customer journey amazon

The Amazon Customer Journey: Leading The Way For Consumer-Centric Ecommerce

How Ama­zon pro­vides cus­tomer-cen­tric moments at every stage of con­sumer pur­chase jour­neys.

Ama­zon is one of the most rec­og­niz­able brands and ecom­merce retail­ers in the world. Reknowned for their cus­tomer-cen­tric­i­ty, we take a clos­er look at what a typ­i­cal con­sumer jour­ney looks like for the retail­er, from con­sid­er­a­tion to pur­chase.

Amazon: Setting The Benchmark For Customer-Centricity

As one of the great suc­cess­es of the dot-com bub­ble, there are many sto­ries about how Ama­zon came to be the brand they are today.

For instance, there’s the one about how founder Jeff Bezos was so eager to start his new ven­ture that when he loaded the removals truck, hav­ing just resigned from a well-pay­ing job at a New York hedge fund, he told the dri­ver to “head West,” telling him he would fly ahead and for­ward over an exact address lat­er.

Then there is the sto­ry about the fact that the com­pa­ny, as wide­ly report­ed in the lat­ter half of last year, is yet to turn over the kind of prof­it that would be expect­ed for a busi­ness of their size, instead choos­ing to rein­vest earn­ings into fur­ther grow­ing sales and invest­ments.

The “?” Elevation

Per­haps the sto­ry that real­ly defines the com­pa­ny’s iden­ti­ty, and com­mit­ment to the high­est lev­els of cus­tomer ser­vice, are the brand’s noto­ri­ous ele­va­tions. Now a noto­ri­ous anec­dote of dot-com cul­ture, the sto­ry has it that Bezos, who has long main­tained a pub­lic email address, [email protected] , would for­ward cus­tomer com­plaint emails with a sin­gle ‘?’ in the email body, to an offend­ing depart­ment.

These emails are treat­ed with the high­est pri­or­i­ty (Bezos is known to take a keen inter­est in cus­tomer com­plaint issues) and the sto­ry is a great exam­ple of how the brand ensures a con­sumer voice inside the com­pa­ny.

Brand Profile: Amazon

• Glob­al ecom­merce and tech­nol­o­gy giant.
• Com­plete, and near unpar­al­leled range of con­sumer goods.
• A key strength of the brand is their rep­u­ta­tion for excep­tion­al cus­tomer ser­vice. The brand prides itself on their class-lead­ing logis­tics, which enables them to pro­vide both cos­mopoli­tan areas, or remote regions, with the same lev­el of ser­vice.
• The brand have built up a strong rep­u­ta­tion. In 2014, the brand topped YouGov­’s Glob­al Rank­ing of brand sen­ti­ment, with mar­ket­ing expert Bryan Eisen­berg call­ing them “the Earth­’s most cus­tomer-cen­tric com­pa­ny.” The same year,  Inter­brand named Ama­zon as the 15th most valu­able brand in the world.

In recent years, the brand have expand­ed from their tra­di­tion­al strong­hold in ecom­merce, to web ser­vices and con­sumer tech­nol­o­gy:

• Begin­ning with the huge­ly suc­cess­ful Kin­dle e‑Reader, the brand have since released the Fire tablet, Fire TV stick, and most recent­ly Ama­zon Echo – the voice acti­vat­ed com­put­er which has been described as some­where between “a use­ful gad­get and a mem­ber of the fam­i­ly.”
• The trump card in the Ama­zon’s deck is Ama­zon Web Ser­vices. Launched in 2006 and now oper­at­ing 1.4 mil­lion servers across the world, the firm was recent­ly described by Ama­zon founder Jeff Bezos as “a $5 bil­lion busi­ness and still grow­ing fast.” Dan Kurnos, an ana­lyst at the Bench­mark Com­pa­ny, told the BBC , that AWS “was sur­pris­ing­ly more prof­itable than fore­cast.”
• Com­peti­tors: Aliba­ba, Rakuten, Asos.com, and count­less more ecom­merce providers in var­i­ous ter­ri­to­ries, with var­i­ous nich­es. Apple, eBay, Google, Microsoft, Sam­sung, Rack­space, IBM , VMware (tech­nol­o­gy and cloud com­put­ing ser­vices).

