{"id":41315,"date":"2020-02-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/customer-journey-map-templates\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T06:30:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:30:46","slug":"customer-journey-map-templates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-journey-map-templates\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer journey map templates: 6 examples to inspire you"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customers can seem completely unpredictable sometimes. They spend weeks researching your products, engaging with your content, and filling their cart\u2014coming <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this close <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to finally making a purchase\u2014just to abandon it before checking out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or they subscribe to your emails, click through to your product pages, learn more about your offerings, but never take that next step to buy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re left sitting behind the scenes wondering what the heck they\u2019re doing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While some people really are just quick to changing their minds, customers not moving efficiently through your sales funnel could be a sign of a problem: you might not understand your <a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-journeys\/\">customer journeys<\/a>. For example, do you know how customers prefer to communicate with you <em>after\u00a0<\/em>they&#8217;ve bought something from you (as opposed to before)?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Respondents in the 40-55 and 55+ age groups who were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/customer-communications-trends-report.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surveyed in the Customer Communications Review stated<\/a> that phone calls were their preferred communication after a purchase. On the other hand, 18-39s actually preferred online chat and email over the phone:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/customer-communications-trends-report.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-6147\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Preferred-communication-after-purchase-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"Preferred communication after purchase\" width=\"840\" height=\"440\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your customer journey explains how they get from Point A (not being a customer) to Point B (becoming a customer). But the progression is never really that linear. Instead, customers are often all over the place\u2014bouncing from point to point, engaging with content along the way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what\u2019s the best way to understand any kind of journey? A map. Here\u2019s everything you need to know about customer journey mapping, including:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#one\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is customer journey mapping?\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#two\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why should small businesses create customer journey maps?\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#three\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to create a customer journey map in 5 simple steps\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#four\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples of different customer journey map types<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\ud83c\udfc3\u200d\u2640\ufe0f In a hurry? Get the 6 <strong>customer journey map templates<\/strong> right now<\/span><span class=\"emoji\">\ud83d\udc47<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-49726\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-10-19-at-1.31.13-PM.png\" alt=\"customer journey map template\" width=\"1475\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/blog\/Customer_Journey_Map_Template.xlsx\" data-id=\"69df0d7d48ed0\" id=\"69df0d7d48ed0\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:69df0d7d48ed0.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f  Grab the free templates<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udccd Start building your customer journey map with these templates. <\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Asset_ID__c\" value=\"ODAM-01756\" class=\"download-form-input\"><\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get them now\">Get them now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:69df0d7d48ed0.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy! <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><a id=\"one\"><\/a>What is customer journey mapping?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-journey-map\/\">Customer journey mapping<\/a> is the exercise of visually outlining the process a prospect goes through to become a customer. That might be something as simple as signing up for a free trial or as involved as making an extravagant purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer journey maps are typically just a rough outline of the possible directions a customer might move in. Because every person is different, you can\u2019t predict the exact steps they might take to convert.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, customer journey mapping can help you understand the thought processes, behaviors, and needs of your customers to prevent anyone from slipping through the cracks. Which leads to our next point.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe\" id=\"new-rc-subscribe\"  style=\"background-image:url('\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ringcentral\/assets\/images\/temp\/subscribe.png')\">\n\t\t<button class=\"close js-popup-close\"><svg class=\"icon_close_mobile\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon_close_mobile\"><\/use><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__wrapper_text\">\n<h3 class=\"rc-subscribe__title h2\">Stay informed with RingCentral<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__subtitle\">Subscribe to our emails for the latest blogs, events, and exclusive content on AI-powered communication solutions. Stay ahead with insights and tips from the leader in trusted AI communications.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/legal\/privacy-notice.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-dl-name=\"Privacy Notic\" data-dl-element=\"link\" data-dl-additional-info=\"social\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Privacy Notice<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__wrapper_form\">\n<form class=\"\" data-event-init=\"true\" novalidate data-js-form>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tname=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplaceholder=\"Email address *\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Must be valid email. example@yourdomain.com\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tminlength=\"4\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmaxlength=\"255\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttype=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trequired\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpattern=\"[a-z0-9._%+\\-]+@[a-z0-9.\\-]+\\.[a-z]{2,}$\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"field__control\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tautocomplete=\"on\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-required=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-events-hover=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-element=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-additional-info=\"LET'S WORK TOGETHER\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Email address *\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-errormessage=\"email-subscribe-errors\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"field__errors\" id=\"email-subscribe-errors\" data-js-form-field-errors><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<select\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tname=\"Country__c\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trequired\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"field__control\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-required=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-expanded=\"false\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Country *\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-errormessage=\"country-subscribe-errors\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t><option value=\"\" disabled=\"disabled\" selected=\"selected\">Country<\/option><option value=\"Canada\">Canada<\/option><option value=\"United_States\">United States<\/option><\/select><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"field__errors\" id=\"country-subscribe-errors\" data-js-form-field-errors><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"submit\" data-event-init=\"true\">Subscribe<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"confirm-form\" role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" style=\"display: none;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"confirm-form__text\">Thank you for your interest in RingCentral<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><a id=\"two\"><\/a>Why do you need a customer journey map?