Understanding and optimally managing the customer journey
In order to make the customer journey through the purchasing or service process as pleasant and smooth as possible, it is crucial to take strategic measures that promote long-term loyalty and increase consumer satisfaction.
The key question here is not whether the customer journey should be improved, but rather how optimization can be achieved most effectively. Sales, marketing and customer service should approach the challenge step by step. A proven approach is to implement CRM software that makes it possible to capture many aspects of an interaction. It helps to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, create personalized experiences and harmonize communication across different channels.
Table of contents
- What is a customer journey?
- Which contact points are decisive for a purchase and a positive customer journey?
- Models and phases of the customer journey
- Customer journey mapping
- Customer journey graphic
- The role of CRM systems in the customer journey
- What does a perfect customer journey look like?
- Tip: AI for the best customer journey
What is a customer journey?
The customer journey is a perpetual cycle and describes individual phases that interested parties or potential customers go through until a product or service is purchased. These phases can be traced using the touch points that consumers have with a company.
If companies want to retain interested parties and be recommended by them, they need to inspire them at these touch points. To achieve this, it is important to consistently view products and services from the perspective of future customers. Customers who are interested in buying must be placed at the center of all decisions (customer centricity).
Which contact points are decisive for a purchase and a positive customer journey?
Interested parties usually have a large number of interactions with your company and therefore contact with different areas and employees that influence a purchase decision before a purchase is made. It is also clear that prospective buyers are guided by the opinions of third parties. These can be found on review portals, in social media or in their personal environment, for example. Companies can only influence these channels or people to a limited extent. However, they can actively create positive experiences at other touchpoints - with customer journey marketing such as online advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) or mailings.
Important touch points include, for example
- Your own websites and landing pages as well as competitor websites
- Results lists and ads on search engines such as Google, Bing or Ecosia
- Newsletters and mailings
- Social media channels (such as YouTube, Instagram or LinkedIn), influencers
- Webinars and podcasts
- Events such as trade fairs and conferences
- Traditional advertising (print, TV and radio)
- Review portals such as Trusted Shops, Trustpilot or Proven Expert
- Comparison portals such as Check24 or Verivox
- Independent, objective product tests such as those from Stiftung Warentest
- Product descriptions and buyer reviews on sales platforms such as Amazon or Zalando
- Personal recommendations
Models and phases of the customer journey
The various customer journey models originate from different marketing approaches that attempt to describe the path of a potential customer from their first contact with a brand to the purchase decision and beyond. The models have evolved over time to take account of changing consumer habits and increasing digitalization. They help companies to better understand and optimize interactions with their customers in order to increase satisfaction and loyalty.
Classic models
- AIDA
developed in America as early as 1898 by Elmo Lewis, describes the Attention, Interest, Desire and Action phases - Purchase Funnel
William W. Townsend adapts the AIDA model from 1924 as a funnel concept
Both models are still used today to depict the customer journey.
Extended models
- Moments of Truth
Coined in 1986 by Jan Carlzon, CEO of the Scandinavian Airlines Group until around the mid-1990s, covers all situations in which customers have contact with a brand and in which their opinions of the brand are influenced and sustainably shaped - Consumer decision journey
In 2009, the US strategy consulting firm McKinsey expanded the classic customer journey from the AIDA funnel to a "loyalty loop" and included the retention and advocacy phases; in customer relationship management, this model corresponds to the term customer lifecycle - Customer Purchase Journey
Aldo Cundari, CEO of the Cundari Group in Toronto, links the Decision model with the Moment of Truth model and divides it into the Awareness, Consideration, Evaluation, Purchase and Experience phases. (Cundari is the author of the book Customer Centric Marketing) - Messy middle model
The current Google approach Messy Middle 2023 (the chaotic middle of buying behavior) according to the latest findings of behavioral research, refers primarily to the part of research and evaluation before a purchase; this phase appears individual, not straightforward and therefore difficult to understand for users; According to Google, consumers make decisions based on unconscious prejudices or opinions about product features, availability, scarcity, social confirmation, expert opinions and bonuses for the product. These need to be positively influenced.
