Customer journey mapping: A step-by-step guide

If you're struggling to keep customers engaged beyond just hearing about your product and getting initial interest, this customer journey mapping guide is exactly what you need.

With over a million data insights extracted to date, we created this actionable guide to simplify the process of creating a customer journey map. This will help you engage your potential customers more efficiently and see better conversion rates.

Let’s get right to it.

Step 1: Clarify your goals & scope

This is where you will define why you want to map your customer journey and outline where you will outline your project boundaries. Here is what you need to do:

Identify what you want to accomplish with the customer journey map. Is it to drive more visitors, improve customer satisfaction, or increase conversion rates?
Next, set your mapping effort’s scope, including which customer segments (new customers, returning customers, or high-value clients) or stages of the journey (awareness, consideration, purchase, and post-purchase support) you will focus on for mapping.
Identify who will be involved in the process–marketing teams, customer support, or product development.

Step 2: Gather insights from customer data

This step is where you will understand your customers' behaviors, preferences, and pain points throughout their journey. Here’s how to do it:

Identify and gather data from diverse sources. Use Clootrack to collect customer feedback and candid discussions from eCommerce sites, forums, blogs, and social media, alongside private enterprise data like customer service calls, NPS surveys, website/app feedback, and chatbots.
Organize your data into meaningful segments based on demographics, behavior patterns, and interactions with your brand so you can understand different customer personas and their unique journey experiences.
Identify key touchpoints where customers interact with your brand—from initial awareness to post-purchase support. This will highlight critical moments that influence customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Use Clootrack to gather qualitative feedback directly from customers. Analyzing feedback and sentiment analysis will provide nuanced insights into customer emotions and perceptions at each stage of their journey.
Involve cross-functional teams–marketing, sales, customer support, and product development—in the data analysis process. Their diverse perspectives will help you better understand the customer journey.
Use the gathered insights to refine your customer journey map. Identify areas for improvement or opportunities to enhance customer experience, thereby driving engagement and loyalty.

Get detailed customer review analysis!

‍

Step 3: Craft detailed customer personas

This step helps you visualize and understand your target audience more deeply. Here’s how to proceed:

Use the data you gathered from Step 2 to create distinct customer personas. These personas should represent different segments of your audience based on demographics, behaviors, and preferences.
Define each persona by outlining their specific traits, such as age, interests, challenges, and buying motivations. This detailed characterization helps humanize your audience and makes customizing your strategies to their needs easier.
Give each persona a name that reflects their characteristics and motivations. This simple step can make personas more relatable and memorable for teams across your organization.
Create visual representations or profiles that encapsulate each persona’s traits and behaviors. This helps you empathize with your audience and intuitively understand their journey.
Share these personas with relevant teams, such as marketing, sales, and customer support. Ask for their feedback to ensure it is accurate and aligns with their experiences and observations.

Step 4: Pinpoint critical touchpoints

These touchpoints are key moments where customers interact with your brand and can significantly impact their overall experience. Here’s what you need to do:

Use the personas to map out the typical paths your customers take from initial awareness to post-purchase support. Identify all potential touchpoints where customers engage with your brand and where they potentially drop off.
Pinpoint specific interactions at each stage of the journey that are crucial for customer satisfaction and loyalty. These interactions may include website visits, product searches, social media interactions, and customer service inquiries.
Identify which touchpoints have the most significant impact on the customer experience and business outcomes. Focus on optimizing these high-priority touchpoints to maximize customer engagement and retention.
Recognize that customers may interact with your brand using multiple channels (website, social media, physical stores). To provide a unified experience, ensure consistent and seamless transitions between these channels.
Use feedback forms, customer interviews, and traditional surveys with CX data analytics to learn how customers see and interact with each touchpoint.
Adjust your touchpoint strategy based on new data and evolving customer expectations.

For example:

Are ads bringing a steady customer flow to your website? How much of them convert? If your ads aren’t getting the projected traction, how can you maximize your ad efforts? If they click on your ad but don’t drop off seconds later, what friction are they experiencing?

