Tips for drawing up the customer journey in your thesis

What does the customer journey entail?

The customer journey encompasses all points of contact between a customer and a company. It can be divided into two phases: the buyer journey, which spans from orientation to purchase, and the user journey, which covers the period from purchase to product use. This journey offers valuable insights into how customers engage with a product or service, starting from the initial contact to the final purchase and any subsequent repeat purchases.

These contact moments can occur through various channels, both online and offline. For companies, having a grasp on the customer journey is crucial for understanding customer needs, identifying and addressing pain points, with the goal of enhancing the overall customer experience. The method used to visualize a customer journey is referred to as customer journey mapping.

What do you need to map the customer journey?

The process of customer journey mapping involves several steps to gain a deep understanding of customers’ interactions and experiences with a product or service. Here’s an overview of the process:

• Define the goal: Clarify the objective of the customer journey mapping process. What is your desired outcome? Are you aiming to visualize the current customer journey, identify pain points, discover new opportunities, or something else?
• Identify the personas: Develop representative personas to encompass various customer segments. This aids in understanding the diverse needs, goals, and behaviors of different customer groups.
• Collect data: Gather as much data as possible regarding customers’ interactions and experiences with the product or service. This can be obtained through customer feedback, surveys, interviews, analytics, and more.
• Determine the touchpoints: Identify all points of contact (touchpoints) that customers have with the company, both online and offline. This encompasses advertisements, social media, customer service, store visits, and more.
• Outline the customer journey: Create a visual representation of the customer journey, starting from the initial touchpoint to the final purchase and subsequent actions. For instance, use a customer journey map to depict these steps.
• Analyze and identify pain points and opportunities: Analyze the customer journey to pinpoint pain points and bottlenecks where customers may encounter frustration or disengagement. Additionally, identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.
• Implement improvements: Develop and execute strategies to address identified pain points and enhance the customer experience. This may involve modifications to products, processes, or communication channels.
• Monitor and evaluate: Continuously monitor and evaluate the customer journey to assess the effectiveness of implemented measures and identify further optimization opportunities.

Do you need help with the customer journey or other marketing-related questions?

The customer journey is a valuable model that enables you to provide effective advice to your clients on how to make optimal use of additional contact moments in order to convince customers to make a purchase and increase customer loyalty.

In addition to the customer journey, there are variations of this model, such as the candidate journey, which are often used in HRM theses, particularly on topics such as employer branding or improving employee engagement.

Are you looking for more useful models? Then take a look at our article on all the marketing models you can use. Need assistance? Request a free consultation and we will get in touch with you.