Customer Journey Maps vs. User Journeys
A long time ago (circa 2014) I developed a reasonably complex UCD methodology for multi-channel customer journey mapping — the kind of thing that requires qualified UX or Service Design practitioners to execute, but that, when properly executed, could truly leverage the power of modern MarTech stacks such as Adobe or Salesforce.
As I was training people around the world, the one thing that came up over and over was the knowledge gap between basic user flows/journeys and multichannel customer journey mapping. Never assume.
So I’ve decided to dedicate some time to writing a series on Customer Experience and Customer Journey mapping— starting from the basics and progressing to more advanced stuff— in the hope that some of y’all find it useful.
What is a customer journey map?
A customer journey map generally shows the stages of the journey a customer goes through in the use, purchase or experience of your product or service.
Generally, the journey is mapped from left to right (assuming for now, you are not working with RTL languages), with specific stages highlighted, and customer action/activity stated below each section.
