When it comes to promoting your small business online, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers and metrics while forgetting the most important part—customers’ experience with your brand.

As a business owner, you need to ask yourself some key questions every day:

• Why does a customer need the products and services you are offering?
• Why did they choose to buy from your business?
• How satisfied are they with your products and services?
• How likely are your customers to return and do business with you again?

A customer journey map is the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal as it offers a visual breakdown of customer interactions with your brand and helps you understand the answers to these important questions.

Our previous blog discussed how customer journey maps could improve the customer experience. Here, we’ll explore how different elements come together to give you the full picture of your customer’s experience and optimize your customer journey map for better results.

 

6 Crucial Components of a Customer Journey Map

Buyer Persona

Buyer personas are essentially profiles that define specific segments within your target audience. Each persona type has its own particular buying behavior and requires its own customer journey map.

Without buyer personas, you risk marketing to people who aren’t interested in your products or, worse, fail to reach interested prospects who are more likely to convert.

For example, if you own an automotive dealership, you first need to decide who your ideal customer is. Is it a 25-year-old college student buying their first car or a middle-aged professional looking for a car to drive to work?

Based on your answer, you can personalize your marketing strategy to target the pain points of the specific persona. You can also improve your processes and train your staff to better serve the needs of your target segment.

Also, the best way to learn more about your customers is to talk to them. Questionnaires and surveys can provide you with the information you need to create customized journey maps for your ideal buyer persona or personas.

 

Buyer Stages

Commonly referred to as the marketing funnel, it refers to the general stage of discovery and decision-making a customer is in.

Remember, your relationship with a client starts way before they walk through your front door and lasts long after they make their first purchase. An in-depth understanding of different buyer stages allows you to effectively nurture your relationship with both existing and future customers.

The customer acquisition process consists of the following stages:

Awareness

This is the stage where customers realize they have a need and are actively looking for solutions. 82% of all smartphone users conduct “near me” searches. So, if someone looking up “car dealerships near me” finds your dealership on the first page of Google, they are more likely to do business with you.

Customers at this stage are more likely to look up questions like, “Best cars to buy in 2022” or “What is auto insurance?” If you have blog posts that answer these questions, you can increase brand awareness among prospects looking for your specific services.

Consideration

At this stage, your customers know about your brand. They are weighing the pros and cons of choosing you over your competitors. So, if you don’t give them a strong reason to choose you, you will lose valuable prospects.

Searchability and generating interest are crucial at this stage. You need to ensure your business information is accurate across online directories so prospects can easily find you.

91% of people between the ages of 18 and 35 check online reviews as much as personal recommendations. So, online reputation management is crucial to building a successful business.

You can also highlight positive reviews and customer testimonials on your website to generate more positive interest.

 

Decision

Your customers are interested in what you have to offer and are ready to make a purchase! During this phase, you need to focus on creating a positive and seamless experience.

If you own an online retail store, make sure everything from navigating your store to payments is smooth and customer-friendly. Even little things like a “thank you” message are essential as all these “micro-interactions” can add up to create a strong impression.

 

Retention

The retention phase, or ‘Experience’ phase, occurs when your customer starts utilizing your product or service.

Depending on the experience they’ve had with your brand so far, this phase is your opportunity to turn existing customers into loyal advocates. You should not only make sure their experience with your brand is positive from the very beginning, but also keep engaging with them post purchase.

Respond to their feedback and create targeted email campaigns to keep your brand alive in their memories long after they’ve left your store.

Understand Your Customers’ Thoughts, Actions, & Goals

Understanding what your customers think and do at each stage and touchpoint will give you an idea of how to improve the customer journey.

Conversely, knowing what pain points are stopping your customers from taking action can also help you solve the problems and enhance future customer experience.

 

Identify the Touchpoints

Any point of contact or interaction customers have with your brand throughout the customer journey is called a touchpoint. This can refer to a blog they found during the awareness stage or their experience on your website during the consideration and decision phase.

By identifying the obstacles they face at every touchpoint, you can optimize your processes to ensure customers enjoy a quick and seamless experience with your brand online.

 

Establish a Time Frame

Use the data you collected through customer analytics, surveys, and interviews to set realistic expectations for when various customer stages will end. You can leverage this knowledge to nudge customers along to the next phase.

 

Customer’s Emotional Journey

The main point of the customer journey map is building empathy for your clients. By understanding the positive and negative emotions they feel during different stages and touchpoints, you will be able to identify where and how you need to focus your marketing efforts.

 

How Assist90’s Business App Can Help You

If you’re struggling to keep track of customer behavior and other important metrics, Assist90’s Business App is just what you need. You will be able to view real-time feedback, respond to reviews, keep your business listing up to date, and improve the overall customer experience—all from one easy-to-use dashboard!

If you want to maximize your online reach and enhance your customer experience, visit our website or give us a call at (314) 560-5649 today to learn more, or to book an assessment.