How to map the customer journey: CX Mini Masterclass – E20

This CX Mini Masterclass is the third of a 3-part installment on the topic of the customer journey mapping. Building on the insights from parts 1 and 2, show host and CX expert Julia Ahlfeldt explores best practices for how to map the customer journey. She shares practical ideas for how to keep teams focused while leaving space for creativity as you map the journey. This episode will set you on the path to leading a great journey mapping session that will foster buy-in and support for customer-centric change. Creating the mosaic Journey mapping is like creating a mosaic. When you think about how to map the customer journey, approach it as a process of bringing together lots of different pieces of information to create a bigger picture. The key is to understand both the bigger picture that you are aiming for and the “tiles” that you’ll need to gather to create your mosaic. (Incidentally, most team use post-it notes to gather information, so I find that the mosaic/tile analogy works quite well as a way to explain the process to team members.) As the smaller pieces of information come together, the map will begin to take shape and the “picture” will emerge. You may want to adjust your vision of the output as things evolve, but it is really helpful to start with some idea of the desired end result. The very first step is to identify the type of map that you are aiming for (if not, check out episode 18 which covers the different types of maps, as this step is key to the success of your mapping efforts). Once you’ve done this, think about how your map will be used and what visual representation will be most useful for your team. There are so many different formats, and no single right answer, so look for examples that will resonate with your audience and fulfill the desired use of the map. As an example of the inspirations that you can easily find, here are several sample maps that I found online: These maps are quite different, and would have distinct uses. Whichever map you choose, remember to keep it simple and always positioned from the customer’s perspective. Gather your mosaic tiles Once you have a vision for your map, understand what types of information you’ll need to gather. These are your mosaic tiles. Again, this needs to align with the intended use of you map, but common types of information often include customer actions, emotions, sentiments, touch points, moments of truth, expectations, outcomes, etc. I often start by creating a grid layout with the journey phases at the top and the information categories on the vertical axis, as a framework to start gathering and categorizing your journey data. If you are unsure about how to create this layout, don’t worry! I’ve provided a sample template that you can download and use as a guideline for mapping. Click here to download my journey mapping template Tips for how to map the customer journey Once you have your plan in place, it’s time to engage with teams and make the journey mapping happen. Here are some tips and suggestions for how to make this engagement as successful as possible. Provide clear direction – Give your colleagues some structure to work with, and be there to gently guide them back on track when they start looking at things from the business’ point of view. This will happen. Give creative licence – Allow team members to be creative and be flexible with how the map may evolve as your colleagues provide input Share customer insights – Make sure that you have customer insights at the ready and that your persona and empathy map are front-and-center as a reminder of the lens through which the journey should be developed Assemble the right supplies – Set the stage for journey mapping and make sure that you have plenty of post-it notes, markers, paper, whiteboard space, etc. Have fun! – All work and no play makes for a boring journey map. This is your time to engage teams with the customer, so all the better if you can make this an enjoyable experience. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when figuring out how to map the customer journey, especially if this is your first time making a map. Journey maps are living documents and should evolve with the needs of customers. Enjoy the process and don’t lose your way in the pursuit of perfection. Transcript Prefer to read? Here’s the transcript. Click to expand full transcript [Intro music] Welcome to Decoding the Customer, a podcast about customer experience and how to realize customer-centric change in today’s dynamic business world. I’m Julia Ahlfeldt, certified customer experience professional, business advisor, and host of this program. Thanks so much for tuning in. This episode is the third installment in a three-part series on journey mapping that I’ve been doing during the month of December. The first two episodes looked at the differences between the different types of journey maps and how to prepare for journey mapping. Today, we’re going to dive into how to actually build the journey map. These recent episodes on journey mapping are part of my CX mini masterclass and have been developed to help walk you through the steps for creating a great journey map. And even though this is the last installment of my December episodes on journey mapping, the fun doesn’t stop here. I publish episodes each Thursday and will be back in 2019 with a fresh batch of CX interviews and case study episodes at the start of each month and more weekly CX mini masterclasses every week thereafter. Whether you’re new to the field of customer experience, preparing for the CCXP exam, or are a seasoned professional looking to be inspired by thought leadership in the field of customer experience, this podcast will help you improve your knowledge, skills, and performance to stand out as a CX professional. If you’re relaxing by the fireplace, chilling on the beach, or otherwise enjoying the holiday season while you listen to this, and hear something that you’d like to remember later, don’t worry about writing it