One of the best ways to develop a robust marketing strategy is to map the current customer journey
– reflecting on a customer journey you’ve been on yourself can be a great way to start.
In one of my #MiniMarketers worksheets, I asked my kids to reflect on a trip they’d had over the summer holidays. They chose our recent day out to Chessington.
Were they aware they’d been on a (customer) journey before we even left the house, I asked?
To help them comprehend the concept of a customer journey, I asked them four questions:
- How did you hear about it?
- What did you do next?
- What made you decide to go?
- What happened there?
Let’s look at their answers in turn:
1. How did you hear about it?
“Mummy mentioned it”
Word of mouth recommendation is an often necessary part of the customer journey – but it comes from getting the rest of it right. We’ll come back to that.
2. What did you do next?
“Watched a video, and read some reviews on places to stay nearby.”
If you’re familiar with using Porter’s 5 forces, there is now a Six Forces Model which extends the forces to include ‘complementers’ which nearby good quality accommodation would probably classify as; in this case the proximity of a Premier Inn helped!
3. What made you decide to go?
“The rides looked good. We had some free vouchers.”
Ultimately, the availability of Tesco Clubcard vouchers and Kellogg’s made the choice to visit Chessington much easier for us, halving the price we might have paid. This highlights the importance of partnerships and incentives.
4. What happened there?
“We loved the rides but one of them shut when we were in the queue. The people working there gave us a fast pass for another ride though. We had ice cream and sweets there.”
On the whole it was a great day, full of treats and adrenaline thrills, with the exception of a ride breaking down following a 45 minute queuing time. Had the staff not compensated us with free vouchers for another ride we might not have left feeling so happy. It was this great customer service in the face of unfortunate circumstances beyond their control that saved the day. It meant we are more likely to tell other people about it and recommend they go, so starting more people on the same customer journey.
This, I explained to the kids, is why the whole journey matters and why churn and burn approaches are no good.
The most successful marketing approaches employ different marketing tactics to help customers at each stage of their decision process.
In reflecting, my kids realised that they needed to have first been told about Chessington (awareness) to explore what it had to offer and become excited about the prospect of going (consideration). Then, they needed something to propel our family to choose it above other day trips (decision). Their keenness to go back was a direct result of the experience they had while they were there (retention). Plus, they want to go on that ride they never got to go on!
If you’ve never mapped your organisation’s customer journey, then mapping a customer journey you’ve been on as an organisation is a good start.
You might, for example, choose to reflect on a business service your company recently signed up to.
- What brought awareness of the brand to you? Did someone tell you about it, or did you read about it or see an advert somewhere?
- What sparked your interest or got you considering the offer? Did you read some articles or reviews? Watch videos or sign up for a free download?
- What ultimately helped you decide to sign up? Was it an email and/ or a special offer?
- What happened during and after?
By doing this exercise, you can more easily see how the respective company’s marketing helped your decision process, as well as any gaps that made the journey harder than it needed to be.
Having reflected in this way, you’re then better able to look at how well you’re balancing your marketing across your customer’s journey. Give thought to each stage:
- Awareness-raising tactics are those that will help people become aware of your brand.
- Interest/ consideration tactics are those that will help support people in weighing up your offer.
- Decision tactics are those that will propel people to sign up or purchase.
- Retention tactics are those that will compel people to come back and recommend you.
Once you’ve reflected, ask if your tactics serving the different stages of the customer decision process adequately or whether you’re missing a trick.
If you want to have a go at reflecting on and mapping your own customer journey, you can download my editable PDF worksheet for free below. If you need any help, or you’d like a more objective eye to analyse where you’re at, please contact me to find out how I can help.