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.
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).
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
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.
Both models are still used today to depict 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).
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.