude for their work in promoting the brand, whether in their referral program, in their testimonials, in their ratings, or in their opinions.

These stages are not linear or fixed, but can vary depending on the type of customer, the type of product or service, the type of industry, the type of channel or the type of objective.

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How to create a business's customer journey step by step?

To create a business's customer journey step by step, you can follow these steps:

Define the objective and scope of the customer journey map

Before you start creating your customer journey map, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve with it and what aspects you want to analyze.

For example, you may want to improve your customers' conversion, retention, or referrals. You should also define the type of customer, type of product or service, type of industry, type of channel, or type of target you want to study.

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Create an ideal customer persona or profile

A persona is a fictional but realistic representation of your ideal customer, based on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data. It helps you better understand and empathize with your target audience.

To create a persona, you can use tools such as surveys, interviews, focus groups or web analytics.

Identify the stages of the customer journey

Depending on the objective and scope you have defined, you must identify the stages your client goes through from the moment they discover your brand, product or service until they become an ambassador or promoter of it.

You can use the generic stages we mentioned before (discovery, consideration, decision, usage, loyalty and recommendation), or create your own stages tailored to your business.

Identify the contact points or touchpoints

At each stage of the customer journey, you need to identify the touchpoints your customer has with your brand, product or service. Touchpoints can be online (website, blog, social media, email, etc.) or offline (physical store, telephone, outdoor advertising, etc.).

You need to consider both the touchpoints you control and those you don't control (e.g. customer reviews).

Identify the client's actions, thoughts, feelings and challenges

At each touchpoint, you need to identify the actions your customer takes (e.g., searching for information, comparing options, purchasing a product), the thoughts they have (e.g., what they need, what they expect, what they're concerned about), the feelings they experience (e.g., curiosity, trust, frustration, joy, etc.), and the challenges they face (e.g., lack of information, doubts, objections, technical issues, etc.).

To identify these aspects, you can use tools such as web analytics, customer feedback, empathy maps, or experience maps.

Evaluate customer satisfaction at every touchpoint

At every touchpoint, you should assess the level of customer satisfaction with your brand, product, or service. You can use a numerical scale (e.g. 1-5) or an emotional scale (e.g. emojis) to measure customer satisfaction.

You can also use indicators such as NPS (Net Promoter Score), CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) or CES (Customer Effort Score) to measure customer loyalty, satisfaction or effort.

Identify opportunities and gaps to improve customer experience

Based on your customer satisfaction assessment, you need to identify opportunities and gaps that exist to improve the customer experience at every touchpoint.

Opportunities are positive aspects that you can enhance or replicate to increase customer satisfaction. Gaps are negative aspects that you can correct or eliminate to reduce customer dissatisfaction.

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Design and implement actions to improve the customer experience

Based on the opportunities and gaps you have identified, you must design and implement actions that improve the customer experience at every point of contact.

These actions can be of different types, such as improving the design or usability of your website, creating valuable or educational content for your blog, personalizing your offers or messages for your email, offering faster or more efficient customer service for your phone, etc.

Visualize and communicate the customer journey map

Once you have completed all the steps above, you need to visualize and communicate the customer journey map in a clear and engaging way. You can use tools such as diagrams, tables, charts, or infographics to represent the customer journey map.

You can also use tools like PowerPoint, Word or Excel to create the final document. The customer journey map should be easy to understand and share with the people involved in the project, such as your team, your partners or your clients.

How to create a restaurant's customer journey?

To create a restaurant's customer journey, you can follow the same steps we explained above, but adapt them to the type of business and the type of customer you want to study. For example, you may want to analyze the journey of a customer who books a table online at your restaurant. In that case, you could define the following stages:

Discovery : Customers are looking for a restaurant where they can have lunch or dinner with their partner or friends. They can find your restaurant on Google Maps, TripAdvisor or in a food guide.
Consideration : The customer visits your website and sees the photos, menu and reviews from other customers. He likes what he sees and decides to book a table online.
Decision : The customer fills out a form with his/her personal details and chooses the date, time and number of guests. He/she receives an email confirmation with the details of his/her reservation.
Usage : The customer arrives at the restaurant and is greeted by a waiter who escorts him to his table. He enjoys the food, the service and the atmosphere. He asks for the bill and pays with his card.
Loyalty : The customer receives an email thanking them for their visit and asking them to rate their experience in a survey or on an online platform. The customer is satisfied and decides to return to your restaurant.
Recommendation : The customer recommends your restaurant to their family and friends. They also leave a positive review on Google Maps, TripAdvisor or another online platform.

How to gather information to map the customer journey

To gather the information needed to map the customer journey, you can use different sources and methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Among them, we can highlight the following:

Web analytics : allows you to obtain data on user behavior on your website, such as the number of visits, time spent, bounce rate, traffic source, most visited pages, conversions, etc. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Hotjar or Crazy Egg to perform this analysis.
Customer feedback : This allows you to obtain information about customer opinions and satisfaction with your brand, product or service, as well as their suggestions and complaints. You can use tools such as surveys, interviews, focus groups or questionnaires to collect this feedback.
Empathy map : allows you to put yourself in the customer's shoes and understand their needs, expectations, emotions and pain points. You can use tools such as the empathy map canvas to carry out this exercise.

Experience Map : This allows you to visualize the customer experience at each touchpoint, identifying the actions, thoughts, feelings, and challenges they experience. You can use tools like the experience map canvas to perform this exercise.

2 examples of customer journey

To illustrate how customer journey maps can be applied in different sectors, we show you two examples of customer journey maps for a travel agency and for an online clothing store.

Customer journey example for a travel agency

In this example, we'll look at the customer journey map of a customer who wants to organize a trip to Paris with his partner. The goal of the map is to improve conversion and customer satisfaction.

The type of client is a young person, with higher education, who likes to travel and who is looking for a personalized and quality offer.

The type of product or service is a tourist package that includes flight, hotel and activities. The type of industry is tourism. The type of channel is online.

The type of objective is informative.

Customer journey example for an online clothing store

In this example, we're going to look at the customer journey map of a customer who wants to buy a t-shirt online. The goal of the map is to improve customer retention and recommendation.

The type of customer is a young person, with a medium level of education, who likes fashion and is looking for an original and cheap t-shirt. The type of product or service is a t-shirt with a personalized design.

The industry type is e-commerce. The channel type is online. The target type is transactional.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses, I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.