Phases of the customer journey
Depending on the model, the journey to purchase is divided into several phases. The most important customer journey phases are
Awareness (perception/awareness)
Interested parties or users become aware of a product or service. This can happen through an advertisement, for example, but also through a Google search or a recommendation from a friend. Awareness does not immediately lead to a purchase. However, the stronger the presence of your brand, the more likely it is that the next steps will be taken.
Consideration (evaluation)
At this stage, interested parties consider whether the product or service meets their needs. They examine various options and compare - for example - your offer with that of competitors. They may download your product brochure or contact your customer service team to find out more.
Conversion (conversion from searcher to customer) or purchase
Prospective buyers make a decision and buy a product. They become customers. For companies, the purchase is the desired step in the customer journey. But it is not the end of the journey.
Usage (use or benefit of the customer service)
Your customers gain initial experience with the product. Either they come to the conclusion that their decision to buy your product was exactly right or they are dissatisfied, want to complain or exchange the product. Even if you have no influence on how users deal with your products, you can show that you take their concerns seriously by offering the best possible service. You can also derive from complaints how you can improve your product for the future. This phase is therefore also referred to as the service phase.
Retention (loyalty)
Retention after a purchase is also a process in the customer journey that you can actively shape. If customers have had a positive experience with one of your products, your employees and your company, they will be willing to purchase further products. With a well-thought-out loyalty program (e.g. discounts for further purchases, VIP offers before the official launch of a new product, etc.), your customers will develop a high level of brand loyalty.
Advocacy (recommendation)
If you have succeeded in inspiring your customers, they will not only buy again - they will also become positive opinion leaders for your brands and your company. By making recommendations, loyal, enthusiastic customers start the customer journey for new prospects (in the Awareness phase).
Caution: No recommendation if disappointed
If not enough attention is paid to contact points on the customer journey, there is a risk that consumers will be disappointed sooner or later. This is because only fully satisfied customers will recommend a product to others and ensure recurring sales. The prerequisite for these recommendations are services that function excellently, are useful and provide real pleasure. You should therefore regularly check which touch points lead to abandonment and the reasons for this. Only with this knowledge can communication and processes be optimized.
Customer journey mapping
The customer journey as a concept for marketing and sales is often perceived as too theoretical. In addition, the buying journey involves so many contact points that it is difficult to maintain an overview. Customer journey mapping was developed tovisualize this journey. The aim of a customer journey map is to identify positive experiences in order to enhance them and eliminate negative experiences.
To create a customer journey map for your company, put yourself in the role of a persona ora buying group. You observe and analyze the individual touch points that this persona may have with your company (customer journey analysis). To do this, you can use the wealth of experience of your departments as well as the data from your digital systems and also knowledge from external sources (such as studies or industry reports). Knowledge and data must now be systematically brought together and evaluated. For example
- Leads that you acquire via forms on websites and landing pages and store in the CRM (origin, number, quality, which content was interesting, etc.)
- Figures from organic search and SEA campaigns (e.g. from Google Analytics, etracker or Mamoto such as page views, clicks, dwell time, etc.)
- Data from review and comparison portals (such as the number of positive reviews for individual products and the performance in comparison with the competitor product)
- Video sharing sites (insights from YouTube or Vimeo such as views, playing time and ad clicks)
- Retail platforms (in addition to sales figures, also product ratings, comments on the service, etc.)
- Publishing platforms (e.g. reading time of specialist articles, number of most-read articles, downloads, referrers to your websites, etc.)
Of course, you can also gain important insights from conversations with your customers, via ticktes or complaints in support and via social media channels, forums and groups. However, unstructured data such as personal opinions usually has to be filtered out of texts. Artificial intelligence can help here.
