One thing is for sure: in today's market, it's crucial to put customers first. After all, they are the backbone of any business, and all of your bottom lines depend on their experience with your brand. That's why we talked about the importance of customer centricity for conversion rate optimization .
In this blog, we will talk about another aspect of digital strategy that puts users at the center, which is user journey mapping .
What is a user journey map?
A user journey map is a visual representation of the user flow on your website or app. In other words, it shows the entire path of a user, from the moment they arrive at your website/app to their last interaction with it.
The look of a user flow largely depends on the type of application/website. Since there can be a large number of variations, user journey mapping focuses only on the main navigation paths that a user might take.
Why is customer journey mapping necessary for your business?
The main purpose of investing time and effort into creating a user journey map is to provide the best possible user experience, and its importance cannot be overstated. Let's look at the numbers that prove it:
Customer experience statistics from emplifi.io: 83% of CEOs believe that a poor customer experience significantly threatens market share and revenue; 65% of consumers say that a positive experience with a brand has more impact than good advertising; 63% of consumers say that the best brands exceed expectations throughout the entire customer/buyer journey.Customer experience statistics (source: emplifi.io )
Creating a customer journey map allows you to consider all the touchpoints between a user and your brand and see the entire experience from their perspective. This way, you can gain better insight into your potential customer's motivation and ultimate goal, and assess which features of your website/app contribute to the user journey and which ones represent a barrier.
So, basically, a customer journey map creates a clearer picture of the relationship between the user and the brand, allowing you to uncover opportunities for improvement and impress your potential customers.
In addition to putting customers first and allowing you to attract jordan phone number data them and make a good impression, mapping also contributes to teamwork in your company. Namely, it is a process that requires the opinions and skills of different departments to make the end result as accurate as possible.
For example, the marketing team brings in information about market trends and your target audience, the support team collects negative feedback from users, and the UX/UI designer works to create the best possible user experience based on all the information and discussions. Whichever team you involve in the mapping, the goal is to collect all relevant data and consider all perspectives. This will allow you to ultimately produce an effective map, while also helping your teams work together like a well-oiled machine.
What does the mapping process look like?
Although every map is unique, there are certain steps that are essential when creating each one. Let's take a look at what those steps are.
1. Setting map goals
Before you get started, it's important to clearly define the purpose of the mapping. It's best to have clear answers to questions such as:
What do we want to achieve with this map?
What will this map include?
What is this map based on?
Who will be the "actor" in this map?
This way you will lay a solid foundation for the rest of the mapping process.
2. Research and create an image of the ideal user/customer
As with any project, it is very important to conduct thorough research before you begin the task. In this case, the research is closely related to the motivations, needs, goals, and concerns of each potential customer.
Therefore, you need to collect information directly from people who have already bought from you, or at least those who intend to. You can do this with a questionnaire that contains questions formulated in a way that gives you specific information about what your potential customers think about your website/app and what kind of experience they had on it.