Best Practices in Customer Journey Mapping


Journey mapping has become an essential tool to every customer experience program.  This document highlights some best practices to take into consideration before undertaking a journey mapping exercise.

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Best practices in customer experience mapping
1. Best Practices in Customer Experience Mapping
2. •  What  is  Customer  Experience  /   Customer  Journey  mapping?     •  Our  methodology     –  Best  practices   –  Common  pitfalls   •  Six  steps  to  a  Customer  Experience   Map   •  Case  Study:  Major  Luxury  Retailer   Overview  
3. •  Each  map  can  have  multiple  purposes   •  Identifying  flows  (communications,  information)   •  Measuring  “gaps  &  overlaps”   •  Assessing  efficiency/effectiveness  of  interactions   •  They  can  be  iterative  or  ‘layered’   •  Types  of  customer  experience  maps:   •  Process  maps   •  Lifecycle  maps   •  Web  or  Contact  center  optimization   •  Data  maps   •  Communication  maps   •  Resource  /  empowerment  maps   •  Privacy  compliance  roadmaps   There  are  many  types  of  Customer  Experience  Maps   Image  Sources:  East  Bay  Group,  SNG  Consulting      
4. •  An  Experience  map  is  an  essential  tool   •  Creates  a  visualization  of  your  touchpoints  and  relevant  information   •  Shows  where  and  when  customers  experience  satisfaction/pain  point, who  is  most  impacted  and  how   it  affects  your  bottom  line   •  Prioritization  for  both  customers  and  business  to  understand  what  creates  or  detracts  value   Data-‐driven  Maps  enable  many  disciplines   •  Data  Integration/Consolidation   •  Collects  and  standardize  disparate  data  sources   (data  integration)   •  Helps  get  to  a  common  data  set  of  customer  profile/ dimensions   •  Collaborative  and  ‘Social’   •  Shared  tool  in  ‘3D’   •  See  how  activities  &  processes  in  one  area  affect  the   entire  organization,  and  get  everyone  on  the  same   page   •  Living  vs.  static   •  Allows  you  to  continue  to  uses  it  over  time  to  drive   strategy,  planning  and  tactics.     •  A  “Dashboard”  that  can  reflect  trends  and  progress   over  time  
5. •  There  are  different  exercises  that  can  be  done  at   different  points  in  the  map  creation  or  follow-‐up   processes:   •  Storyboarding  –  illustrating  a  customer  experience   through  the  map     •  Choose  a  scenario  –  the  group  walks  through  the   customer  experience  via  the  map  (great  process  for   business  rule  development)   •  Ideation  session     •  Break  down  issues  identified  in  the  experience  maps   •  Brainstorm  solutions     •  Create  high  level  prioritization  for  implementation   •  Deep  Dive  sessions   •  Create  the  future  state  for  specific  problem  areas     •  ROI  analysis     •  Gather  data  across  touchpoints  (i.e..  Collateral  creation   cost,  fulfillment  cost,  cost  per  interaction,  etc.)     •  Do  calculations  based  on  focused  assumptions:  one   touchpoint,  one  campaign,  one  customer  type,  etc.   Offshoots  of  the  mapping  process   Image  Sources:  UXMatters.com,    DesigningCX.com,  Branddriveninnovation.com  
6. •  Communication  strategy  –  develop  an  integrated   communication  through  all  touchpoints   •  Operational  strategy  -‐  identify  the  infrastructure  that  is   needed  to  support  a  customer  centric  environment     •  Process  reengineering  –  refine  processes  to  be  more   efficient  and  customer  focused   •  Privacy  issues  –  identifying  potential  risks   •  Data  management     –  Develop  data  strategy     –  Develop  an  understanding  of  how  data  can  be  used  as   a  competitive  advantage  to  increase  loyalty,   satisfaction,  etc.   –  Identify  places  where  data  can  be  leveraged   •  Lifecycle  opportunities  –  understand  the  customer   experience  throughout  the  lifecycle,  work  to  alleviate  the   highest  pain  points  and  leverage  interactions  to  improve   customer  relations   Potential  outputs  of  an  experience  mapping  effort   Impact  on  Revenue   Ease  of  Implementa2on   Customer  Sa2sfac2on   Time  to  Implement   Cost  to  Achieve  
7. 1.  Documentation of vision -  Overlaps and synergies across BU’s -  Conflicting strategies 2.  Useable Best Practices 3.  Documentation of gaps and Opportunities 4.  Documentation of the current customer experience -  Living Customer Journey Map -  Holistic view of the customer experience and infrastructure that is supporting it -  Gaps and opportunities between customer experience and stated customer strategies 5.  High Level Recommendations 6.  Initiative Identification & Prioritization INTANGIBLE TANGIBLE 1.  Engagement of key stakeholders across divisions and business units -  Begin to see commonality of key challenges -  See the overlap and chaos from the customer’s perspective 2.  Key Customer Journey Insights 3.  Forum for breaking down silos -  Realization that customers view and experience the whole brand and not divisions or business units -  As such, need for greater collaboration and coordination where customers are cutting across different parts of the organization 4.  Recognition for the right ideas and the proper execution -  Elevation of best practices to senior stakeholders and across divisions provide forum for superior and peer recognition Summary  of  experience  mapping  outputs  
8. •  Interview  at  least  some  staff  that  are  closest  to  the  customer   •  They  know  more  about  the  customer  experience  than  anyone  in  the  enterprise   •  Interview  people  who  “own”  customer  data   •  They  know  best  what  happens  to  the  data   •  What  customer  data  you  have  is  less  important  than  how  you  use  it   •  Look  for  data  flows  (or  lack  of  flow)  among  functions   •  What  technology  you  have  is  less  important  than  what  you  do  with  it   •  People  and  process  integration  with  technology  determine  how  successful  it  is   Tips  for  effective  mapping  
9. •  Mapping  only  outbound  communications   •  Does  not  address  the  customer  experience;  omits  the  feedback  loop   •  An  inflexible  process  that  fails  to  identify  real  opportunity   •  Provides  lots  of  data,  but  little  real  insight   •  No  clear  view  of  purpose  or  outcome   •  Results  are  equally  fuzzy   •  Political  agendas   •  Office  politics  prevent  interviews  of  appropriate  staff,  acquisition  of  needed  information   Common  pitfalls  of  the  mapping  experience  
10. Planning   • Set  the  map’s  scope  and  scale   • Create  interview  material  and  identify  interviewees   Data  Gathering   • Schedule  and  execute  interviews   • Gather  and  review  documentation   Map  Creation   • Plot  customer  interactions  on  map;  refine  &  validate   • Overlay  metrics,  customer  data  &  collateral   Ideation  Session   • Identify,  analyze  and  prioritize  opportunities   Conduct  “deep  drills”  on  issues/opportunities   • Identify  “deep  drill”  needs   • Conduct  deep  drills,  analyze  results   Six  steps  to  a  Customer  Experience  Map   Analysis  &  Recommendations     •  Analyze  map     •  Develop  recommendations  and  compile  roadmap  for  change  
11. •  Establish  the  project  scope   •  What  are  the  expected  results?   •  What  information  is  necessary  to  support  those  results?   •  Establish  the  project  scale   •  Enterprise,  divisional,  functional?   •  Identify  the  specific  information  to  be  acquired   •  Draft  data  acquisition  process  and  tools   •  Draft  and  test  interview  question  set   •  Train  the  team   •  Interview  process   •  Data  acquisition  process   Step  1:  Planning  the  mapping  process   Planning  
12. •  Do  we  agree  on  approach  &  outcome?   •  Do  we  agree  on  scope  and  scale?     •  Have  we  identified  all  key  stakeholders?     •  Who  should  own/drive  this  project?     •  What  are  the  interdependencies?     •  Project  sequencing     •  Leverage  existing  work  and  resources     •  What  is  the  risk  of  not  doing  this  project?     •  Are  there  any  timing  or  resource  issues?   Step  1:  Questions  to  ask  before  starting   Planning  
