>> Customer Journey Mapping
Customer journey mapping is used to understand when and how to best reach customers to influence their decisions. Emphasis is on understanding the entire process that customers undergo, so marketers can reach them in the right place, at the right time, with the right message.
Drawing on customer personas, our digital branding specialists work with clients to map the customer decision journey in detail, and then use this understanding to develop the marketing touchpoints plan, including implications for offering development, media mix allocation, and messaging.
Customer journey issues addressed by our digital marketing specialists:
- What is the overall customer decision journey process? How do customers consider, evaluate and purchase products and services within the category?
- Do customers rely more on traditional “push” marketing or on inbound “pull” marketing through digital marketing, social media and search? How might this shift over time?
- How well is the client executing against the customer journey today vs. key competitors? What improvement opportunities might exist going forward?
Customer journey research and consulting approach:
- Customer journey mapping begins with internal interviews and workshops to hypothesize the various steps in the decision and purchase process. Focus is on understanding customer actions, motivations, barriers and opportunities. EquiBrand proprietary frameworks are used to ensure all decision points and factors (rational to emotional) are considered in this stage.
- Customer research is the next step, drawing on in-depth interviews, observational and ethnographic research. Initial hypothesized maps are revised – in some cases dramatically – to reflect the actual journey customers take. During this step, insight is obtained both on the current customer experience as well as the desired customer experience, to help identify improvement opportunities.
- The end result of this process is a journey diagram that illustrates the decision journey as well as key leverage points for a redesigned, improved process.
We’re increasingly finding in our digital marketing consulting work with other clients that while traditional marketing remains important in many categories, digital media is significantly reshaping how customers approach decision making today. The implication is that marketers must move more aggressively to adopt inbound, pull communication (vs. outbound push) to influence customer-driven touchpoints such as social media and other Internet-based media, then align and activate these touchpoints through a digital marketing strategy and plan.
To initiate a call or meeting to discuss customer journey mapping and its implications for your business, please call Tim Koelzer at (925) 247-1400 or send Tim a contact form.
