Customer journey map template

Use this framework to better understand customer needs, motivations, and obstacles by illustrating a key scenario or process from start to finish. When possible, use this map to document and summarize interviews and observations with real people rather than relying on your hunches or assumptions.

About the customer journey map template

Customer journey maps create a framework to better understand customer needs. These include both motivations and obstacles and illustrate key scenarios or processes from start to finish. Journey maps are crucial in understanding the customer experience, allowing business owners to increase revenue, decrease costs, and make areas of opportunity clear from the onset.

Sections of the MURAL customer journey map template

Customer journey steps

Outline the user experience from initial brand awareness to the purchasing and loyalty phases. 

The steps section has five components: entice, enter, engage, exit, and extend:

1. Entice describes how the user initially becomes aware of the brand 
2. Enter outlines what users experience as they begin the process
3. Engage defines what happens during the core moments of the process 
4. Exit explains what users experience as the process finishes
5. Extend describes what happens after the experience is over

Interactions

Mention what interactions users face during each step of the process. This includes the people they see or talk to, where they are, and the digital touchpoints or physical objects used to move them into the funnel. Keep in mind that interactions and touchpoints can and should be different depending on where someone found you, or how they got to your website.

Goals & motivations 

Step into the customer's shoes. For each step, what is the customer's primary goal or motivation? What can you do to fulfill their needs?

Positive moments

List the steps users found enjoyable, productive, or motivating. Take inspiration from positive moments to improve weak areas. Positive moments can help you to gain a deeper understanding of your customers and how to communicate with them on other channels.

Negative moments

List which steps the user found frustrating, angering, or time-consuming. Identifying pain points, in particular, helps to make changes and improve user experience.

Areas of opportunity

How can each step be improved? Take note of user feedback and ideas to implement future changes. Try to enhance your processes to exceed customer expectations.

Benefits of customer journey mapping

Maps are extremely useful in understanding a customer's point of view and identifying where they exit processes. Mapping a customer journey helps:

1. Improve customer retention

Mapping identifies positive and negative moments users experience while interacting with your product or service. Eliminating negatives reduces frustration and streamlines processes meant to increase satisfaction and, ultimately, sales. 

2. Reduce costs associated with inefficient marketing tactics

Customer journey maps highlight which marketing efforts are successful and which fall flat. Detailed maps show real-time metrics on where customers enter the process. A customer that enters during the awareness phase, for example, is probably not ready to buy and could visit a few more times for additional information. This allows you to give them exactly what they’re looking for to nudge them toward a decision.

3. Identify key demographics 

Mapping identifies which customers complete processes for a particular product or service. This helps define customer personas to target in future marketing campaigns. You can collect customer data to share with marketing and sales teams to make better-informed decisions by analyzing this data and putting the right information in front of the right people. 

4. Evaluate pricing strategy

Suppose your map indicates a drop-off during the purchasing phase. In that case, it could lead you to believe that the purchasing process is overly complex or that users find the cost too high. This data allows for constant adjustment by knowing where users are leaving your funnel.  

5. Position your company to be customer-focused

During the early stages of an organization, each decision is based on what customers need and want. As a company grows, it's easy to lose sight of this. Maps place customers on top and remind departments who the customer is and how your solutions can best suit their needs. Putting customers at the center of business decision-making builds brand loyalty and improves retention.

6. Test it out

Tests ensure each step of the user experience is meticulously thought out and efficient. Testing identifies which interactions are beneficial and which are detrimental. From here, you can eliminate unnecessary touchpoints and interactions.

When possible, use real people to document and summarize observations rather than relying on assumptions. Real people reflect varying customer perspectives and help make customer-focused changes. When conducting tests, ask the user how each step can be improved.

7. Optimize

You can optimize your processes by knowing who to target, how your target interacts, and which steps need improvement.

Once you have made the necessary changes, conduct follow-up tests to evaluate and note improvements. Follow-up tests will measure whether changes made a positive, negative, or no impact. If changes made no or negative impact, compare user testing feedback to identify which areas need further improvement.

Tips for making effective customer journey maps

1. Create surveys

Market research is a great way to make the most of your customer journey map. Conduct surveys or interviews that ask customers how they came to learn about your company and how they interact with your brand. You may be surprised. Customer interactions are more frequent and unusual than you think. Feedback from real customers will make your customer journey map more accurate and successful.

Customer research identifies the best way to order touchpoints and who to target. Ask questions like:

• How and when did you first hear about us, and what drew you to our brand?
• If you've bought and used our product, what part of the buyer journey led you to make the purchase?
• Which of the different stages in interacting with us was the most pleasing? The least?

2. Consider customer questions

At each step, consider the user's goals and motivations. What answers are they seeking before purchasing your product or service? Brainstorming frequently asked questions helps companies provide information necessary to generate sales. Customer service representatives can be a great asset when compiling possible FAQs. These team members interact with customers the most and will know their common questions and concerns.

Questions users may ask themselves include:

• How will this product or service solve my problem?
• What are the key features of this product or service?
• What is the price, and is there a warranty or return policy?

Ensure it's easy for customers to contact you if their questions are not represented in your FAQ list.

3. Optimize the map

Your customer journey map will likely need to be updated and adjusted over time. Just as customers' wants, needs, and expectations change, so must your strategy.

By being adaptable and making changes as needed, you can improve your overall customer experience. Optimize touchpoints by making each step easy to navigate, visually pleasing, and engaging to read.

To create a detailed customer journey map, keep these action items in mind:

1. Set objectives

Setting objectives is the first step to progress. What do you want to accomplish? Ask yourself and your team why you are creating a customer journey map. Is there a particular issue you wish to solve? What information are you looking for? How will this guide your next steps? These objectives will drive your research and give purpose to your efforts.

Before using Mural's customer journey map, you can get together with teammates and brainstorm ideas and objectives through a collaborative mind mapping session.

2. Profile and target personas

A buyer persona is a representation of your target customer. This persona should include a typical customer's demographics, psychographics and behaviors. Profiling target personas helps to understand who the customer is and what you need to do to win their business. 

To compile persona data, use pre-existing company information and collect new data from existing customers. Collect new data by sending surveys, reviewing customer support logs, compiling analytics, and speaking with team members who interact the most with customers.

Follow up with existing customers and how they initially became aware of your company. Take note of what they liked and didn't like about your product or service. Customer feedback is a perfect way to make improvements and learn how to target those in need of your products or services.‍

3. List touchpoints

A touchpoint is any interaction between customers and your company. Listing every interaction sounds easy, but your brand likely has more touchpoints than you think. Your list of touchpoints needs to be comprehensive and precise. In this step, list each touchpoint and what actions users are prompted to take.

A touchpoint isn't just "visiting your website." Every page they have to click through is a touchpoint. Every filter they need to employ (i.e., "choose your size") is a touchpoint. Those, in addition to social media ads, pages, physical ads, and email drips, are all potential touchpoints.

4. Order your customer touchpoints

Now that you have a list of every touchpoint, put them in the same order as your customer's journey. Because not every customer takes the same path, you will have insight into multiple consumers, demographics, and the purchasing behavior of each.

This part of the process helps determine if you have too few or too many touchpoints. You want to have enough so that the customers' needs are being met, but not so many that there are unnecessary steps that might drive customers away. 

5. Use the template for faster journey mapping

Mural's customer journey map template creates a framework to better understand customer needs, motivations, and obstacles. Use this template to illustrate a process from start to finish within an existing product or service.

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