13. •  Finalize  interview  list  and  data-‐gathering  targets     •  Revise  target  list  of  interviewees  to  ensure  coverage     •  Review  data  sources  to  ensure  completeness     •  Conduct  interviews   •  Pilot  interviews  (then  adjust  question  set  as  needed)   •  Schedule  and  conduct  interviews   •  If  there  are  a  large  number  of  interviews,  create  a  scheduling  system  for  the  team   •  Compile  interview  reports;  review  for  completeness   •  Complete  the  data-‐gathering  process   •  Review  data  dictionaries  and  other  sources  as  they  are  acquired   •  Identify  gaps;  re-‐acquire  missing  information  sets   Step  2:  Data  gathering  phase   Data  Gathering  
14. •  Set  map  parameters  from  existing  data     •  Review  interview  reports  and  datasets   •  Draft  and  submit  map  options  for  review   •  Draft  initial  map   •  Create  core  map   •  Plot  customer  interactions  and/or  datasets  on  map   •  Refine  the  map  and  validate  information  flows   •  Pinpoint  “gaps  &  overlaps”   •  Identify  potential  problem  areas  (missing  data,  possible  privacy  violations,  etc.)   •  Overlay  other  data  as  deemed  relevant   •  Metrics,  communications  tools,  dataflow  gaps,  etc.   Step  3:  Map  creation   Map  Creation  
15. •  In  a  team  settng,  review  map  for  opportunities  and  threats   •  Customer-‐identified  needs  and  preferences   •  Touchpoints  with  unusually  high  or  low  customer  interaction  results   •  Gaps  in  the  feedback  loop   •  Obvious  “missed  signals”  from  the  customer   •  Points  of  high  customer  satisfaction  or  preference   •  Analyze  the  opportunities  and  threats   •  Determine  “do-‐ability”  of  potential  solutions   •  Estimate  potential  ROI  of  solutions   •  Prioritize  opportunities   •  Determine  priority  metrics  (budget,  growth,  ROI,  etc.)   •  Score  and  rank  opportunities     •  Recommend  “deep  drills”  to  better  analyze  high-‐value  opportunities  or  threats   Step  4:  Ideation   Ideation  Session  
16. •  Identify  deep  drill  needs   •  Areas  where  the  mapping  process  identified  an  issue,  but  did  not  provide   sufficient  information  to  support  a  decision   •  Large-‐scale  opportunities  or  threats  that  require  additional  analysis   •  Intriguing  ideas  or  concerns  that  need  to  have  an  ROI  specified  before  approval   •  Conduct  deep  drill   •  Acquire  necessary  data   •  Conduct  interviews   •  Analyze  results   •  Determine  priority  metrics  (budget,  growth,  ROI,  etc.)   •  Score  and  rank  against  other  opportunities/threats   Step  5:  Conduct  deep  drills   Conduct  “deep  drills”  on  issues/opportunities  
17. •  Identify  key  findings  from  map   •  3-‐5  major  issues  (opportunities,  threats,  needs,  etc.)  that  surfaced  in  the   customer  experience  mapping  process   •  Develop  recommendations  for  each  finding   •  Core  recommendation   •  Support  data  (ROI,  etc.)   •  Create  high-‐level  roadmap  to  implementation   •  Key  steps  to  implementation   •  Major  implications   Step  6:  Analysis  and  recommendations   Analysis  &  Recommendations    
18. Challenge/Opportunity   Results   §  Created    a  customer  experience  that  drives  brand  loyalty,  resulting  in  shared  value  for  the  customer  and  the  company   §  Developed  a  360-‐degree  view  of  the  customer  to  deliver  what  they  need,  when  they  need  it,  and  how  they  want  it   §  Leveraged  customer  data  to  drive  actionable  insights  &  measurable  ROI   §  Identified  “quick  wins”  while  working  towards  the  long  term  strategy.     §  Leveraged  the  strategic  framework  from  North  America  to  enable  it  to  scale  to  a  global  footprint.     Approach/Solution   §  Organizational  assessment  across  Sales,  Marketing  and  Service  to  determine  gaps  in  CRM  efforts   §  Created  Touchmap  to  fully  understand  customer  through  retailer  and  distributor  Experience   §  Developed  initiatives  to  close  gaps  (operations,  people,  information,  technology)     §  Used  Touchmap  to  gather  requirements,  inform  RFPs  and  manage  bid  processes  for  MRM,  CRM  solutions   §  Developed  Sales  and  Marketing  Training  for  Segmentation  and  1:1  Marketing  concepts   Client  had  several  failures  to  launch  CRM   programs   Sales/Marketing  not  in  agreement  on   how  to  proceed   Realized  technology  plan  would  not   work  without  a  Go-‐to-‐Market  Strategy   and  clearer  understanding  of   Marketing/Sales  Needs/Objectives   Business  Requirements   Concern  about  alienating  Resellers   kept  them  from  collecting  relevant   end  user  data       Sales  and  Marketing  ohen  blind  in   trying  to  create  lead  nurturing   programs   Case  Study:     Multi-‐brand  Retail  Experience  Map  
