According to a survey by HubSpot, only 22% of businesses are satisfied with their current customer journey. This suggests that almost 78% of businesses out there are not satisfied with their current journey. That’s a staggering figure. For many it’s just been a lack or focus, understanding or expertise in getting this done. When researching this gap there is no one industry that is universally considered to have the worst customer journey rating, as customer experiences can vary widely between industries. However, according to the 2021 Customer Experience Management Benchmark report by Qualtrics, the telecommunications industry had the lowest average customer experience score of all industries surveyed, with a score of 31 out of 100. This suggests that customers in the telecommunications industry may have a more negative perception of their experiences with providers in this sector compared to other industries. Other industries that have been criticized for poor customer experiences include healthcare, financial services, and airlines. However, it is worth noting that customer experiences can vary widely within these industries depending on the specific company and the quality of their customer journey. So with that in mind let’s take a look at how to build or potentially improve a customer journey.
First and foremost, what is a customer journey?
A customer journey is the process that a customer goes through when interacting with a business, from the initial awareness of a product or service to the final purchase and beyond. It encompasses all the touchpoints a customer has with a business, including marketing and advertising, website visits, social media interactions, customer service interactions, and post-purchase experiences. The customer journey typically consists of several stages, such as awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy. By mapping out the customer journey, businesses can gain a better understanding of their customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points, and create a more personalized and seamless customer experience.
Here are a few steps to build a customer journey.
1. Define your customer personas: Identify the different types of customers you have, their needs, preferences, pain points, and motivations.
2. Map out your customer journey stages: Divide your customer journey into different stages, such as awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy.
3. Define the touchpoints: Identify the channels and interactions that your customers have with your brand at each stage of the customer journey, such as website visits, social media interactions, customer service calls, etc.
4. Analyze customer behavior: Use data and analytics to understand how your customers interact with your brand at each stage of the customer journey. Identify the points where they drop off or experience friction.
5. Identify opportunities for improvement: Based on the analysis, identify opportunities to improve the customer experience at each touchpoint and stage of the customer journey.
6. Create an action plan: Develop a plan to address the opportunities for improvement and optimize the customer experience. This could involve changes to your marketing messages, website design, customer service processes, or other areas.
7. Test and measure: Implement your action plan and measure the impact of your changes. Use feedback from customers and data analysis to continue refining the customer journey and improving the customer experience.
There’s obviously a lot more to a building and sustaining a high rated customer journey than this but these 7 keys are a great place to start. Building a customer journey is essential for businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences and drive business success. The process involves cross-functional collaboration between teams to prioritize the development of a comprehensive customer journey. If done right businesses can improve customer satisfaction, drive customer loyalty, and increase conversion rates, leading to long-term success. With CX being the new sales and retention it’s wise for organizations to take this seriously now.
