Mapping out your customer journey is an integral piece of running a successful business, but where to start?! We sat down with Jess Epenian from Complete St to chat all things marketing and customer journey's. Oh, and if you scroll to the bottom you can get her complete customer journey workbook for FREE. 😍
What is a customer journey exactly?
A customer journey is the complete sum of experiences customers go through when interacting with your business and brand. Instead of looking at a single transaction or touch point, the customer journey maps out the full experience of being a customer.
Essentially it is the way to find and keep your dream customers coming back!
Mapping out the ultimate customer journey allows us to understand what customers go through and be aware of areas that need improvement. As a starting point, we look at the different stages of a typical customer journey. These are awareness, consideration, purchase and retention.
Awareness
Awareness refers to how someone is going to find you and what action you (ideally!) want them to take. Did they find you on Instagram? How are you going to introduce yourself and give a clear overview of what they may want to know about your business? For example, who you are, what problem you solve and how they can find out more.
Consideration
Next is consideration. What’s going to get them to consider your business as the solution to their problems? What action do they need to take next? For example, head to your website or blog to learn more, view your case studies, read testimonials and so on.
Purchase
The purchase stage is so much more than just clicking "check out" on your website. It encompasses the entire user experience, so we need to make sure the purchasing process is seamless and representative of your brand personality.
How easy is it to buy from your website or other channels? What communication do you have with your client or customer from the moment they check out, through to after they have received their order. How can you make this have a bigger impact?
Retention
This is all about getting your dream customer to come back, repurchase and remain a loyal fan. We want them to tell the world about you! What communications are you having with them after they have purchased? How are you staying top of mind? Can you implement referral systems, complimentary products or even a regular email to stay connected and add value?
How do you push a website visitor to become a customer?
First impressions count! The moment someone visits your website they are on a mission to find an answer to their problem or question. Make sure your website is ready to give them that information whether it's in the form of the products or services you offer, social proof, how to purchase, who you are and what your brand stands for, and so forth.
Making sure your website is consistent in terms of colours, logo usage, fonts, tone of voice, imagery and messaging is so important.
I also recommend having FAQs as they are a great way to answer those burning questions someone may have, in an easy to read, digestible format. I also recommend going through your website on desktop and mobile and view it as if you were a customer, How easy is it to buy from you?
How can I re-target a website visitor after they have left my site?
You can do this via email marketing and paid advertising. You need to make sure you have really engaging and a value add so this could be a discount but also consider reasons why someone may have left your site without checking out.
Are they after more information?
Is it that they want a discount?
Do they need more social proof?
You can try and test a few different messages and email sequences to see what is having the highest conversion rates.
What are some good apps or programs that can give me a better understanding of where my customers are dropping off in their journey?
Good question! Google Analytics is amazing! I also love the app Hotjar which can record movements on your website so you can gauge trends. For example, are people scrolling past all the copy you just wrote? Are they looking at photos? What exactly do these little interactions mean for your sales strategy?
Both of these programs have detailed insights into where people are finding you, how long they are on your site for and which pages they visit.
What are your top tips for providing exceptional customer service online?
Branding. And I'm just talking about your logo and colours, but your tone of voice, email marketing and communications are all key!
Packaging. What can you do to your packaging to make it stand out more? Can you add a bonus? Can you make the experience more ‘wow/ insta-worthy’?
What is social proof and how can it help move a potential customer along the consumer journey?
Social proof is GOLD! It includes testimonials, reviews and feedback from real customers and clients to demonstrate you can do what you say you do or offer. For us, social proof and testimonials have changed our business ten fold!
People want to hear from other customers and clients and their thoughts and feedback on a product or service. Encourage your customers to leave a Google or Facebook review. It's vital for small business!
Where does consistent branding play into all of this ?
If someone finds your Instagram and sees beautiful photos, but when they click over to your website where you have lower quality images, a different vibe and conflicting fonts and colours, they will start to question your creditability and likely forget your brand/ business.
For us, we work with hundreds of small businesses to refine their branding through social media templates, email newsletter templates, story templates and brand guidelines.
This means that no matter where their dream customers find them, their brand is instantly recognisable through the consistent patterns, icons, fonts, logos, colours and so on!
If you are in business, I encourage you to take a snapshot of each touchpoint where you can be found (for example, Instagram, Google, etc.) and ask yourself:
What are the similarities between each of these touchpoints?
Is this giving my dream customers the feeling I want them to feel?
If you are unsure, please reach out to us as we offer totally free strategy calls and would be more than happy to offer some tips or tricks!
Ready to map your customer journey but not sure where to start?!
I ALWAYS do journey mapping on paper and you can get our journey mapping workbook for free (usually $19.95) by clicking here: I hope it helps!
Kommentare