What is CJM for?

Let’s talk about a hackneyed topic with CJM

You have probably heard a lot about CJM – Customer Journey Map. Let’s not open America, and try to figure it out with examples – why you need to do CJM, track it on the way to the development of your product and update it when the product is at the growth stage.

It’s no secret that users choose convenient products for themselves. Someone is loyal to the whole eco-system, and someone stubbornly uses a third-party service, overpaying money.

One of the reasons why this happens is a properly built and polished client path.

When you can’t do without CJM

Customer Journey Map is a comprehensive user experience research work, both offline and online.

Application of Customer Journey Map analysis is possible at any stage of development of your product and company as a whole. But the CJM has a particularly serious impact on the work of the organization in the following cases:

Product start. When a brand is just entering the market, an analysis of the target audience and its points of contact with the product will help to correctly position the company.
A working product – there are statistics. The business has been on the market for some time and has some sales volume. Analysis of the Customer Journey Map helps to adjust the USP, analyze the correct positioning and compliance of product characteristics with customer requests.
There are statistics and obstacles. The company has been on the market for a long time. There was a need to analyze repeated requests to return a larger percentage of buyers.

CJM traditionally looks like a table. The main columns in it correspond to the stages of the buyer’s interaction with your business. What are these steps:

DiscoveryImmediately after a person has learned about a project, they discover it for themselves and adapt.
ResearchThe user begins to study what you offer him – goods, services, etc.
Conversion A visitor is converted into a customer by making a commercial transaction.
Post-Sale Engagement How do you keep a person after they have already purchased something from you.

It is possible to develop CJM without the participation of a team of professionals, if you clearly understand what this process is. First of all, it is a study of the real situation in which the client is.

Accordingly, you will have to go “in the field” and carry out a series of actions. Let’s go through the steps.

Target audience segmentation

Segmentation is a key step where small businesses often make mistakes. Out of your entire audience, identify groups that behave in a similar way. Their actions will become the constituent elements of the map.

Audience segmentation methods:

Socio-demographic – a portrait of a client is drawn based on gender, age, place of residence, purchasing power. Sometimes simple psychographics, temperament and other characteristics are added to this avatar.

Segmentation according to the Jobs To Be Done method – the breakdown is based on the situation and the ultimate goal that the client will achieve with the help of your product.

For example, a restaurant might define its audience as middle-aged people with 2 or 2 children with an above-average income, business people. Or simulate the situation according to JTBD – the client wants to hold a business meeting in the afternoon or a date in the evening.

The map describes the behavior of people in a particular situation. Therefore, it is better to use situations for segmentation. That is, people behave in a certain way not because they are 25 years old and have an average income. But because they got into certain circumstances and want to get out of them. Accordingly, this path is better mapped.

Gathering customer journey information

With enough information about consumer behavior, you can easily create in-demand products and manage their choice.

Criteria for selecting clients for interviews: You have their contact, or you can reach them.

They bought according to the scenario determined during the segmentation stage.
They made a purchase recently. Maximum 1-3 days. The details of everything that happened later have already been erased from memory, the accuracy of information is falling. After making a selection, go to people and ask about what they did, what was inconvenient during the purchase process, and what, on the contrary, they liked.

CJM “As Is” and “As It Should”

Data from the interview is recorded, decoded and uploaded to the card, thereby obtaining an objective picture of how things are with the client path now. It’s called CJM’s “as is” version, which reflects the current reality. With a high probability, this card will be strewn with barriers for the client.

Based on this data, we begin to think about how to eliminate the barriers found. We put these plans on the second map, where the ideal customer experience is painted. This card is called CJM “The Right Way”.

Now you are faced with the task of transferring the objective reality of the client from the state of “As is” to “As it should be”. We look at the difference and plan projects that will lead us to the ideal model.

It is a mistake to believe that with the advent of the card, all problems will magically evaporate: sales will fly into the sky, and customers will glow with happiness.

The effect appears when the map becomes the basis for business transformation. This happens if the company changes its work based on what the map shows. When you’re working to move your business from “As Is” to “As It Should.”

If you have made a map, but continue to work exactly the same as before, nothing will change. The fact that the card exists will not improve the state of the business. You will simply have a beautiful scheme in the negotiation room. The map is a vision-shaping tool, not a transformation tool.

In order for the result to appear, you will have to work with CJM.

Like any tool, CJM can be beneficial for a business, or it can be a waste of money and effort.

It all depends on how competently and consciously you approach building a client path and what you will do when the map reveals the weak points of the company. Making a CJM isn’t that hard, but getting the benefit from it is another story.

Remove barriers, add drivers, optimize the work of the team – make it comfortable and pleasant for the client to interact with your company.

10 Tips for Creating an Effective CJM

Make individual “portraits” of clients. When analyzing target audience, avoid generalized formulations. Instead, describe each target customer in as much detail as possible. The better you present and understand it, the more likely you are to sell.
Do not combine different TA segments in one CJM. Don’t forget that B2C, B2B and B2D clients need a different approach. For example, if discounts for bulk purchases are important for a B2B client, then for B2C, delivery speed and packaging accuracy will be much more important indicators.
Compose CJM based on the analysis of different situations of interest in the product.
Compile CJM regularly to adjust the positioning of the company in time and not to miss new and old customers.
Base your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) on CJM. A detailed assessment of the target audience during the preparation of the CJM will help identify client pains and effectively close them.
When building CJM, look at your brand through the customer’s eyes.
Visualize the Customer Journey Map so as not to distract from the essence of the work and the data received. Unnecessarily artistic design of CJM is useless. The main task: to visually demonstrate the results of the study.
Use the received data when training employees to work with the target audience.
Don’t deny user ratings of your work.
Analyze all communication channels.

The following services can be used to visually build CJM: