In the world of product, design, and business for a while, we used to see lengthy diagrams with lots of verbal references that were mandatory by companies but had little to no use. Not many people enjoyed working reading the diagrams. No matter how well they were crafted and how detailed they were, we just couldn't use them or get used to them.
As the industry progressed journey maps took over.
Journey maps are a visual representation of a consumer's relationship with an organization, product, service or brand over time and across channels.
A journey map helps us explore and find answers to the 'what ifs' that arise during research & concept process and tell a story of 'how to' being able to plan ahead and be strategic.
Think holistic end to end customer experience with context to each phase of the product/service. A meaningful journey map will guide and prioritize decisions and actions to be taken by viewing areas of opportunity and impact. It is defined by data and measurable metrics, that inform the impact and allow for benchmark studies and identification of opportunity gaps.
Journey map consists of 'motivators' and 'phases'. Motivators help us understand what drives our consumer base towards completing certain action or task. Phases are stages a consumer goes through within a given product/service experience. Phases are broken down into:
Awareness (PR, marketing, traffic, social media engagement)
Consideration (brand perception, balance rate)
Choice Reduction (customer acquisition cost, conversion)
Purchase Channel (where to buy and when)
Ecosystem Set Up (prospects, existing customers, call centers reliance)
Use (how often, when, converting visitors to customers)
Troubleshoot (customer service call centers reliance)
Retention (repeat customers, purchases)
Advocacy (ongoing exposure to prospects via social media messaging, word of mouth, PR, marketing)
In addition, phases should be guided by what customer is doing, thinking or feeling. This type of information can be collected as part of the research by interviewing existing customers and prospects.