{"id":28172,"date":"2023-01-24T14:19:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T19:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/blog\/what-is-customer-journey-mapping\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:52:04","slug":"what-is-customer-journey-mapping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/blog\/what-is-customer-journey-mapping\/","title":{"rendered":"What is customer journey mapping &#8211; A complete guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Have you ever wanted to see what the experience is like for your&nbsp;customer\u2019s perspective, from beginning to end? To see what matters most to them, not just what they complain about? To make their journey from A to B as&nbsp;easy and&nbsp;comfortable as possible? Customer journey mapping is the first step.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">What is a customer journey map?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A customer journey map serves up your customers&#8217; perceptions, goals, expectations,&nbsp;emotions&nbsp;and action&nbsp;priorities&nbsp;in a digestible visual feast for the eyes.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;a data-driven storyboard that plots the highs and lows that your&nbsp;customers&nbsp;go&nbsp;throughout their&nbsp;specific&nbsp;interactions with you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">What is customer journey mapping?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Customer journey mapping is&nbsp;process of&nbsp;creating a&nbsp;visualization&nbsp;that uncovers what your customers truly value about working with you and captures their&nbsp;perception&nbsp;of a specific experience(s)&nbsp;from beginning to end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An ideal&nbsp;journey map&nbsp;accounts for&nbsp;all the&nbsp;different ways&nbsp;your customer can \u2018touch\u2019 your organisation; websites, apps,&nbsp;in-person,&nbsp;social media, call centres, etc.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through a combination of interviews,&nbsp;workshops&nbsp;and independent research,&nbsp;together we build a detailed picture of your customers&#8217; touchpoints and lay down unbiased recommendations on what you should do next to make those&nbsp;moments that matter&nbsp;even better.\u202f&nbsp;The&nbsp;scope&nbsp;of this map can be very&nbsp;narrow&nbsp;to all-encompassing, and Forsta takes pride in exploring key customer journeys&nbsp;with an array of&nbsp;specific goals in mind.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">Why is customer journey mapping important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;already getting survey data from your customers,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;know that data-driven action is better than guesswork,&nbsp;but it can be hard to get a full picture of what your customers are going through as a whole when you don&#8217;t involve them alongside your internal&nbsp;perceptions.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;where customer journey mapping&nbsp;can be of&nbsp;help:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make sure\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0measuring the right metrics (asking the right questions!) across all your touchpoints throughout the journey to accurately measure success.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify\u00a0your strengths, weaknesses and priority areas for improvement, promotion, or maintenance.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expose how certain outcomes affect other moments in the journey that you might not have predicted.\u00a0Put time and effort into the correct actions (saving you time and money\u00a0in the long run.)\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improve your voice-of-customer roadmap by engaging your customers in the process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Engage the rest of your organisation in CX by better understanding the paths your customers take.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Educate and on-board new team members on the customer perspective.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create early buy-in for change with customers in mind, bringing them into the process, rather than solely relying on internal\u00a0perception.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">Customer&nbsp;journey&nbsp;map&nbsp;design&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Customer journey mapping builds a story from two key perspectives:\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Customer: Their needs, goals, expectations, emotions throughout the journey.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Company: How you are organised and set-up to support, enable and deliver on needs,\u00a0as well as remove obstacles.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Forsta, we rely&nbsp;on our&nbsp;four-phase&nbsp;methodology&nbsp;for all customer journey mapping projects:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Explore\u00a0<\/strong>First,\u00a0we look at what you already know.\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0look at existing customer journey maps and any research\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0already done,\u00a0then talk to senior managers about what matters most to them.\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0sketch-out the framework of the customer journey and carry that into the next stage.\u00a0Who\u2019s\u00a0involved? Senior executives, CX\u00a0team\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Align\u00a0<\/strong>This is the internal workshopping.\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0bring in your best subject matter experts and go stage by stage through the framework, filling in the details of each step:\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0ask: what goals, needs, expectations, emotions,\u00a0barriers\u00a0and successes do we think make up the customer journey?\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0move on to the next stage when we have a\u00a0draft of a\u00a0detailed journey map based on your\u00a0SMEs\u2019\u00a0internal perspective.\u00a0Who\u2019s\u00a0involved? Subject matter experts\/functional leaders\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Prove\u00a0<\/strong>Next,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0take this internal map and\u00a0validate\u00a0it externally (with your customers.)\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0interview a selected 10-15 and ask them: Does it look like\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0important to you?\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0missing? Are some things more important than others? What do we do right? Where do we go wrong?\u202f\u00a0Who\u2019s\u00a0doing better out there?