How to create a customer journey map (and why you should)

A practical guide for improving customer experience

The best way to predict the future of your business is to understand the path your customers are taking today. But how do you begin? Sure, you may know who they are and what they want or need — but do you truly know what they go through on their way to making a purchase?

Buyers don’t usually just decide to buy on a whim. They embark on a journey of consideration and evaluation before making their final decisions. Your brand’s place within that process is what we call the customer journey. Whether it’s online, offline, or a blend of both, each customer’s path is unique. So, if you want to improve your customers' experience, you need to understand every interaction they have with your brand every step of the way—and exceed their expectations.

The best way to do that is by creating a customer journey map. In this guide, we’ll explain what a customer journey map is, why it’s important, and how to create one. Keep in mind that journey mapping isn’t limited to customer journeys — it’s equally useful for employee journeys, patient journeys, and more. What’s more, Journey Management as a practice helps businesses standardize and optimize experiences across all journey types. So, as we dive into the details of “customer” journey mapping, remember that these principles can be applied to other contexts as well.

The customer journey map — crafting exceptional customer experiences

A customer journey map is a visual representation of a customer’s experience that helps you better understand their needs, pain points, and emotions at every stage of their purchasing process. However, it’s more than just a diagram of those stages; it’s a strategic, visual storytelling tool that allows businesses to step into their customers' shoes and make more meaningful connections with them. 

With a well-crafted customer journey map, you can fine-tune every touchpoint and ensure your customers are on the right path for them—the path that will lead to your future success.

It’s like directing a movie starring your customer, but instead of following a fixed script, you're working with a dynamic tool that reveals every thought, feeling, and action they have as they interact with your brand, product, or service. With insight into exactly what your customer is thinking and feeling, you can step in and tweak the plot, steer the action, and even rewrite scenes to ensure a smooth and delightful process for your customer — which equals a happy ending for them and your business.

What does a customer journey map look like?

A customer journey map shows every encounter your customer has with your company on the path to making a purchase. The exact details and layout can vary, but they typically include the following components:

Customer journey stages or phases: These are the different steps or stages a customer (or buyer) goes through on their way to making a purchase, such as awareness, consideration, purchase, and decision.

Touchpoints: The specific interactions a customer has with your brand at each stage, such as visiting a website, engaging with customer service, or receiving an email.

Customer actions: The actions customers take at each touchpoint, like researching products, reading reviews, or making a purchase.

Customer emotions: The feelings and emotional responses customers might experience at each stage—whether positive (e.g., satisfaction, delight) or negative (e.g., frustration, confusion).

Pain points: Challenges or obstacles customers encounter during their journey that could prevent them from progressing to the next stage or achieving their goal.

Opportunities: Areas where you can improve the customer experience, such as by addressing pain points, enhancing positive emotions, or guiding customers more effectively.

How to create a customer journey map

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to designing a customer journey map, but there are some basic guidelines you can follow to get started. While you can create a customer journey map using a simple spreadsheet or diagram, using a dedicated tool like TheyDo can streamline the process. TheyDo is designed to help businesses standardize and scale customer journey mapping. Here’s how:

Set clear goals

Before you dive into mapping your customer journey, it’s important to define what you hope to achieve. Are you looking to improve a specific aspect of the customer experience, like reducing cart abandonment or increasing customer retention? Or are you aiming for a broader understanding of how customers interact with your brand? Your goals will guide the entire mapping process and help you focus on the most relevant touchpoints and interactions. Using TheyDo, you can clearly visualize your goals within your customer journey map, ensuring that every team member is aligned with the objectives. 

Conduct persona research

To create an accurate and useful journey map, you need to know who your customers are. This is where customer personas come in. Personas are fictional characters that represent your ideal customers based on real data about your current customers. They should include details like demographics, behaviors, goals, pain points, and motivations.

When developing personas, consider the different segments of your customer base. For example, you might have one persona for first-time buyers and another for repeat customers. Each persona will have a unique journey with your brand, so it's important to map out each one separately.