19. Connect  and  Follow:   www.suitecx.com   @custoholic  
20. Valerie Peck Co-founder and CEO, SuiteCX    About  the  Content  Authors       Valerie has more than 20 years of diverse experience delivering accelerated growth and strong bottom line results. Valerie has successfully led multi- functional teams to ensure marketing strategy is translated into technical solutions.   Valerie  Peck  is  the  founder  of  East  Bay  Group  and  a  co-‐founder  of  SuiteCX.    She  focuses  on  developing  Marketing   and  CRM  strategies  and  driving  them  through  tactical  execution.    She  is  highly  skilled  in  developing  and  executing   marketing/relationship  and  sales  strategies  within  both  large  scale  and  startup  organizations.    She  specializes  in   the  area  of  utilizing  technology  for  strategic  advantage.    Her  areas  of  expertise  include  all  facets  of  relationship   management,  marketing  optimization  and  customer-‐centric  service.    Acknowledged  for  developing  BI/KM   capabilities  within  corporations  as  well  as  professional  services  firms.           Valerie  has  multi-‐vertical  CRM  expertise  with  over  50  clients  such  as  Samsclub,  Limited  Brands,  Overstock.co,   Bluefly,  Royal  Caribbean,  EDS,  Blue  Shield  of  CA,  Bank  of  Turkey,  HP  and  Luxottica  to  name  a  few.    She  also  has   strong  repeat  client  business  in  integrated  marketing,  digital  marketing  and  marketing  automation  such  as  HP,   Houghton-‐Mifflin,  Wells  Fargo,  Bank  of  America  and  Kaiser  Permanente.    She  has  significant  B2C  and  B2B   experience.       Her  client  side  experience  was  gained  within  the  industry  leading  CRM  practitioners    in  telecommunications,   starting  her  career  with  Pacific  Bell  and  then  Director  of  Strategic  Alliances  and  Product  Marketing  at  StorageTek   and    Director  of  Marketing  for  PwC’s  High  Technology  practice  in  the  West  Coast.    Valerie  has  a  BS  in  Marketing   and  an  MBA  from  the  University  of  Southern  California.      
21. Anne Cramer Co-founder and COO, SuiteCX Anne is an experienced Marketer and CRM subject matter expert. Her focus on detail and strong writing skills enable her to produce insightful and usable deliverables across the spectrum of marketing/CRM projects. Anne  Cramer  is  has  served  as  a  Partner  at  East  Bay  Group  and  is  a  co-‐founder  of  SuiteCX.  Anne  is  a  seasoned   strategy  and  management  consulting  professional  with  deep  expertise  in  creating  and  implementing  data-‐ driven,  customer-‐centric  business  strategies.    Having  been  in  the  consulting  and  professional  services   industry  for  over  12  years,  Anne’s  passion  lies  in  finding  and  replicating  best  practices  all  over  the  world.     She  believes  that  all  clients  can  learn  from  other  successful  organizations  regardless  of  their  size,  business   model  or  country  of  origin.     Anne  is  a  specialist  in  process  improvement,  customer  data  strategy,  and  customer  experience  mapping   across  a  variety  of  vertical  and  geographic  markets.    She  is  fluent  in  French  and  proficient  in  Spanish  and   Czech.         Anne  has  worked  for  clients  such  as  PayPal,  Salesforce.com,  Autodesk,  Kaiser  Permanente,  Silicon  Valley   Bank,  Volkswagen  and  United  Airlines.    She  has  also  built  CRM  and  loyalty  programs  from  scratch  in  the   gaming  and  healthcare  industries.     Anne  graduated  magna  cum  laude  from  the  University  of  Southern  California  with  a  degree  in  International   Relations,  attained  a  Master  of  Arts  in  International  Development  from  the  American  University  and   received  her  MBA  from  Cornell  University.   .      About  the  Content  Authors