Customer Journey

The customer journey is the complete path a person follows with a business: becoming aware of a need, researching options, deciding, buying, using the product and possibly recommending or renewing. Each point of contact along the way, such as an ad, a web page, an email or a support chat, is a touchpoint.

Why it matters

Looking at the experience from the customer's side shows gaps that internal departments miss, such as a confusing handoff from marketing to sales or a weak onboarding step. Teams draw a customer journey map to list stages, customer actions, goals, emotions and pain points, then decide where to improve. It connects tightly with funnels and metrics like conversion rate and retention.

Example

Awareness     : sees a blog post in search results
Consideration : compares plans, reads reviews
Purchase      : starts a free trial and upgrades
Onboarding    : follows setup emails
Retention     : uses monthly reports, contacts support
Advocacy      : refers a colleague

Common mistakes

• Mapping what the company thinks happens instead of using interviews and data.
• Stopping at purchase and ignoring post-sale experience.
• Making one map for all customers when segments behave differently.

Related

• Marketing funnel
• Buyer persona
• Onboarding
• Conversion rate

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