Customer Journey Map is not there to look good. It is there to show us what is really happening along the customer journey.
Mapping the Customer Journey is not a fancy CX activity.
If we do not know what customers do, think and feel as they use our products, services and go through different processes, how can we know where we need to improve the experience?
Without a map we are driving on instinct
Imagine driving a car without looking in the rear-view mirror, checking your blind spot or having a clear windshield.
You have a destination. You know where you want to go. You have driving experience. But you cannot see the full picture.
The same thing happens in organizations.
We know our processes. We know our products. We know what marketing does, what sales does, what customer support does and what the digital team does.
But do we know what the entire journey looks like from the customer’s perspective?
Where does it get stuck? Where does the customer have to repeat information? Where do they have to wait unnecessarily? Where are they unsure what to do next? Where are we creating unnecessary effort? And most importantly – at what point might we lose the customer?
A good map shows what the organization often does not see
A good Customer Journey Map gives us a broader view of the customer journey – from the first interaction with the brand to the moment the customer achieves their goal.
And that is exactly where its value lies.
The map does not solve the problem, but it helps us see it
And without a clear picture, it is difficult to make good decisions about what needs to change.
A Journey Map is not just about customer experience
The customer journey is never simple. It brings together and connects people, processes, technology, communication, documents, different channels and different parts of the organization.
That is why a good map does not only show what the customer does.
It connects the customer perspective with what is happening behind the scenes.
And that is often when it becomes clear why the experience looks the way it does.
The customer may see just one step that takes too long.
The organization behind that step sees three departments, two systems and five internal rules that need to be optimized or changed.
Customer Journey Mapping connects these two perspectives.
The map is the beginning, not the end
Creating a map and saving it in a presentation is not Customer Experience Management.
A map creates value only when it is used to make decisions and improve the experience.
When we know where customers encounter obstacles, we can decide what to change, why we are changing it and what value that change creates for the customer and the company.
That is where Customer Journey Mapping moves from documenting the experience to managing it.
A good CX organization does not drive blind
Well-structured and accessible customer journey maps should be basic infrastructure for any serious CX approach.
When everyone in the organization sees the same customer journey, it becomes easier to discuss problems, connect different parts of the organization and direct energy where it creates the greatest value.
We cannot manage what we do not see and understand
A good Customer Journey Map allows us to see the entire journey – from the customer’s perspective but also from the company’s perspective.
Then we are no longer driving blind.
We know where we are. We know where we want to go. And we know what we need to do to get there.