Customer journey mapping: The buyer’s path in a digital world
Build a net-new audience years before your product ever launches. Yep, understanding customer journey mapping and the real buyer's path can help you do that.
Sometimes as human beings we overcomplicate things, ignoring what’s right in front of us. Frictionless CX is a straightforward proposition—take care of the customer experience. Do. Or do not. There is no try.
If you’re reading this, then you’ve landed on the side of do as it relates to customers.
What is a Frictionless Customer Experience (CX)?
A frictionless customer experience (CX) is about creating a seamless end-to-end experience for the customers, whether it be buying goods and services or a signup experience. A frictionless CX business process is ruthless about identifying and eliminating points of friction in the customer’s journey with the brand. Frictionless CX is the reality that every part of an organization is needed – that there can be no turf wars. The customer experience happens along a line that will form a circle, no hard turns, no illogical zig zags.
How to create frictionless CX and win the race for customer satisfaction
It all begins with a customer, AKA: a person. Too often when discussing business, it’s numbers or goals that get the most focus, not the experience of the customer.
People have emotions about buying, and they might be excitement, fear, or even confusion. When they visit your website, they want those emotions to be recognized.
Your site or storefront is the first leg of their journey – if it goes well they’ll continue with you. Ideally, your design, navigation, and copy are focused on engaging prospects rather than selling products.
This is a place where we can get tripped up in what we think, rather than what someone feels.
Marketing efforts are an extension of building relationships. The more we consider a person’s emotions, the better we position ourselves to be a solution for them.
Questions the customer or potential customer could be pondering:
- “Does this purchase make sense?”
- “Is this the best use of my money?”
- “Will I be getting the best product/service/offer?”
The customer journey never ends: Are you ready to deliver for the long term?
Remember the idea of the line forming a circle?
That circle is a promise and it’s via service that we make good on it.
We cannot be one and done with customers – when something goes wrong, be there.
Departments and processes, people, and prospects, all working together to create a frictionless CX which benefits us all.
When the circle is complete, and each baton has been passed, we exist as a team.