With TheyDo, you can create and store all persona data and related insights in one central location. This makes it easier to tailor journey maps for each market segment.  

Define customer phases

The customer journey is typically divided into several phases, each representing a stage in the customer’s experience with your brand. While these phases can vary depending on your business model, they generally include:

• Awareness: The customer becomes aware of a problem or need and begins searching for solutions.

• Consideration: The customer evaluates different options and considers your brand as a potential solution.

• Decision: The customer decides to purchase your product or service.

• Retention: The customer continues to engage with your brand after the purchase, possibly leading to repeat purchases.

• Advocacy: The customer becomes a loyal advocate for your brand, recommending it to others.

Your journey map should clearly define each phase, with specific touchpoints and interactions mapped out for each stage. TheyDo provides customizable templates that include pre-defined lane structures and examples, making it easier to define these phases quickly and accurately.

Plot touchpoints

Touchpoints are the moments where customers interact with your brand. These can include anything from visiting your website to receiving an email to speaking with customer service. It’s important to identify all the touchpoints across each phase of the customer journey.

For example, during the Awareness phase, touchpoints might include social media posts, online ads, or word-of-mouth referrals. In the Decision phase, touchpoints could include product pages, reviews, or customer service interactions. By mapping out these touchpoints, you can ensure that every interaction aligns with your overall goals and provides a consistent experience.

TheyDo’s visual interface makes it easy to plot these touchpoints in an engaging and intuitive way. It allows you to see the flow of interactions at a glance, helping you identify any gaps or inconsistencies that could impact the customer experience.

Capture customer thoughts, actions, and emotions

At each touchpoint in the customer journey, it’s important to capture not only what customers are doing but also what they are thinking and feeling. Are they excited, frustrated, or confused? Are they searching for more information or ready to make a purchase? By systematically gathering their thoughts, emotions, and feedback—through a Voice of the Customer (VoC) program — you can synthesize this data into actionable insights to improve both the product and the overall customer experience.

Incorporating these insights into your journey mapping allows you to create more empathetic and effective experiences that resonate deeply with your customers’ needs. For instance, during the Consideration phase, if customers frequently report feeling overwhelmed, this might indicate a need for clearer product information or enhanced support. On the other hand, if they are confused, improved navigation or more detailed comparisons could help guide their decision-making. Conversely, during the Decision phase, customers who feel excited and ready to buy present an opportunity to enhance their experience with personalized offers, such as upselling or cross-selling complementary products.

With TheyDo, you can seamlessly capture and translate the VoC into an experience graph, making it easier to identify pain points and moments of delight. These emotional insights are critical for designing a journey that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations.

Identify opportunities for improvement

Once you’ve mapped out the customer journey and captured their thoughts, actions, and emotions, it’s time to identify areas for improvement. Look for patterns or recurring issues that could be addressed to enhance the customer experience. For example, if customers frequently abandon their carts during the Decision phase, this could indicate a problem with the checkout process or pricing.

It’s also important to identify opportunities for delight — moments where you can exceed customer expectations and create a memorable experience. These moments of delight can turn satisfied customers into loyal advocates for your brand.

TheyDo makes it easy to highlight problems and brainstorm solutions. You can track everything — from products and services to communication flows — all in one place. This holistic view of the customer journey helps you make more strategic decisions about where to focus your efforts and how to enhance the overall customer experience.

Start your customer journey mapping today with TheyDo

Is your business ready to make the customer the star of its show? It all starts with a well-constructed customer journey map. And remember, journey mapping isn’t just for customers. Journey Management is a comprehensive practice that applies across multiple journey types—whether for customers, employees, or patients. By standardizing and managing these experiences holistically, you can improve touchpoints and interactions throughout your entire business ecosystem. With TheyDo as your trusted tool, you can visualize and refine your journeys to craft experiences truly worthy of an encore.