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A customer journey map breaks down the conversion process into individual phases. Rather than just looking at the end destination as the only goal, a customer journey map allows you to visualize the many small decisions your customers make to eventually become a customer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re then able to narrow your focus and deliver the right resources at the right time\u2014converting customers more quickly and preventing prospects from getting neglected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating customer journey maps can also help you make fundamental improvements to your business:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li><b><b>Get to know your target audience. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding your customer journey comes with getting to know your audience better. You\u2019re analyzing their decisions, thinking about their needs, and putting yourself in their shoes. With that research, you gain more knowledge about who your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/how-to-find-your-target-audience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">target audience<\/a> really is and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-experience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer experience<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they\u2019re looking for. <\/span><\/b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>Create an inbound-first marketing model.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/inbound-marketing-campaign-templates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Inbound marketing campaigns<\/a> bring leads to you rather than you needing to hunt them down yourself (as you would with outbound marketing strategies like cold calling). When you know your target audience well, you can create <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/inbound-calling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inbound calling<\/a> strategies that bring them to you. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Adopt a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-centric-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer-centric strategy<\/a>.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer-centricity should be an organization-wide initiative\u2014but you can\u2019t deliver this if you don\u2019t really know who your customer is. Creating customer journey maps gives every department\u2014sales, marketing, product development, service\u2014a better understanding of who they\u2019re connecting with.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In short, customer journey maps just help you do business <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">better. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather than guessing what your customer needs, you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">know<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> what they need\u2014and how to give it to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next steps? You need to create your unique map.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><a id=\"three\"><\/a>How to create a customer journey map in 5 steps<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer journey mapping looks slightly different from company to company. Your customers, products and services, and resources available will all influence this process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While every map will look different, there are some fundamental, systematic steps you can take\u2014starting with why you need a map in the first place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re going to map this out in a spreadsheet. You can more easily follow along if you do the same! You can <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">download a template of the customer journey map spreadsheet below<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014feel free to edit it based on what you need.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/blog\/Customer_Journey_Map_Template.xlsx\" data-id=\"69df0d7d49002\" id=\"69df0d7d49002\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:69df0d7d49002.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f  Grab the free templates<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udccd Start building your customer journey map with these templates. <\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Asset_ID__c\" value=\"ODAM-01756\" class=\"download-form-input\"><\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get them now\">Get them now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:69df0d7d49002.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy! <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">1. Establish your objectives<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing you need to do is answer the question of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">why? <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why are you creating this customer journey map?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This might seem like a trick question. After all, we did just give you a bulleted list of why you should care about customer journey maps, but we\u2019re looking for an answer a little deeper than that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are you hoping to accomplish by mapping out this customer journey? What are the individual steps and goals you want the customer to complete? What resources do you need to share with the customer at each point? Set a clear goal for yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about how this behavior from the customer will translate into the larger business objectives you\u2019re trying to accomplish. For example, you might want to reduce churn and convert more past customers. Maybe you need to boost sales or sell more of a specific product or service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing your objectives can help you identify potential problems in your current customer journey (but more on that later).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first line of your spreadsheet, write out your objective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3413 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image2-58.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Establish your objectives\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1334\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">2. Create and highlight your target personas<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating customer personas is the very first step in getting to know your audience better. A customer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, including demographics and psychographics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you haven\u2019t already created customer personas, take a step back and outline <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your different types of customers, who they are, and what they might be looking for\u2014both from your brand and from other businesses they engage with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some questions your buyer personas should address:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are your customers\u2019 job titles and responsibilities?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where are they located?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What hobbies, activities, or organizations do they partake in?