Customer Journey Mapping
John Sabatino, CEO, TMI Australia Pty Ltd
Native American Indian proverb quotes “To understand the man you must first walk a mile in his moccasins”.
What is a Customer Journey Map?
Customer journey mapping is a tool that is used extensively in the customer experience field whereby someone shadows a customer so as to observe what they experience at each step along their interactions with your company. At different times, customer expectations when interacting with your company may be low, more often than not it is caused by specific issues at certain points rather than the whole service offering. By drilling deep to understand what a customer experiences at each place they interact with the company, we will be better placed in creating positive solutions.
Who do we map and how do we recruit customers?
The journey will be different for different segments within your customer base.
Is it business class passengers or family vacations? Is it people applying for a home loan or a business relationship customer? The segments of choice should be based around strategic decisions such as a segment where there is an unusually high number of complaints, or a segment that is losing business or perhaps a segment with a high potential for growth. Once we have determined our segment it is important how we choose or recruit which customers to focus
upon. When recruiting customers to shadow it is important to remember that these customer need to understand what to expect, hence we need to have their permission and cooperation. This all needs to in place before we start a journey map. This is achieved by having a meeting or some type of
conversation beforehand.
Identify touch points
Based upon our target segment and selected customers, it is important to move through the process and select each individual point where the customer may have some interaction along the
product/service lifecycle. Imagine a trip on a “high speed train” between major capital cities in
Australia. The journey would involve many interactions such as: searching for tickets and prices, arriving at the station, finding out where to board, waiting in the waiting area, boarding, finding your seat, travelling, buying food, going to the amenities etc. Some may go to a business lounge whilst others may
Customer journey mapping is a tool ..
used extensively in the customer experience field whereby someone shadows a customer so as to observe what
they experience at each step along their
interactions with
your company
simply arrive and board - it can vary significantly. It is important to
understand what each customer experiences from start to finish and break it down step by step.
The best way to identify touch points is to have different people in your organisation go through the process of understanding a typical journey. Step by step, map out what customers are likely to do, where they may go, what sort of steps they need to take to achieve an outcome, who they may interact with and so on. Look for potential “hot spot” areas and know when to intercept your customer during the journey in order to get their feedback.
Start Mapping
The process involves someone shadowing a customer from a discrete distance. As the customer moves through each touch point the observer should intercept the customer following the interaction to assess the experience. It is important to understand how the process performed both functionally (how it worked) and emotionally (how they felt). We often begin by asking customers to score it both functionally and emotionally on a 5 points scale (5 very high and 1 very low) and based upon the score understand the reason for the score. We may ask “Can you tell me why you gave that score and how you would have preferred to be treated?” or “What was it about what happened at that point that pleases you such that you gave it a 5?” All of this should be covered with the customer before the process begins so that the customers know what to expect.
Record as much information as possible, and where possible take as many photos as you can. There is nothing more powerful than seeing eight staff at a counter where only one is serving, and there is a very long line of waiting customers. A photo says it all. Also it is important for the researcher to observe as many activities as possible. Was the area clean? Were the staff engaging enough with customers? Did the customer look lost while looking for something without anyone asking? etc.
Completing the Process?
Once we have gathered and recorded all the information (with possible photos) we need to create the map. On a large chart (as shown in the picture below), we should attach all the comments as notes and any associated photos. It is important to be able to visualise the score and to quickly gain an understanding of where the experience is positive (and why it has been such a good
experience) and the areas that may require attention. With areas where the scores were low, it is vital to be able to drill deeper to understand how the experience can be improved. If we are now clear as to where potential
Step by step, map out
what customers are likely to do, where they may go, what sort of steps they
need to take to achieve an outcome,
who they may interact with and so
on. Look for potential “hot spot”
areas
Record as much information as possible, …. take as many photos as you
can…. On a large chart…attach all the
comments as notes and any associated
photos
problems may occur, we will be better placed to address these before they become an issue with customers. Furthermore we could use this information to train our staff to better handle these
complaints as they arise, as we now know what the likely cause of that complaint will be and are able to better prepare our staff to deal with the situation.
Co Creation of a Solution?
Based upon the voice of customer at various touch points we are now better equipped to provide a solution. Are there any quick fixes? Are there areas where the customer experience can be enhanced based upon what we now know? Are there any
“Moments of Truth” - a particular point where the customer can be won or lost?
Knowing that there are areas where the feedback has been negative we can either rectify the situation or be prepared to deal with the feedback more
effectively. Once we complete the map, we can then work out how best to move forward through creating solutions. This can be done by our people internally or in an ideal scenario we can involve our staff (those who provide the service) alongside our customers (those who experience the service) and together co- create a solutions that will provide a high level of customer satisfaction. By giving all stakeholders a voice, we will be able to provide insights into how to improve the overall experience as well as potentially avoiding complaints.
Input of data and putting it all together
Involve your staff
(those who provide the service) alongside
your customers
(those who experience the service) and together
co-create a solutionsthat will provide a
high level of
customer satisfaction
What a base Journey map template may look like with various touch points