The Amazon Customer Journey

It’s wide­ly under­stood that on Ama­zon, con­sumers can get just about any­thing. From obscure one-off pur­chas­es, to com­mon every­day items. Over time the retail­er have also built up an incred­i­ble rep­u­ta­tion amongst con­sumers which has cement­ed what cus­tomers expect from both the brand them­selves, and online retails in gen­er­al.

Ama­zon have achieved the envi­able feat of build­ing a strong rep­u­ta­tion amongst audi­ences across many ter­ri­to­ries and across diverse age groups. A 2014 report put togeth­er by Har­ris Poll ranked Ama­zon as the num­ber one brand in the world by rep­u­ta­tion.

In gen­er­al, the brand comes across extreme­ly well in terms of cus­tomer expec­ta­tions. It’s fair to say that with Ama­zon cus­tomers can rea­son­ably expect prices to be com­pet­i­tive, for deliv­ery to be swift, and for a fair and has­sle free returns pro­ce­dure should there need to be.

By all accounts, the brand is accept­ed by con­sumers and dig­i­tal mar­ket­ing ana­lysts alike to be a par­a­digm of cus­tomer-cen­tric­i­ty and excel­lence.

But how well exact­ly? In the sec­ond of our arti­cles ana­lyz­ing the cus­tomer jour­ney from con­sid­er­a­tion to check­out, fol­low­ing our eval­u­a­tion of the Argos cus­tomer Jour­ney ear­li­er this year, we put the ecom­merce giant to the test.

How well does Ama­zon pro­vide for dig­i­tal cus­tomers in search of an elec­tric tooth­brush?

Be Considered

As touched upon pre­vi­ous­ly, Ama­zon have built up a tremen­dous rep­u­ta­tion among con­sumers. Espe­cial­ly in West­ern mar­kets, Ama­zon is viewed as a por­tal from which con­sumers can access the infor­ma­tion about prod­ucts that they are inter­est­ed in pur­chas­ing.

As Google data indi­cates, “Ama­zon” is the most pop­u­lar retail search term in the U.S.

While oth­er retail­ers may rely on chan­nels such and social media, or organ­ic search to put them­selves into con­sid­er­a­tion, Ama­zon shows that a brand that tru­ly com­mits to build­ing pos­i­tive brand sen­ti­ment and rep­u­ta­tion can end up lead­ing the race, gain­ing a posi­tion in their space which puts them at the “top of mind” for con­sumers.

Con­sumers land­ing on the Ama­zon home­page will be met with a geo-spe­cif­ic ver­sion of the site, and thus, for many the Ama­zon search bar will be the start­ing point for the pur­chase jour­neys they will under­take.

Organic Search &  Paid Search

While much of Ama­zon’s traf­fic will come direct­ly from brand­ed search terms, that’s not to say that the brand does­n’t have a strong pres­ence in organ­ic search.

A unique fea­ture of Ama­zon search results in Google is that the pages that rank link direct­ly to pop­u­lar prod­uct pages, as opposed to com­peti­tors who link to ded­i­cat­ed cat­e­go­ry pages. The organ­ic search results for exam­ple, links to the Philips Soni­care prod­uct which has more than 4,000 reviews. This is in line with Ama­zon’s belief in sim­pli­fy­ing the num­ber of steps a con­sumer has to nav­i­gate to check­out.

Too Big For Google Shopping?

While many find it nec­es­sary to invest in Google Shop­ping results, Ama­zon is in a unique posi­tion among retail­ers in that their own search func­tion­al­i­ty is as pop­u­lar among con­sumers.

A search of sev­er­al typ­i­cal prod­ucts reveals that Ama­zon results don’t fea­ture in Google Shop­ping results. While their absence rep­re­sents a hit to their search vis­i­bil­i­ty on Google, how­ev­er the brand is rep­utable enough that the brand’s absence would be notable enough to lead con­sumers to Ama­zon direct­ly when com­par­ing prod­ucts.

Ama­zon seems to instead rely on paid and organ­ic vis­i­bil­i­ty in the search engine, and the brand have a small amount of invest­ment on the Google shop­ping results in the form of paid adver­tis­ing for the pop­u­lar search mod­i­fi­er “best elec­tric tooth­brush”.

Be Evaluated

Ama­zon’s own domain is where their main asset, an excep­tion­al user expe­ri­ence, comes to the fore.

Search­ing for “elec­tric tooth­brush” via the Ama­zon search engine reveals thou­sands of prod­uct results, ranked by rel­e­vance, which evi­dent­ly is heav­i­ly influ­enced by pop­u­lar­i­ty.