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are they the decision-maker for buying your product? If not, how do they connect with the decision-maker?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What challenges are they facing?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What solutions have they already tried to solve those challenges? Where did those solutions come up short?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are they interested in learning about from you?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the most important factors when they\u2019re deciding to make a purchase?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll have a few customer personas, and you can\u2019t target them all with one customer journey map. Each persona will likely have a different customer journey depending on who they are, their budget constraints, problems they\u2019re facing, and solutions they\u2019ve tried. Now is the time to identify the personas relevant to the customer journey map you\u2019re creating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll need to look back at your objectives here. What did you say you wanted to accomplish, and who is most likely to complete that task? If this is the first customer journey map you\u2019re creating, just focus on one persona for now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establish your target persona and some key details about who they are right below the objective line in your spreadsheet. Having this info clearly visible throughout the customer journey mapping process will help you stay focused.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3416 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image4-43.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Create and highlight your target personas\" width=\"1356\" height=\"530\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">3. Know your customer lifecycle phases<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although customer journey maps differ from brand to brand, customers tend to follow similar processes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/brand-awareness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Awareness<\/a>: <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discovering your brand and the solutions you provide<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>Research:<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning more about your business and what you have to offer, and determining if you have the right solutions to solve their problems<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Consideration:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Comparing your brand with competitors to see which offers the right solution for their unique needs\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Purchase:<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making a final selection and buying (or otherwise converting, such as reaching out through email or phone call)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add a section for each stage to your spreadsheet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3412 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image1-70.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Know your customer lifecycle phases\" width=\"1999\" height=\"375\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding these different phases and what happens at each one sets the framework for mapping out your customer journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about what your goal is at each stage of the customer lifecycle. What action or behavior would move them to the next phase? What are their unique needs at this phase? What questions might they be asking?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These questions are the next thing to answer in your spreadsheet:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3420 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image8-22.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Know your customer lifecycle phases\" width=\"1999\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, consider what your goals as a business are at each stage. What do you want to provide your customers to move them through the customer journey?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3425 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image13-12.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Know your customer lifecycle phases\" width=\"1999\" height=\"559\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">4. Map out your touchpoints<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A touchpoint is any place where your customer engages. This could be through your website, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/email-marketing-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">email marketing<\/a> campaign, social media, third-party review sites, or on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/how-does-a-virtual-phone-call-work.html\">virtual call<\/a>\u2014anywhere they can get in touch with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are likely a number of different touchpoints between your customer and your brand, but not all of them will be relevant to your customer journey map.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Different touchpoints typically go with different phases of the customer journey. For example, social media interactions are more prevalent during the awareness stage while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-review-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer reviews<\/a> or blog posts might not be looked at until the customer is in the consideration phase. (Learn about more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/social-media-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social media benefits<\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Map out your touchpoints by breaking down your customer journey into the phases in Step 3, starting with awareness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify the specific profiles or platforms the customer might go through at the awareness stage. This might include social media or posts from influencers or media websites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add this to your spreadsheet:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3419 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image7-25.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Map out your touchpoints\" width=\"1999\" height=\"751\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now give some context to those actions. What is the customer doing at this stage? What might they be thinking or feeling? Think about the emotional side (like anxiety and excitement) of the transaction as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3417 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image5-35.png\" alt=\"Creating a customer journey map: Map out your touchpoints\" width=\"1999\" height=\"813\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow this process all the way through to the end, outlining where the customer is getting in touch at each phase, as well as what they\u2019re doing, thinking, or feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">5. Find the gaps and fill them<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your customer journey were perfectly established already, you wouldn\u2019t be here. Customers are falling through somehow, somewhere, and you need to find out why.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"color: #666666; padding-top: 15px;\"><strong>Talk with customer-facing team members.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No one knows your customers\u2019 frustrations better than your support team members. They interact with customers daily\u2014responding to problems, answering questions, collecting feedback\u2014so why not ask them what it is they\u2019re hearing?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some questions you can ask your team:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What problems do you hear most frequently from customers?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What roadblocks or challenges have customers experienced in the past?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What emotions are they typically feeling when they reach out? Are they supportive, frustrated, confused?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What questions do they typically ask?