\u00a0Who\u2019s\u00a0involved? Key\u00a0selected\u00a0customers\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Design\u00a0<\/strong>Finally,\u00a0based on your customers\u2019\u00a0input,\u00a0we synthesize the findings\u00a0to create a final journey map.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0vital this\u00a0final version\u00a0translates into action for you, so\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0be working with your CX team and key stakeholders to\u00a0come up with\u00a0strategies to respond to what\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0learned. Additionally,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0make sure you have ways to keep a close eye on customer responses to the changes you make in the future (like aligning quantitative survey questions to track key points in the customer journey.)Who\u2019s\u00a0involved? CX team &amp; key stakeholders\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">Using&nbsp;data to&nbsp;optimise your&nbsp;customer&nbsp;journey&nbsp;mapping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data drives action but how do you know what data is important? Customer journey mapping answers that question for you.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If something matters a lot to your customers and&nbsp;it&#8217;s&nbsp;a pain point, then you&#8217;ll know&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a priority for you to fix! If it matters a lot and works&nbsp;really well, then it\u2019s&nbsp;something you can&nbsp;use&nbsp;and promote as an advantage over your competitors. If&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;not important,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;know to prioritise elsewhere.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We will provide you with this list of priorities.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">What is customer journey analytics? &nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are several ways you can use a customer journey map as part of your ongoing analytics:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Build\u00a0an action plan based on the priorities of your company and the priorities of your customers. By painting a vivid picture,\u00a0you will be able to predict what will have the biggest impact, and how it might affect other things your customers get up to.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sooth teething problems that come with building new customer journeys by involving the customer as part of the design process. Scoping out a customer journey with guided customer input is\u00a0a no-brainer.\u00a0It\u2019ll\u00a0put you in pole position to make sure you invest in something that does exactly what your customers need and expect it to do.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tap your frontline employees with crowdsourcing tools to prioritize initiatives and make sure what you do has the most impact.\u00a0These tools make gathering\u00a0and ranking\u00a0ideas effortless, so you can focus on the ones\u00a0that make a difference.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep track of success using your pre-established CX measurement methods (like your quantitative surveys and feedback forms) by asking the right questions in the right way at the right time.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leverage background digital data to gauge the effect of your changes at key moments in the journey (like product search, basket &amp; checkout and repeat visits) after you make the changes we recommend.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Combine the findings from customer journey mapping with your pre-existing CX initiatives to support (or question!) your&nbsp;perceptions&nbsp;of what is important to customers. Applying a different, and more holistic method, to your CX investigation is sure to turn up the heat on any initiatives you already had ear-marked for change.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">How can Forsta help?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can&nbsp;start&nbsp;at the beginning of your new engagement and help with scoping and designing the customer experience or lend a hand refreshing an ongoing or&nbsp;earlier&nbsp;program you want to run.&nbsp;Our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/solutions\/customer-journeys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">customer<\/a>&nbsp;journey analytics and mapping tools&nbsp;are here to help.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our subject matter experts have extensive tenure with decades of experience in CX, market research, voice-of-customer&nbsp;and voice-of-employee initiatives.&nbsp;We\u2019ll&nbsp;get to the heart of what&nbsp;works&nbsp;and what&nbsp;doesn&#8217;t&nbsp;for both you and your customers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A snapshot of&nbsp;who\u2019s&nbsp;involved from Forsta&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Program Manager\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CJM Consultant\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visualisation Expert\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tech Support for Integration\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Customer journey mapping is an exercise in&nbsp;exploring,&nbsp;learning,&nbsp;and prioritisation. You can learn a lot by looking at an experience as a story, asking questions about&nbsp;perceptions, expectations, needs and strengths as well as the barriers that turn your customers away. Involving your customers in the process is essential to avoid a&nbsp;biased&nbsp;internal perspective from prioritising the wrong areas, but the journey needs to make sense for you. You might even uncover things you would have never considered and use it to create whole new experiences that have the best chance of delighting your customers in the future!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Customers are always on the move and mapping out their journey is the first step to making&nbsp;ensuring&nbsp;their&nbsp;experience is everything that it should be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>what is customer journey mapping, customer journey map design, importance of customer journey mapping, what is customer journey analytics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":26576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","disable_featured_image":false,"temp_reference":0,"temp_parent":0,"pathfactory_url":"","webinar_link":"","webinar_link_text":"","start_date":"","start_time":"","end_date":"","end_time":"","pressganey_person_subtitle":"","pressganey_person_linkedin":"","pressganey_person_articles":"","pressganey_person_available":false,"url":"","menu_icon":"","is_mobile":false,"breadcrumb_base":"","author":42531,"co_author":0},"categories":[501],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42900,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28172\/revisions\/42900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}