Prod­ucts have clear title descrip­tions, clear prices, and addi­tion­al buy­ing options, which opens up the retail­ers net­work of third-par­ty sell­ers in Ama­zon Mar­ket­place.

Incred­i­bly impor­tant to the Ama­zon user expe­ri­ence is the promi­nent use of user reviews. Ama­zon was an ear­ly adopter and pio­neer of user-gen­er­at­ed con­tent and reviews, and every prod­uct list­ed on the site is linked to ded­i­cat­ed cus­tomer reviews, which have become a go-to source for con­sumers every­where.

Ama­zon’s review sys­tem has become an incred­i­ble resource for user-gen­er­at­ed reviews, which stud­ies have shown elic­it high­er lev­els of trust espe­cial­ly among mil­len­ni­als .

Site Design &  Experience

Ama­zon prod­uct pages have become a tri­umph of util­i­ty and effi­cient design.

To begin with, the ini­tial above-the-fold prod­uct page is clean, clear, and con­tains plen­ty of neg­a­tive space, which accom­mo­dates the basic need con­sumers have to view images of the prod­uct, as well as the price and col­or options.

On the right hand side, items can be added to bas­ket via a sin­gle click, and for cus­tomers who have enabled 1‑Click order­ing, they can com­plete a pur­chase almost instan­ta­neous­ly.

1‑Click rep­re­sents one of the fastest and most stream­lined means for con­sumer to pur­chase a prod­uct online, should they wish to.

Scrolling down the page, cus­tomers are pre­sent­ed with a rich source of fur­ther prod­uct con­tent. Ama­zon secures an oppor­tu­ni­ty to upsell via the “Fre­quent­ly Bought Togeth­er” sec­tion, which in this case offers replace­able heads for the elec­tric tooth­brush.

The prod­uct descrip­tion is a rich source of infor­ma­tion and con­tains man­u­fac­tur­er con­tent about the prod­uct con­sumers may be seek­ing out, to com­pare or fur­ther eval­u­ate a prod­uct.

A rel­a­tive­ly recent­ly added fea­ture: “Cus­tomer Ques­tions and Answers” enables users to ful­fill an extreme­ly use­ful touch­point for con­sumers. Enabling con­sumers to par­tic­i­pate in ques­tions and answers allows Ama­zon to lever­age their huge cus­tomer base to achieve the scale they need to pro­vide infor­ma­tive answers for the mil­lions of prod­ucts in their ecosys­tem.

The Ama­zon mobile expe­ri­ence offers class-lead­ing speed and func­tion­al­i­ty for con­sumers. The app offers syn­chro­nized bas­kets from pre­vi­ous desk­top ses­sions, and vice ver­sa, per­form­ing the admirable feat of con­nect­ing user jour­neys between devices.

Equal­ly, and more on this in a moment, Ama­zon’s huge­ly effec­tive track­ing of search his­to­ry allows them to offer an incred­i­ble lev­el of per­son­al­iza­tion in dis­played pages.

If a user views a prod­uct on a logged-in desk­top, they can ful­ly expect to see the same or sim­i­lar prod­uct promi­nent­ly in their mobile app. If they want to pur­chase a prod­uct they were research­ing pre­vi­ous­ly, they could do this via the retail­ers app in just a few clicks.

Ecosystem &  Personalization

While ease and avail­abil­i­ty of the check­out sys­tem may sound like a sim­ple con­cept, it is the result of the brand’s huge rep­e­ti­tion­al assets which results in the user-gen­er­at­ed con­tent and col­lec­tive endorse­ment of prod­ucts that allow con­sumers to ful­fill all the nec­es­sary touch­points for pur­chase with­in the Ama­zon buy­ing ecosys­tem.

This is the area in which Ama­zon real­ly excels. The con­cept of a self-con­tained ecosys­tem which pro­vides for all user needs, con­nect­ing up the dif­fer­ent moments in the user jour­ney, and antic­i­pat­ing what con­sumers are look­ing for.

The rec­om­mend­ed prod­ucts are a per­fect exam­ple of this. Have a look at just how per­son­al­ized the Ama­zon site expe­ri­ence can be, based on pre­vi­ous search­es and queries:

From expe­ri­ence, after a prod­uct is pur­chase, the promi­nence of these dis­plays is often toned down as the brand rec­og­nizes that the prod­uct no longer rep­re­sents a need for that con­sumer.

