What Is a Journey Map?
A journey map most often refers to a user journey map or a customer journey map.
User experience (UX) teams and customer experience (CX) teams, rely on these maps to create, refine, and optimize their respective journeys.
Journey maps typically break down the journey of the end user into a series of stages. These stages can then be quantified, measured, and optimized.
Whether that user is a customer, a website user, or an app user, journey maps can be beneficial.
For instance:
- Journey maps allow businesses to visualize and better understand the needs of their target audience at each stage of their journey
- It becomes possible to analyze the effectiveness of each touchpoint along the path
- A user-centric perspective improves empathy and helps businesses create products that are more relevant and useful
For journey maps to be useful, they should include certain elements.
Key components include:
- Stages – Each stage should include touchpoints, or interactions with the organization, as well as descriptions of the user mindset at that stage
- Profile or Persona – A profile of the ideal target audience member, including details such as a name, demographics, and sometimes even a photo
- Channels or Devices – This refers to the pathway that the customer takes, such as landing pages, websites, apps, ads, emails, and so on
This approach can be used for any pathway, whether designing marketing funnels, customer onboarding programs, or pathways to purchase.
The journey map can help any business create solutions that are user-driven, relevant, and profitable.
