What is customer journey mapping?

Don't start with a blank sheet of paper

A common approach to customer journey mapping is to begin with customer research. At Zuni, we start somewhere different: inside the organisation.

Most organisations already know a great deal about their customers and the problems they are trying to solve. The problem is that it is rarely held in one place. The knowledge sits across marketing, sales, customer service, digital, operations, technology and other teams.

Different teams may also have very different views of who the customer is, what they need, what their broader journey looks like and where the organisation fits within it.

We bring those people together first through facilitated workshops to capture existing knowledge and assumptions about the customer and map the journey as the organisation currently understands it.

This creates an assumptive customer journey map.

It shows what the organisation thinks it knows, where teams agree, where perspectives differ and, importantly, where the gaps are.

Then validate it with customers

The assumptive journey isn't the final customer journey map. It needs to be validated.

But mapping the assumptive map first gives us a much better starting point for customer research. Rather than asking customers to tell us things the organisation already knows, we can focus research on the assumptions, gaps and questions that matter.

Importantly, the research explores the customer's whole journey, not simply their interactions with the organisation.

Depending on the project, this might include qualitative interviews, focus groups, surveys, behavioural or digital data, existing research and other sources of customer evidence.

We use this evidence to challenge, validate and deepen the assumptive journey.

Sometimes customers confirm what the organisation believes. Often their experience is very different.

The result is an evidence-based view of the journey centred on what customers are trying to achieve, rather than on the organisation's processes or channels.

Why involve the business first?

Starting internally doesn't mean making the journey business-centric. In fact, it does the opposite - creating a shared customer view that builds alignment around what needs to change.

By making internal assumptions explicit, we can test them against what customers actually do, need and experience.

Because it brings people from different functions into the process from the beginning, teams hear perspectives they may not normally encounter. Assumptions become visible and different interpretations of the customer can be explored.

Customer centricity is therefore built into the process rather than imposed at the end.

What should a customer journey map include?

The exact structure depends on the customer problem and the decisions the organisation needs to make.

A useful journey map may include:

• The problem, need or goal driving the journey
• Journey stages
• Customer goals at each stage
• Needs and expectations
• Behaviours and actions
• Thoughts and emotions
• Questions and information needs
• Pain points and friction
• Channels and sources of information
• Alternative products, services or solutions considered
• Relevant interactions with your organisation
• Opportunities to improve the experience

Business processes, technology, content and capabilities can then be mapped against the customer journey.

What does customer journey mapping deliver?

The visual journey map is only one output.

The real value comes from what the organisation can do with it.

A strong customer journey mapping process can help organisations:

• Understand the problem customers are really trying to solve
• Create a shared understanding of customers across the business
• Identify unmet needs and pain points
• Understand where the organisation fits within the broader journey
• Identify opportunities to create greater customer value
• Improve customer experience
• Prioritise marketing and digital initiatives
• Identify gaps in content, channels, processes or technology
• Inform digital marketing strategy
• Define business and technology requirements

The journey becomes a strategic tool for connecting customer needs, business objectives and marketing technology.

Customer journey mapping isn't the end of the journey

A customer journey map’s value comes from using it.

At Zuni, we believe journey mapping is the bridge between understanding what customers are trying to achieve and deciding how the organisation should respond.

It can inform customer experience, digital marketing strategy, business requirements, content and channel planning, marketing technology decisions and implementation priorities. Customer journey maps are essential to ensuring the right content gets to the right customer at the right time.

That's why we see customer journey mapping as more than a research exercise.

It puts the customer's problem at the centre, then helps the organisation decide how best to respond.