Be Purchased

The fact that we have already touched on pur­chas­ing prod­uct sev­er­al times in this arti­cle, in 1‑Click, buy­ing options, and mobile app pur­chas­es, is a tes­ta­ment to just how well inte­grat­ed Ama­zon’s check­out sys­tem is to their over­all site expe­ri­ence.

The many fea­tures dis­cussed in this arti­cle essen­tial­ly enable con­sumers to research and eval­u­ate prod­ucts, and if and when they make the deci­sion to pur­chase, Ama­zon’s check out sys­tem is only a few clicks away from any point in that jour­ney.

For con­sumers who decide to pur­chase, a fac­tor in their deci­sion mak­ing may have Ama­zon’s excel­lent deliv­ery pro­vi­sions, which lever­ages the brand’s incred­i­ble logis­tics.

A high­light of this ser­vice is Ama­zon Prime. A sub­scrip­tion to Prime offers guar­an­teed next day deliv­ery for any prod­uct dis­patched from an Ama­zon Ware­house. Cost­ing $99 per year, the ser­vice also includes access to Prime Video, the brand’s stream­ing ser­vice and answer to Net­flix.

A lit­tle report­ed ben­e­fit, but one that falls in line with the brand’s cus­tomer-cen­tric prin­ci­ples is that if a prod­uct is reduced in price with­in 30 days of a pur­chase, Ama­zon will refund the dif­fer­ence . Such prac­tices are a great way to move con­sumers from a mind­set of pur­chase, to a mind­set of brand loy­al­ty.

Create Awareness & Build Loyalty

Ama­zon is a valu­able brand, and as such they can rely on estab­lished audi­ences and glob­al rep­u­ta­tion in con­tin­u­ing to win cus­tomers. How­ev­er that isn’t to say that they’re not par­tial the occa­sion­al viral video or social media cam­paign.

Cap­tur­ing the excite­ment and instant grat­i­fi­ca­tion of online deliv­ery, it is some­what rem­i­nis­cent of recent sim­i­lar adver­tise­ments from the likes of UK ecom­merce retail­er Argos. One of the retail­er’s most suc­cess­ful cam­paigns in recent years has been their unveil­ing of the con­cept of Ama­zon Prime Air.

Some may be skep­ti­cal, but like Google’s dri­ver­less cars, deliv­ery drones are a tes­ta­ment the tech com­pa­nies vision and ambi­tion in the field of cus­tomer-cen­tric inno­va­tion. More than any­thing else, this rep­re­sents the brand’s iden­ti­ty in the minds of con­sumers.

Seasonal Events: Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Final­ly, any study of the Ama­zon con­sumer jour­ney would not be com­plete with­out men­tion­ing the retail­er’s annu­al sales extrav­a­gan­za: Black Fri­day – and increas­ing­ly now, Cyber Mon­day.

Arguably, Ama­zon have been a key dri­ver for the growth of the event into the enor­mous­ly pop­u­lar shop­ping event it is today. The event con­tin­ues to grow year-on-year , and in some ter­ri­to­ries such as the UK , Ama­zon’s flash sales and light­ning deals, that see entic­ing time, and stock lim­it­ed dis­counts, have bro­ken sales records for the brand.

Such growth indi­cates that the ecom­merce retail­er has every rea­son to believe that their strat­e­gy to invest heav­i­ly in fur­ther growth could be an astute one.

Key Moments

• High­ly pos­i­tive brand sen­ti­ment, rep­u­ta­tion, and trust among con­sumers, with the brand top­ping ana­lysts rank­ings for cus­tomer-cen­tric­i­ty and cus­tomer ser­vice.
• Promi­nent vis­i­bil­i­ty in organ­ic and paid search results, for an unpar­al­leled range of prod­ucts, pulling in users under the umbrel­la of the brand’s user jour­ney.
• Enclosed ecosys­tem once con­sumers are with­in the Ama­zon site expe­ri­ence, ful­fill­ing mul­ti­ple infor­ma­tion­al, and review-based touch­points.
• Com­pre­hen­sive avail­abil­i­ty; mil­lions of avail­able prod­ucts; a net­work of third-par­ty sell­ers; and unmatched ful­fill­ment pro­vi­sions for both met­ro­pol­i­tan hubs and remote regions.
• Incred­i­ble sim­pli­fi­ca­tion of the path to pur­chase. Cus­tomer are able to pur­chase prod­ucts with as lit­tle as one click.
• Class-lead­ing review sys­tem and user-gen­er­at­ed con­tent. Ama­zon reviews have become a valu­able resource for con­sumers every­where look­ing to eval­u­ate poten­tial pur­chas­es.
• A rep­u­ta­tion for cus­tomer-cen­tric­i­ty and ser­vice, cement­ed into the minds of con­sumers all over the world.

