By Swatil Binte Mahmud, Blogger, Lava Protocols
We tend to think we offer products and our customers buy them and that is somehow the end of the story. Donald Draper, a big-shot ad man in the popular American drama series Mad Men, once said, “Well, technology is a glittering lure. But there’s the rare occasion when the public can be engaged on a level beyond flash if they have a sentimental bond with the product.” He was trying to sell his idea to the Kodak company for their popular product in the ’60ss, The Carousel.
However, what made the men from Kodak buy his idea was what he said next. Don said, “This device isn’t a spaceship. It’s a time machine. It goes backward, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the Wheel. It’s called a Carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Around and around, and back home again… to a place where we know we are loved.” Well, Donald Draper knew that selling a product is not the end of a journey, but just the beginning of it!
This is why you need to ensure that your company values customer journeys and at the same time allocates resources to map the journey.
What are your customers thinking?
Customers now use various apps and platforms to stay connected to the business they are investing their money in. They use messaging apps, email, phone calls, websites, and various other channels to communicate with businesses and companies. Customer experience is more important than ever. According to 2020 global research from Salesforce,
- 80% of customers now consider their experience with a company to be as important as its products.
- 69% of Gen X customers prioritize convenience over brand loyalty
- 91% of customers agree that a positive customer experience makes them more likely to purchase again
Believe us when we tell you that customer expectations are undoubtedly undergoing major transformations and they will not settle for anything less than the best.
Why should you have a customer journey map?
A customer journey map is a visual picture of the customer or user journey; it helps you tell the story of your customer’s experiences with your brand across social media, email, live chat, and any other channels they might use. Mapping the customer journey can help to ensure that you are not missing out on the chance to interact with your customer at any stage. It helps businesses to gain insights into common customer pain points. With these insights, your business can deliver more optimized and personalized customer experiences.
How to create a customer journey map?
First of all, you need to map out all the possible customer touchpoints. The touchpoints can include websites, social channels, or online and offline interactions with the marketing and sales teams.
Second, you need to create user journeys across these various touchpoints for each buyer persona. For example, a millennial buyer persona may typically become aware of a product on social media, research it on the mobile version of your site, and finally, make a purchase on a laptop.
Last but not the least, you need to include the customer experience at each touchpoint in your customer journey map. This can include the actions your customer needs to take and how your brand will respond to them.
How to utilize the power of Omni channels?
Like I have mentioned earlier, your customers want and expect the best from you and your products. Today’s consumers want a highly personalized experience and this includes collaborative effort from marketing and customer service teams. This interconnected approach is called omnichannel marketing and omnichannel customer service.
Your customer journey mapping can target one prospect across multiple touchpoints. For example, a customer who browses a product on a website can be retargeted with a social media ad later on. Hence, to offer the best possible customer experience, omnichannel marketing is often backed up by omnichannel customer service. This is where the customer can receive customer support across any channel.
Using this approach, will not only make your customers happy, your customer service team can also better understand the customer experience and improve their ability to resolve issues!
If you’re serious about customer journey mapping (you should be by now!), you need to invest in software that can help. Customer journey mapping tools are typically part of marketing automation software like Pardot by Salesforce. These allow you to easily create customized journeys and automate marketing actions. This can take your marketing automation efforts to the next level.
So, if you want to reach the next level like your competition in the market, we are here to help you in every step of the way! Remember, the biggest benefit of customer journey mapping is simply understanding your customers more. Once you know your customers, you will know exactly how to tailor your products to match your customer’s needs.
Lava Protocols is an authorized Salesforce Partner. Want to manage your CRM better? Drop us an email to: hello@lavaprotocols.com.