down. You can find an overview of the key concepts we’ve covered today in the show notes for this episode, which are on my website, julia-ahlfeldt.com or decodingthecustomer.com. Just go to the episodes tab and look for episode 20. Okay, podcast listeners, this episode is our time to explore where the magic happens when we start mapping the journey. In episode 19, we talked about creating a customer persona and empathy map, as well as defining your key stakeholders and deciding on your mapping format. This is where the pieces now come together. If you haven’t listened to episode 19 yet, I’d suggest that you hit the pause button on this one and quickly go back and listen to that episode so you can hear my tips on how to prepare for journey mapping. It will make what we talk about today much more helpful. Mapping a customer journey is a bit like designing a mosaic, or a picture that is created by tons of little tiles that come together to make a bigger picture. The key to creating the mosaic is to understand both the bigger picture you’re aiming for, as well as the smaller pieces required to create that picture. To understand the bigger picture, start by defining the type of map you’re trying to make, which by the way, is step one in this process. So check out episode 18 for details on the different types of maps. Before you bring people together to document the journey, reflect on the intended use of the map. Is it to create a common understanding of customer experience? Is it to help business process teams identify experience pain points so that they can be addressed? The desired output in these two cases would be very different maps. Think about the end goal, how you’d want to use the map, and what would be the best format. I’m not saying that you need to create a picture before you actually have the tiles, but you should definitely clarify what you’re aiming for. If your team needs some context for this, think about printing out some example maps or creating some objectives for how the map will be used, and make sure this list and information is featured prominently when you engage with your journey mapping collaborators. And if you’d like some inspiration for how maps actually look when they’re finished, head on over to the show notes for this episode, and I’ve included some sample maps that might inspire and spark some ideas. Once you’ve defined the high-level vision and goal for your map, it’s time to bring together the smaller pieces. Identify the types of tiles for your mosaic, or the kinds of information that you’d like to gather about the journey. This can be things like customer actions, customer sentiment, touchpoints, moments of truth, etc. There isn’t a magic formula for the right mix of tiles, but this should be driven by what you want to know about the journey and what information will be most useful to your organization. Before I start mapping, I sometimes make a kind of grid to gather the information on a large scale, with the phases of the journey running along the horizontal axis at the top, and the journey information categories running along the vertical axis along the side. You can then expand this into a big format on a boardroom wall or use it as a canvas for gathering tiles. It provides some direction and structure for those who are participating in the mapping process without becoming overly restrictive. And if you’re having difficulty visualizing this, don’t worry. I’ve made an example template that you can download. Head on over to my website, julia-ahlfeldt.com or decodingthecustomer.com and look for the show notes for episode 20. There you’ll find a handy template that you can download and use. With your vision established and the mapping structure in place, it’s time to engage with your journey mapping team. Whether you’ve structured this as a journey mapping sprint with a small team or a larger more iterative process incorporating many stakeholders from different departments, you can invite them to share their perspectives. Hand out the post-it notes and markers, and encourage people to put themselves in the customer shoes. Teams will occasionally gravitate toward an inward-looking view of the journey, and back-office teams might be uncomfortable relating to the customer at first. All of this is totally normal, and it will be your job to help guide them back out of the woods. As long as you’ve provided your colleagues with enough context about the customer through the persona, empathy map, and voice of the customer data, and you keep the process focused on the customer, you’ll be set up for success. Remember that even if your journey map isn’t perfect, that’s okay. An imperfect journey map that is embraced by the organization is much more powerful than a perfect map that never sees the light of day. The act of constructively engaging with your colleagues is an important step in driving customer-centric change. If you’re embarking on customer journey mapping and have questions or need help, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can send me an email, tweet, or LinkedIn message. My email address is on my website, and my handle is @juliaahlfeldt. So, that’s a wrap for this episode, my December series on journey mapping, and hey, 2018! I hope that you’ve enjoyed this show, and I’m looking forward to bringing you more in 2019. [Outro music] Want to keep learning about CX? If you’d like to checkout more of these CX Mini Masterclasses or listen to my longer format CX expert interviews, check out the full listing of episodes for this CX podcast. Decoding the Customer is a series of customer experience podcasts created and produced by Julia Ahlfeldt, CCXP. Julia is a customer experience strategist, speaker and business advisor. She is a Certified Customer Experience Professional and one of the top experts in customer experience management. To find out more about how Julia can help your business achieve its CX goals, check out her customer experience advisory consulting services (including journey mapping workshops!) or get in touch via email.