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What experiences do customers seem to enjoy or are impressed by?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These can help get the conversation flowing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use the right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/communication-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communication tools<\/a> to make it easier for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer support<\/a> team to share information with other teams. Knowing customer reactions in real-time can keep your customer journey maps strong. One way to do this is through a team messaging app. For example, RingCentral\u2019s team messaging platform makes it easy to share files, relay messages, or just connect on customer challenges or feedback:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation\" title=\"RingCentral app for Desktop: Message. Video. Phone.\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EbIAZJd9rCU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For most businesses, your customer-facing team will need a way to quickly and efficiently keep you updated if new or unexpected problems appear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"color: #666666; padding-top: 15px;\"><strong>Go straight to the source.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While your support team probably has some useful information, they\u2019re only able to gather insights and data about the customers they\u2019ve connected with. If customers leave the customer journey before feeling invested enough in your brand to reach out, you might never know what they think.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Up until this point, you\u2019ve just been making educated guesses about customer needs, behaviors, and thought processes. Maybe you\u2019ve used data and analytics to back up your points, but it\u2019s still reactive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why you need to go straight to the source\u2014your target audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talking with your customers and prospects through interviews, surveys, and questionnaires can affirm or challenge the assumptions you\u2019ve made. Here\u2019s how:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>1. Identify the audience group and how you\u2019re going to connect. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who are you going to talk to and how? This might be social media followers, past customers, people who\u2019ve abandoned full carts\u2014or all three! Establish who you want to hear from and how you\u2019re going to get in touch.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>Pro-tip:<\/strong><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">If your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/solutions\/office\/call.html\">cloud-based phone system<\/a> has an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/auto-dialer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">auto dialer <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(or other calling features), it can help you connect with large groups of customers, getting more reliable information more quickly for your customer journey map. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>2. Create your questions. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have their attention, figure out what you\u2019re going to ask. Keep it short\u20143 to 5 questions for prospects and maybe 5 to 10 for established customers. Questions you might ask include:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What made you choose\/not choose to purchase from us?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What problem or challenge were you hoping the product\/service would solve?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did you struggle to find any information about the product\/service or the brand? What information was it?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What could have made the buying process easier?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How could we improve the customer experience?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>3. Collect responses and look for patterns. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every customer will likely have a different experience, but similar groups might have similar reactions. Look for patterns in your customers\u2019 and prospects\u2019 responses. If they all outline the same problem with your buying process, you know your map has some gaps.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"color: #666666; padding-top: 15px;\"><strong>Follow the customer journey map yourself.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your customer service team and the customers themselves should have given you some decent insights, but nothing beats the first-hand perspective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After implementing changes to your customer journey map based on the information you\u2019ve collected, it\u2019s time to follow the map yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pretend you\u2019re a customer interested in your products or services. Follow the progression of touchpoints you established to move through the awareness, research, consideration, and purchasing stages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At each point, analyze if you feel you have enough information or not. Do you have any questions that haven\u2019t been answered, or do you feel like something is missing? There might still be some gaps that haven\u2019t been identified yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you feel like you\u2019re too close to the customer journey and content available to get a good read, ask someone outside your circle to follow the process\u2014a friend or family member who might not be a customer or involved with the business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><a id=\"four\"><\/a>Examples of customer journey maps<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Need a little more inspiration? Here are some examples of customer journey maps you can pull from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">1. Business to business (B2B) buyer journey maps\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s start out with a pretty basic customer journey map. If you\u2019ve been following along with our spreadsheet, your customer journey map probably closely <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uxpressia.com\/uploads\/5d24b528fe8a385fae20e835\/big\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">resembles this example<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3424 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image12-13.png\" alt=\"Business to business (B2B) buyer journey maps\" width=\"1999\" height=\"728\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s simple and to the point. If you\u2019re new to customer journey maps, a clean, basic flow is easy to understand and gives you all the information you need at a quick glance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you\u2019re a business that sells to businesses (B2B), the buyer is rarely just one person. While a single person might be the final decision-maker, a B2B purchasing decision often involves multiple people giving their approval, meaning the entire cycle can take a bit longer. (Sometimes months!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s another great example of a basic B2B customer journey:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3426 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image14-10.png\" alt=\"Business to business (B2B) buyer journey maps\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1113\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it\u2019s a little more in-depth, it\u2019s still easy to read for your entire team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we see in both of these customer journey maps, the phases of the purchasing journey go beyond just awareness, research, consideration, and purchase, yet there are content recommendations and goals at each step. If you feel like you need to take up more space or more steps, go with your gut.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Key takeaways:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t overdesign for the sake of looking cool. A basic guide like this one gives you all the information you need in an easy to read and understand package.