Companies Are Not Making The Most Of Customer Journey Maps

The following is an excerpt from CCW Digital's Market Study on the Customer Experience.  The in-depth report details our extensive research into what customers are demanding and how businesses are responding.

Despite the clear importance and abundance of industry hype for journey maps, not all organizations are taking advantage.  A whopping 32%, in fact, confirm that they are not actively mapping their journeys.

For the organizations that do use journey maps, optimizing the overall experience represents the greatest focus.

Thirty-one percent of businesses identify eliminating pain points as their #1 reason for using journey maps. Assessing the quality of the experience, another comparatively popular application, is the #1 focus for 20% of organizations.

The majority of organizations, therefore, primarily value journey maps for their ability to create the smoothest, most frictionless experience possible. Rather than focusing on the nuances of a conversation, these organizations wish to look at the big picture. What happens when a customer moves between channels or issues? How can the organization make the overall engagement experience as quick and painless as possible?

Far fewer organizations are presently using journey mapping to add contextual value to the experience. Only 9% say their #1 journey-mapping priority is to enhance predictive or proactive engagement. A mere 5% prioritize journey mapping to understand customer intent, and fewer than 3% focus on building customer profiles.

On the one hand, customers are not necessarily asking businesses to make extravagant use of contextual data. They do not need to be treated as a close family member; they simply need a quick, easy resolution to their problems.

On the other hand, contextual data definitely can contribute to a smoother experience. Knowing how particular customers behave in pursuit of what they want is certainly relevant to an organization aiming to efficiently deliver effective resolutions.

It also represents an organization’s pathway to creating additional value. Deep contextual data may not always be necessary for satisfying a customer, but it can certainly help organizations wow them. It can certainly help transform an organization’s image from a “provider” into a “partner.”

It can also help make sales and marketing efforts more effective. Customers presently view up-selling as the sign of a bad experience, but it is also a necessity for profit-minded organizations. With relevant contextual data, an organization can tailor its sales initiatives to specific customer needs and preferences. This customization will serve to soften the frustration – and increase the likelihood of conversion.