Final Thoughts

With­out want­i­ng to labor the point, the stand­out fac­tor that uni­fies all of Ama­zon’s activ­i­ties is their unfal­ter­ing com­mit­ment to cus­tomer-cen­tric prin­ci­ples. The brand’s suc­cess is a tes­ta­ment to what can be achieved when a brand com­mits to a strat­e­gy designed around pos­i­tive rep­u­ta­tion and brand sen­ti­ment, built on series of sat­is­fac­to­ry moments, that in the end, puts their brand, and their ser­vices at the top of a con­sumer’s mind.

In many cas­es, con­sumers can have full con­fi­dence that when they buy a well-reviewed prod­uct on Ama­zon, they are not only get­ting great val­ue, but great ser­vice. With that lev­el of trust, the con­sumer jour­ney can be sim­pli­fied to a few mere steps.

While this arti­cle isn’t intend­ed to be a com­pre­hen­sive analy­sis of con­sumers’ online pur­chase jour­neys, it pro­vides a win­dow into the many ele­ments that com­pose the Ama­zon cus­tomer expe­ri­ence. And in the eyes of many, Ama­zon tru­ly are the lead­ers in cus­tomer-cen­tric online com­merce.

What do you think of Ama­zon’s con­sumer jour­ney?

Written by Pat Hong

Editor at linkdex/inked, linkdex.

Pat covers the SEO industry, digital marketing trends, and anything and everything around Linkdex. He also authors Linkdex's data analysis and reports, analysing the state of search in various industries.

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Customer Journey

Definition, mapping, examples and template.

The customer journey, also called the shopper journey, is the series of steps a customer takes when interacting with a brand, product, or business. It starts with the realization of a pain point and ends with a purchase decision. The customer journey refers to the entire experience a customer has from discovery to purchase.

Download a blank customer journey map

Mapping the Amazon Customer Journey: Insights and Strategies

Sravanthi Munagapati

You should embrace a customer-centered approach to succeed in the business world – Not just by paying attention to the customers but by becoming truly obsessed with their needs.   

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the concept of customer journey has taken unprecedented significance. The brand aims to offer loyalty and memorable experiences for its customers. 

Among these e-commerce giants, Amazon stands as an example of customer-centricity, redefining how millions traverse the realm of online shopping.

In this article, we uncover the pivotal stages that shape your customer journey on Amazon from customer engagement and satisfaction to loyalty.

Quick Guide

How the customer journey on Amazon works

• What is an Amazon customer journey map?
• Why is Amazon customer journey mapping important?
• Five stages of the Amazon customer journey

How to create a customer journey map

The Amazon customer journey refers to the series of interactions, experiences, and stages that a shopper goes through while engaging with the Amazon platform and products. It consists of the entire process, from the initial awareness of a product to the post-purchase engagement and beyond. 

This journey is not just limited to the transaction itself; it also includes various touchpoints and interactions that shape the customer’s perception and overall experience with your brand or similar competitors .

What is an Amazon customer journey map? 

An Amazon customer journey map is a visual depiction of a customer’s entire process when engaging with the brand and its products. 

It offers a clear, step-by-step illustration of the customer’s experience from the initial awareness of products or services to the final stages of post-purchase interaction. This map highlights various touchpoints, emotions, actions, and decisions that customers make along the way.

By mapping out each stage of the journey, you can gain insights into how customers interact with your brand.  

The goal here is to create a more seamless, personalized, and satisfying journey for customers, ultimately leading to increased customer loyalty, positive reviews , and repeat business. The customer journey map is a valuable tool for refining strategies, optimizing processes, and aligning efforts to effectively meet customer expectations.

Why is Amazon customer journey mapping important for you?

