Simplify journey mapping with the journey framework

Customer journey mapping is a powerful tool for crafting exceptional customer experiences. According to leading global market researcher Forrester, 88% of CX pros do it — and it's no wonder, as it helps organizations understand and improve every touchpoint in the customer lifecycle. But what happens when you begin mapping multiple journeys? The more customer-centric your organization becomes, the more complex mining those journey maps for real impact can seem. Forget about insights or seeing the big picture—it’s more like a tangled mess! That's where the journey framework comes in.

The journey framework is an organizing structure for transitioning customer journey mapping to a more dynamic and scalable practice of Journey Management. It’s not a totally new concept; Forrester calls it the “Journey Atlas,” and industry insight leader Deloitte refers to it as the “Journey Foundation.” It’s also known as a journey collection, universe, catalog, ecosystem, or library— but regardless of the name, it’s a must-have, systematic way to organize and prioritize customer journeys.

So, what’s the “why” behind a journey framework?

Well, for starters, if you’re going to go to all the effort of mapping your customer journeys, you want to make sure you can find and prioritize those that matter most when you need them. A journey framework (or atlas, etc.) provides a method for the complexity of managing journeys at scale. In other words, it's both a planner and playbook for uncovering, organizing, and prioritizing customer journeys to ensure all your CX efforts are focused in the right direction—where they’ll make the most impact. 

Think of it like a wardrobe

Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Joana de Quintanilha suggested thinking of the journey atlas, or framework, like a wardrobe in this informative podcast. Just as you neatly arrange your clothes by season or occasion, this framework helps you categorize and prioritize journeys—whether they're casual "t-shirt" interactions or sophisticated "black-tie" engagements.

But imagine if your wardrobe could do more than just store clothes. Picture a smart wardrobe that suggests the perfect outfit for any occasion, linking your beachwear with trendy accessories and scaling effortlessly to accommodate the entire cast (and costumes) of multiple film productions, from Shakespearian plays to alien sci-fi. That's the power of the journey framework—it organizes and guides you in uncovering hidden opportunities and focusing your efforts where they'll have the greatest impact.

This journey “closet’, er,  framework  (we certainly don’t need another name for it!)  acts as both a grounding and navigational tool, helping you visualize the complexity of customer interactions and prioritize the most impactful areas. As your needs evolve, it becomes more sophisticated— from a rudimentary cupboard to a dynamic, modular, multi-tiered, classifying system. Let's bring this wardrobe analogy to life with a customer journey example.

A look inside the wardrobe: Alex’s cellphone buying experience

Alex needs a new phone. Different stakeholders will be interested in different aspects of his experience—some will be thinking about his overarching goal (Level 1), “sorting through all the clutter” to find the right cell phone; some will be thinking about his particular tasks (Level 2), “pulling open the drawer easily” to making the purchase online; and some will be thinking about his particular quirks and style, (Level 3), like why Alex owns three different pairs of purple high-tops. So, how do all these levels and aspects of his journey connect? 

In a journey framework, every stakeholder can access the level of detail they need—from the overall customer experience (L0) to clicking the shopping cart (L2). The journey framework provides an elegantly structured system to organize, view, and manage these connections across different touchpoints.

For example:

• Level 0 (L0): The strategic overview lets executives grasp Alex's entire journey, from initial awareness to post-purchase satisfaction. This bird's-eye view ensures decisions align with overarching customer experience goals.

• Level 1 (L1): Zooming in closer, we see Alex's comprehensive purchasing journey. From researching options to interacting with marketing efforts, this macro view informs strategic decisions at each stage.

• Level 2 (L2): Delving deeper into micro journeys, such as Alex's experience navigating an online store, provides nuanced insights. These detailed perspectives empower teams to optimize touchpoints and enhance user experience.

• Level 3 (L3): At the individual level, analyzing Alex's unique interactions reveals personalized insights. From his browsing behavior to post-purchase feedback, these source journeys guide tailored marketing strategies and product enhancements, (remember the purple hightops?).

Journey frameworks: From clutter to clarity

Essentially, the journey framework is a customizable, evolving, organizing structure that allows you to link, nest, and manage all your customer journeys and smoothly switch between levels —from a bird' s-eye view to a detailed close-up—so you can see the entire customer experience as easily as zooming in and out on a Google map. 

Whether you call it a “wardrobe,” atlas, foundation, or framework, this organizing structure is essential for your ongoing, ever-evolving Journey Management practice. The framework offers a holistic view of the key journeys your customers engage in throughout their relationship with your brand—making it indispensable for becoming a customer-obsessed company.

Benefits of a journey framework

More than a dynamic way to organize everything, a journey framework makes it easier to spot (and act on) real opportunities to go above and beyond for your customer. Because you can also unpack complex data to show how various journeys interconnect, the framework also offers a holistic view that facilitates better decision-making across the organization — different stakeholders can see the potential impact of their choices, positive or negative, beyond their own areas of responsibility. 

Most importantly, the journey framework rallies the organization around a shared vision and common language, fostering a unified approach to customer experience management. Whether you’re a seasoned CX professional or new to Journey Management, a journey framework can help you move from clutter to clarity. 

TheyDo’s unique platform makes it easy to build and optimize a dynamic journey framework so you can visualize, track, and improve customer experiences. Unlike other approaches to this organizing structure and concept, TheyDo's journey framework centralizes all your customer journey data, content, and information into one place—a single source of truth—so everyone operates from the same playbook. 

With TheyDo’s journey framework, you can zoom in or out to see parallel journeys, visualize hierarchies, and examine the detailed nuances of individual maps. This makes it possible to tell the same story from different touchpoints and perspectives.

Ultimately, the journey framework isn't just about organizing—it's about transforming how organizations manage and optimize customer interactions. From a basic framework to a sophisticated, multi-dimensional system, it acts as both a grounding and navigational tool, ensuring organizations stay aligned with customer needs and consistently deliver exceptional experiences. 

Ready to move from clutter to clarity by implementing a journey framework? With TheyDo, you can put your customers’ happiness at your fingertips. Our Journey Management platform adapts to every organization, fits every occasion, and never goes out of season.