Step 5: Visualize the customer's journey

This visual representation helps you and your team understand the flow of interactions and experiences that customers go through. Here’s how to proceed:

Use diagrams, flowcharts, or journey mapping tools to visually represent each stage of the customer journey—from initial awareness to post-purchase support. This map should include key touch points identified in Step 4.
Map out the actions customers take at each stage, like research, consideration, purchase, and advocacy to see your customers’ progression and decision-making process.
Highlight customer emotions, motivations, and pain points at each touchpoint to understand how customers perceive their interactions with your brand.
Integrate the personas created in Step 3 into your visual map. Assign each persona to different journey stages to illustrate how different customer segments experience your brand.
Present the visual customer journey map to cross-functional teams, including marketing, sales, customer support, and product development.

Step 6: Extract & analyze key insights

This process helps uncover actionable findings that can drive strategic decisions and improvements. Here’s what you need to do:

Identify metrics and indicators most relevant to your goals and customer journey stages. It can include conversion rates, customer satisfaction scores, retention rates, and engagement metrics.
Use data analytics tools and platforms to analyze quantitative data effectively. Clootrack can provide deep insights into customer sentiment, preferences, and behavior patterns across different touchpoints.
Apply qualitative analysis methods to interpret customer feedback, comments, and suggestions. Conduct thematic analysis or sentiment analysis to uncover recurring themes and emotions customers express.
Compare insights across different segments to identify trends, preferences, and pain points that may vary among customer groups.

Step 7: Spotlight pain points and growth opportunities

This step focuses on addressing challenges and seizing potential areas you can improve. Here’s what you can do:

Pinpoint recurring issues or frustrations customers express. Focus on areas where customers face obstacles or dissatisfaction while interacting with your brand.
Highlight specific touchpoints or stages in the journey where customers experience the most significant challenges or friction. These pain points could include long wait times, confusing navigation, product issues, or poor customer service experiences.
Prioritize pain points based on how critical they are for customer experience and business outcomes.
Brainstorm actionable solutions and initiatives to mitigate pain points and capitalize on growth opportunities. Implement changes that align with customer needs and strategic business objectives.

For example:

You notice that potential customers feel your products are pricey, so they bounce off the product page without adding an item to the cart. To fix this, offer them discounts that make them feel purchasing is a steal, like what this workout supplement store did. They give potential customers a 5% discount when they subscribe and a 10% discount, making the latter discount irresistible.

Step 8: Formulate actionable strategies

Here is how you can formulate strategies that address identified challenges and capitalize on potential improvements:

Break down strategies into targeted actions aimed at different customer segments, personas, or journey stages.
Prioritize actionable strategies based on their potential impact on customer satisfaction, retention, and business growth. Focus on initiatives that address critical pain points or leverage significant growth opportunities.
Roll out strategies in phases or iterations to test their effectiveness and adjust based on feedback and performance metrics.
Communicate strategy objectives, action plans, and expected outcomes clearly across the organization. Educate team members on their roles and responsibilities in executing strategies effectively.

3 Types of customer journey maps and examples

As you go through each one, consider which matches your goals the closest.

1. Current state journey map

Get the full template

This type of customer journey map illustrates customers' existing experience as they interact with a product, service, or brand. It focuses on capturing the actual steps, touchpoints, emotions, and pain points customers encounter in their journey.

Examples

eCommerce purchase journey: Map out how customers navigate from browsing products online to making a purchase, including interactions with customer support and post-purchase follow-up.
Banking service experience: Detail the current process customers go through when opening an account, managing transactions, and accessing customer service.
Healthcare patient journey: Charting the steps patients take from scheduling an appointment to receiving care to follow-up visits, highlighting interactions with staff and satisfaction levels at each stage.

2. Future state (ideal) journey map

A future state journey map focuses on mapping out the desired steps, interactions, and touchpoints that will optimize customer satisfaction and loyalty. Here’s how it looks:

Examples

Fashion retailer future state journey: Customers browse online and in-store, with personalized style recommendations based on past purchases and preferences. Virtual fitting rooms let trying on clothes digitally before purchasing.
Hotel ideal journey: Guests book their stays via a user-friendly app or website, customizing room preferences and special requests in advance. Upon arrival, they receive a personalized welcome and digital room keys for contactless access. Throughout their stay, they receive tailored recommendations for local experiences and amenities, with seamless check-out and post-stay follow-up for feedback and loyalty rewards.
Automotive ideal journey: Customers explore and configure their desired vehicle online, scheduling test drives at their convenience. After purchase, they receive personalized maintenance reminders and updates on service appointments via a mobile app. Proactive alerts for recalls or upgrades keep them informed, with seamless integration of vehicle data for personalized service recommendations.

