1 Learn the concept
A customer journey map shows every step a customer takes from first hearing about a business to buying and beyond. Mapping the journey helps marketers see where customers get confused, drop out or become fans. It turns guesswork into a plan: what do people need at each stage, and what should the business do about it? This lesson explains the stages and touchpoints and shows how to build a simple map.
2 See it in action
- Stages: awareness, consideration, decision, purchase and loyalty.
- Touchpoints: every place a customer meets the business, such as search, social, a website or a store.
- Emotions: note how the customer feels at each step, especially frustration.
- Fixes: for every pain point, write one thing the business could do.
Worked example
Finding and fixing the weak point
Problem: the booking button is buried at the bottom of the mobile page, so people who want to try the gym give up at the decision stage.
Fix: add a one-tap "Book a free trial" button at the top of the mobile page and in the business profile.
Metric: trial bookings per week, compared with the four weeks before the change.
Takeaway: a journey map is useful when it points to one specific fix.
3 Study an example
Real example
A journey map for a local gym. A person sees a friend's post, searches the gym's name, reads reviews, books a free trial, joins and later invites a friend. The map shows the booking page is hard to find on mobile, so the first fix is to make it a one-tap button.
4 Apply it and download
- Pick a business and list five stages of its customer's journey.
- Add the touchpoint and feeling for each stage.
- Complete the journey map template and mark one fix.
Worksheet Customer journey map templateOpen, print or save as PDF