Understanding your customers’ needs begins with taking their perspective. Many brands are turning to customer journey maps to gain insights into the customer experience and devise innovative solutions for making it better. A comprehensive look at your company’s current practices as well as the feedback of customers and employees can help you shape the experiences your customers wish to have. Here are six key advantages of creating customer journey maps.
These maps allow your brand to roleplay as the customer. As you analyze the process of moving from one touchpoint to another, you will be able to identify where problems might occur. For example, you may discover that IVR menus are not routing customers quickly to the most qualified agent, or perhaps response times are slow on social media channels. In addition, a map may reveal gaps in communication among employees that are preventing a seamless experience.
As you discover the potential situations that might arise for your customers, you will also become aware of their feelings. If a customer has difficulty making a purchase or reaching an agent, this will certainly make him frustrated. Looking at data such as customer satisfaction scores will further reveal how people actually feel after these interactions. Conversely, your maps may also show which parts of your journey are seamless and making your customers happy. By analyzing data and predicting the possible feelings of customers at every touchpoint, your brand can better understand how to reduce customer effort and create better experiences.
Once you have a clear idea of the improvements that need to be made, you can set clear goals for the company. These goals should be concrete tasks that can be accomplished by every department, from the executive branch to the customer service teams. They should be discussed regularly during meetings and company events. When employees understand what is expected of them, the entire organization will function more efficiently and deliver on your brand’s promises to customers.
Customer journey mapping provides a perfect opportunity for engaging employees and building their motivation. Listening to their input is essential to understanding what actually happens in different service situations. For example, you may discover that certain channels need more attention than others, or that agents need better tools for communication across departments. As employees listen to each other’s experiences and offer suggestions about improving the customer experience, they will feel more empathy for both peers and customers and be empowered to work as a team.
Statistics show that customer journey maps are absolutely essential to your brand’s growth. According to Aberdeen Group, companies that have a regular customer journey management program enjoy numerous benefits. They experience over ten times improvement in the cost of customer service due to significantly reduced expenses. In addition, these brands have a 54% greater return on marketing investment and an average sales cycle that is 18 times faster than those of brands that do not use such maps.
Ultimately, these maps will increase customer satisfaction. Your company will be able to solve problems proactively and find innovative ways to improve good practices even more. And your customers will reward you for your efforts: Aberdeen Group further states that companies that use such maps experience 3.5 times greater revenue from customer referrals and 24% more positive mentions on social media. Customer journey maps are powerful tools for creating the experiences your customers deserve. By paying attention to each aspect of their journey and addressing potential issues upfront, your customers will thank you with their loyalty.