In the end, you may be able to recognize that a younger target group is more likely to become aware of you via social media, whereas B2B buyers are more likely to become aware of you at a trade fair or through an article in a trade magazine. Next, trace how the buying journey continues after the first step. You can then present your results graphically.
Good to know: There is special software for customer journey mapping. One example of a customer journey map tool is miro.
Customer journey graphic
The role of CRM systems in the customer journey
If you are using CRM software, you are already documenting, collecting and managing data from various contact points. The CRM helps you to collect data from other touch points via interfaces and display it graphically for better evaluation (via dashboards with filters). This creates a solid basis for decision-making and allows you to develop targeted actions to improve the weakest touch points. By continuously optimizing products and services, you will gradually achieve a higher level of satisfaction and thus increase brand loyalty. This in turn will lead to higher sales and profits.
What does a perfect customer journey look like?
A perfect customer journey is the result of careful planning and continuous optimization. By focusing on the needs of their customers and addressing all stages of the journey, companies can improve the overall experience and build long-term relationships - depending on the industry, products and services, of course, as well as the individual wishes of shoppers in this area.
4 steps to optimize the customer journey
- Analyze data
To create a customer journey map, you first need to collect data on the behavior and needs of prospective buyers and customers. Identify the various touchpoints and your company's performance at these points and evaluate them. - Develop buyer personas
Describing different people or groups of people will help you to better understand the expectations of this target group. This allows you to develop suitable content for your touchpoints as well as for the different phases of the journey. - Design touch points
Experiences made at each individual touchpoint should be remembered positively, which applies to both digital and personal interactions. This means you need to meet all the needs of prospective buyers and ideally even exceed their expectations. - Gather feedback
The real opinions of shoppers are crucial for identifying weak points in the customer journey. This is the only way you can continuously optimize. For example, launch surveys, evaluate tickets, use review portals and insights from social media.
3 important points that you should never ignore for perfect experiences
- Speed
Digitalization has brought the speed factor into sharp focus. People no longer want to wait days for their offer or goods. So provide appropriate options, such as FAQs or chatbots for automated answers to questions, product configurators or calculators for prices, express shipping and fast payment options, as well as automated reply emails that bridge the time until a personal response. In this way, customers know immediately that their requests will be processed without delay. - Availability and accessibility
Consumers are used to being able to communicate with you from (as many) contact points as possible. Enable service not only via telephone and email, but also via touchpoints such as social media and chatbots. Service tools help you to orchestrate everything. - Personalization
Use the data from your CRM to address your customers personally and make individual offers, for example via personalized mailings or landing pages. In this way, you will inspire your target group in the long term.
- Leads from your website (e.g. via downloads) or your social media channels are collected, enriched and evaluated in the CRM (lead scoring).
- After the initial contact, you generate awareness via campaigns and email marketing, for example.
- You meet interested parties and potential customers at trade fairs and events that you attend or organize yourself.
- Or you can pass on your knowledge in webinars.
- You automatically transfer mature leads from marketing to sales, which can then actively approach interested parties.
- You can offer excellent customer service with CRM for service including a ticket system. Ticketing provides you with a wealth of first-hand information to optimize your customer approach and improve your products and services.
- Retain enthusiastic customers in your company with targeted campaigns and events.
- With analyses via dashboards & reports, you canidentify which projects are worthwhile and take the appropriate measures.
Tip: AI for the best customer journey
Technical support is helpful in meeting the increased demands of your customers. With the help of AI in sales and the combination of CRM and AI in customer service, you are well positioned to fulfill the wishes of a demanding clientele. For example, in conjunction with your CRM system, AI can help your teams understand the buying journey, personalize experiences and find areas for improvement.
Customer Journey Monitoring
Customer Journey Monitoring in Gedys CRM provides you and your sales team with immediate graphical information about the value of your interactions with individual customers. This allows you to recognise and fully exploit potential.