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expand your customer journey map so it feels right for you. If your customer needs more phases to get through their journey, that\u2019s totally fine.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">2. Software as a service (SaaS) buyer journey maps<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your customer journey map should show a progression of how your customer moves through the buying process. The SaaS buyer\u2019s journey is unique because much of the journey is still continuing after the decision is made. Because SaaS business models are built on the hope that the customer keeps returning, you need to think about the customer\u2019s experience beyond just the initial purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This example of a SaaS customer journey does a great job of showing the seamless movements, thoughts, and feelings of customers at different stages of buying subscription software:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3423 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image11-11.png\" alt=\"Jeff Crezo's Taskly Journey\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1040\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also give solid descriptions with recommendations for approaching each phase of the journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Key takeaway:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that the journey is fluid. The ending of one phase should transition smoothly into the next, so consider what the customer might be experiencing at all points of the customer journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t assume your customer journey ends when they make their first purchase. If you need the customer to convert again, create a journey map that represents that process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">3. In-store shopping buyer journey maps\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer journey maps don\u2019t discriminate between online or in-store purchases. If you\u2019re a retail store, you still need to outline the various touchpoints, emotions, and customer needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uxpressia.com\/uploads\/5adf4d0109ee5958d92c4697\/big\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">example from the grocery store The Fresh Market<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3418 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image6-28.png\" alt=\"Customer journey map, example from The Fresh Market \" width=\"1322\" height=\"755\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One great thing about this customer journey map is that they\u2019ve laid out the emotions and experiences for both returning customers and first-time customers. This comparison shows how two different customers can have similar\u2014or very different\u2014experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be sure to focus an equal amount on the research and pre-shopping connections as much as the in-store touchpoints. Your customer journey doesn\u2019t begin when the customer walks in the door, and they\u2019re not committed to purchasing once they get inside. Make sure your customer journey map represents the full picture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Key takeaways:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at the same journey from different perspectives. Don\u2019t assume a customer will have the same experience every time they buy from you.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember the full customer journey. Although they\u2019re shopping in store, the customer journey begins long before.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">4. Online learning buyer journey maps<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes the end goal isn\u2019t to make a purchase at all, but instead to educate a customer about a general topic or just provide some information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s an example of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uxpressia.com\/uploads\/5bc7101be6a84b6540c7f7ff\/big\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer journey map for bringing information to customers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from USA.gov.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3422 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image10-13.png\" alt=\"Linda's Journey Map\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notice how it more or less follows the same steps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treat an online learner the same way you would a traditional buyer. While you may not need them to take out their credit card to become a customer, you still want them to connect. Don\u2019t discredit education customer journey maps just because they don\u2019t end in a purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Key takeaways:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have a non-traditional end goal, customer journey maps are still important. Follow the same steps by outlining emotions, feelings and needs, and activities performed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">5. Multichannel buyer journey map<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our customers rarely engage with content and brands in just one way. They\u2019re searching for omnichannel content that brings them through the customer journey at various points of their daily lives. By following the customer through the different channels\u2014on mobile, at home, and in store\u2014you can ensure your audience is appropriately targeted at every step.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s an example of a customer journey map that displays this process:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3414 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image3-48.png\" alt=\"Example of Multichannel buyer journey map\" width=\"1771\" height=\"824\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure to plan for the transitions. Don\u2019t assume your customer will seamlessly move from one channel to the next. It\u2019s your responsibility to find ways to connect with your customers through their favorite channels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Key takeaway:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognize how your customers engage with content in different ways. While they might be targeted online, they might eventually move to buy in-store. Create a customer journey map that meets all these needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\" style=\"padding-top: 35px;\">Ready to create a customer journey map of your own?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you have all the pieces to create a customer journey map, you\u2019re ready to get started!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But mapping out the customer journey is just the first step. Once you create your map, you need to apply it to your business model, content, and deliverables to create a better customer experience for your audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it shouldn\u2019t stop there. Just like your buyer personas and marketing campaigns, customer journey maps require consistent revival. Come back to your customer journey map every few months to see if it\u2019s still relevant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you don\u2019t need to start from scratch, moving through these steps and looking at examples of customer journey maps other brands have created can give you inspiration and insight to dig deeper. As your customer journey maps get more detailed, you can build stronger connections with your audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Customers can seem completely unpredictable sometimes. They spend weeks researching your products, engaging with your content, and filling their cart\u2014coming this close to finally making a purchase\u2014just to abandon it before checking out.\u00a0 Or they subscribe to your emails, click through to your product pages, learn more about your offerings, but never take that next &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":48985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901],"tags":[743,18026,18032,18033,15541],"class_list":["post-41315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","tag-customer-experience","tag-customer-journey","tag-customer-journey-map","tag-customer-journey-map-templates","tag-cx"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - 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