3. Day in the life journey map

A day in the life journey map portrays a detailed view of how customers interact with your product, service, or brand throughout their daily activities. It focuses on capturing how customers behave, their pain points, and engagement moments across various touchpoints. Here’s how it works:

Examples

Meal kit service day in the life journey: A customer plans meals for the week using an online platform, customizing recipes based on dietary preferences and family size. They receive a scheduled delivery of pre-portioned ingredients with recipe cards, and cooking meals with step-by-step instructions. Throughout the day, they provide feedback on recipes through a mobile app, and get personalized recommendations for future meals based on their preferences.
Fitness app day in the life journey: A customer starts their day with a personalized workout routine a fitness app suggests, tracking their progress and calories burned. Throughout the day, they receive motivational messages and reminders to stay hydrated. After workouts, they log meals and monitor nutritional intake through the app, with personalized recommendations for achieving fitness goals. In the evening, they review sleep patterns and receive tips for improving sleep quality.

Now, what should you use for which?

Use a current-state journey map to understand existing pain points and improve current customer experiences, a future-state journey map to envision and plan ideal customer interactions for future improvements, and a day-in-the-life journey map to capture detailed daily interactions.

5 Customer journey mapping best practices

Keep these 5 points in mind to make the most out of your customer journey mapping efforts.

I. Use customer experience analytics

Pick an advanced CX analytics platform that can handle diverse data sources, such as website interactions, social media engagements, customer service interactions, and sales data. Create a unified view and configure live dashboards and automated alerts that notify your teams instantly when critical issues or opportunities arise.

II. Include diverse perspectives

Bring together people from different departments like marketing, customer support, product development, and sales. In brainstorming sessions, focus on understanding what each team sees and experiences with customers.

Discuss how customers interact with your brand at different stages—like when they first discover your product, when they decide to buy, and after they've made a purchase to get a clearer picture of what customers like, where they might get stuck, and how to make their experience better overall.

III. Focus on emotions and pain points

Pay attention to how customers feel at different stages of their interaction with your brand using customer surveys, feedback forms, and social media listening to gather insights into their experiences and emotions.

In brainstorming sessions, discuss common frustrations, challenges, and moments of delight that customers encounter. Identify specific touchpoints where emotions play a significant role, like during product research, purchasing decisions, or customer support interactions.

IV. Keep it visual and understandable

Work with an expert designer on a clear and intuitive layout that anyone in your team can grasp quickly. Be straightforward in representing customer interactions and touchpoints. Use color coding, icons, and timelines to visually differentiate between different stages and actions within the journey.

V. Validate with customers

Involve your actual customers in the process by using surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather direct feedback. Focus on determining whether the mapped journey aligns with their real-life experiences and emotions.

Pay attention to any discrepancies or missed opportunities they highlight. This customer-centric approach shows that you value their input in shaping a better overall experience.

Conclusion

It can look overwhelming to implement in the beginning. But focus on one step at a time, see how and where you can apply each action point, and you will gradually see the progress.

Always keep customer-centricity in mind. This means considering how customers feel about your offer rather than what you think they feel, so invest in collecting customer feedback and improving your interaction loop.

How do you do that with all the platforms you need to track? Clootrack is the answer. We integrate customer data from first-party and third-party sources into a secure, AI-powered CX analytics engine so it’s easier to discover underlying customer issues in real-time.

‍

Author Bio

Christian Cabaluna is an SEO content writer with 5+ years of first-hand experience. When he isn't writing in his favorite coffee shop, Christian enjoys reading (especially about psychology and neuroscience), cooking, watching documentaries, camping in the mountains, and catching beautiful sunsets.

‍

Customer journey mapping: A step-by-step guide

Do you know what your customers really want?

Clootrack