From the course: Small Business Marketing

Customer journey

From the course: Small Business Marketing

Customer journey

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- Take a minute and consider something that you bought recently. Did you walk into a store and pick out an item on the shelf? Maybe you ordered something from an online website. How many steps were involved in that process? Did you look up a review? Search for a coupon? Maybe look at neighboring products on the shelf? Did you explore the company website? Sign up for their newsletter? Download a case study? Were you introduced to the product from a friend's referral, or maybe an online advertisement? Each interaction, from identifying that you needed to buy something, to completing that purchase at the local store, had you move through each stage of the marketing funnel and interact with various pieces of messaging. The buyer may be moving up and down the funnel. And this movement, and all the touchpoints, creates what we call the customer journey. The best marketing maps the most common consumer journeys and identifies which parts of that journey align to the various stages of the marketing funnel. Your goal is to build a few example journeys. Jot down the start and the end of their journey, and identify what marketing or messaging that you offer at each stage. You want to start to develop this into a map. And there's no set form. You can do it however it best communicates the story. It just shouldn't be complex. I want you to focus on common paths. Use your best judgment. Now, you want to outline all the ways that customers interact with your brand. They come into your website, visit your store, read your social media posts, receive an email, and so on. Then, create something that you can put on the wall. Some brands create really visually appealing maps like this one. Others, simple wireframes like this one. Now, this'll let you find the gaps that you can fill. And what's great is that supporting a customer through the journey doesn't have to cost much. Now, if you do a Google search for customer journey map template, you'll find a plethora of resources. You can absolutely be on a thin budget and pull this off. Just remember, the more you understand this journey and how it connects to pushing the consumer down the path to purchase, the more influence you'll have to persuade them to buy.

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