Updated on Oct 5th, 2022

You can no longer run a single ad creative, message concept, and landing page across all channels. Understanding how customers interact with your brand and the channels you’re leveraging is critical. Attempting to run a variety of messaging options, creative concepts, and landing page tests without mapping the user journey will lead to a disjointed customer experience.

Customer journey mapping takes inventory of your brand’s customer touchpoints, allowing you to explore and define the unique pathways consumers take while interacting with your brand.

Omnichannel Marketing with Customer Journey Mapping

Suppose your marketing strategy is mature to the point where you’re incorporating multiple paid channels, organic search, email marketing, referral, and affiliate exposure points for potential first-time customers. In that case, it quickly becomes a challenge to grasp the variety of messages you need to speak to and incorporate into your brand positioning. Without a clear picture of your omnichannel experience, it is difficult to understand and foster positive customer relationships. Nurturing customer relations pre and post-purchase is key to unlocking higher acquisition and retention rates while growing CLTV.

Customer journey mapping is your brand’s solution to organizing and maintaining an effective omnichannel marketing strategy. Audit your existing customer experience across all touchpoints to identify opportunities to bolster your brand’s strategic direction—such as reducing customer drop-off to achieve a frictionless path to purchase or discovering new ways to leverage top-performing channels.

With customer journey mapping, your brand stands to:

  • Optimize customer acquisition opportunities.
  • Nurture existing high-value customers to grow customer lifetime value (CLV).
  • Improve customer experience by identifying gaps in existing strategy.
  • Adapt customer journeys to various buyer personas and motives.
  • Foster consumer relationships to generate conversions and develop long-term, high-value customers.

Tailor to Your Ideal Customer Segments

The backbone of a successful lifecycle marketing strategy is the knowledge you have of your customers. Use personas and audience segmentation to develop a clear picture of the unique needs and behaviours of your customers.

Develop personas of your brand’s ideal customers and begin mapping out the unique pathways they may take while interacting with your brand. When mapping their journey, consider different segments as part of your overall plan—including any potential demographic or propensity measures which may influence your customers’ interactions with your brand.

Zoom Out On Your Lifecycle Marketing Approach

Your brand’s customer journey map should take stock of your current channels, optimize inefficiencies, solve redundancies, and introduce new mediums effectively. An essential first step to customer journey mapping is taking a snapshot of your brand’s current lifecycle marketing approach. Organize each customer touchpoint by defining their roles in acquisition, retention, and conversion. Consider leveraging a tool such as Figma or Miro to help visualize this process.

Pull metrics from your customer touchpoints to evaluate how individual customer journey stages relate to your brand’s goals. While doing so, audit each touchpoint for its efficacy in moving customers forward in their journey. Each touchpoint should lead naturally to the next by leveraging CTAs aligned with the customer’s motives, or by extending another strategic touchpoint that supports their journey.

Optimize Your Customer Journey for eCommerce Performance

As high-volume retail periods approach, your brand’s omnichannel marketing mix is crucial to eCommerce performance. Cut through saturated marketing channels even in the height of the Q4 holiday season with a cohesive customer experience.

To ensure a competitive footing in Q4, begin customer journey mapping early. Take the first step and reach out to Northern for assistance in maximizing your marketing returns.