Customer journey mapping is crucial because it offers insights into a customer’s entire experience when interacting with your products. Specifically, customer journey mapping holds significant importance due to the following reasons:

Understanding Customer Needs:

Mapping the customer journey helps you to gain a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This understanding is essential for tailoring products, services, and experiences to match customer expectations effectively.

Identifying Pain Points:

By visualizing the entire journey, you can identify any bottlenecks, frustrations, or obstacles customers might encounter. This information addresses customer pain points and improves the overall experience.

Optimizing User Experience:

Customer journey mapping highlights touchpoints where customers interact with your products, Amazon marketplace , customer service, and more. This insight helps you to optimize customer touchpoints to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. This, in turn, increases your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). 

Personalization and Recommendations:

Mapping the journey allows you to understand the type of products that customers are interested in. You can use tools provided by Amazon like ABA ( Amazon Brand Analytics ) and advertising reports to derive insights to target your audience through ads and increase your sales further. 

If you need help analyzing Amazon advertising reports, check out this article.  

Full funnel optimization:

By mapping the customer journey, you can identify the most effective communication channels for different stages of the marketing funnel. This could include email updates through the brand website, push notifications , or social media engagement, running Amazon DSP ads , and ensuring customers are informed and engaged at the right moments. Targeting all aspects of the funnel helps you maximize your advertising efforts and increase your brand reach. 

Recommended guide: How to optimize ads with AMC and Amazon Ad Server?

Building Loyalty and Advocacy:

A positive customer journey fosters customer loyalty and advocacy. Satisfied customers are more likely to become repeat buyers and will recommend you to others, positively impacting the brand’s reputation and revenue.

Innovation and Differentiation:

It can uncover opportunities for innovation and differentiation. You can identify unmet needs or areas where your competitors might fall short and create unique features or products to stand out.

Continuous Improvement:

The customer journey is not static; it evolves with changing customer behaviors, technologies, and market trends . Regularly revisiting the journey map enables you to adapt and improve your strategies to stay ahead.

Thus, Amazon customer journey mapping empowers you to deliver a more tailored, seamless, and delightful experience to your customers. It drives improvements across various facets of the business, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business growth.

What are the five stages of the customer journey?

The customer journey consists of five distinct stages each with its unique benefits. These stages help businesses understand and map out the customer’s experience from initial awareness to becoming a loyal advocate. 

Here’s an explanation of each stage:

The awareness stage is the beginning of the customer journey. At this point, potential customers become aware of a brand, product, or service. This awareness can happen through various channels, such as advertising , social media, word of mouth, or online searches. The goal in this stage is to capture the attention of the target audience and make them interested in learning more about what the business has to offer.

Consideration

In the consideration stage, customers are actively researching and evaluating different options . They are comparing products or services, read reviews, and seeking more detailed information. This is a crucial stage for businesses to provide informative content, showcase the unique value of their offerings, and address any questions or concerns potential customers may have. The goal is to move customers from considering options to favoring the business’s product or solution.

The purchase stage is where the customer decides to buy your product. They’ve researched and compared options and are now ready to complete the transaction. This could involve placing an order online, making an in-store purchase, or subscribing to a service. The purchasing process should be smooth, user-friendly, and secure to ensure a positive experience. Businesses should also consider offering discounts or special offers to encourage conversion.

Once a customer has made a purchase, the focus shifts to the retention stage. This stage is all about ensuring that customers are satisfied with their purchase and have a positive experience post-purchase. Providing excellent customer support, delivering a high-quality product or service, and maintaining ongoing communication are essential in this phase. Building a strong relationship with customers increases the likelihood of repeat purchases and long-term loyalty.

The advocacy stage is the pinnacle of the customer journey. Satisfied and loyal customers become advocates for the brand, sharing their positive experiences with others. They might leave glowing reviews, refer friends and family, and actively engage with the brand on social media or other platforms. Word-of-mouth recommendations from advocates carry significant influence and can bring in new customers. Businesses can nurture advocacy by continuing to provide exceptional experiences and rewards for loyal customers.

Understanding these five stages of the customer journey helps you to tailor your marketing, communication, and engagement strategies to meet customer needs at each step. By providing a seamless and positive experience throughout the journey, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and ultimately drive growth.

To create a comprehensive customer journey map, follow these steps:

Step 1: Define Customer Touchpoints

Identify the touchpoints where customers interact with your brand. These could include interactions on your website, social media , emails, advertisements, or in-person interactions. These touchpoints will serve as the key moments in your customer journey.

Step 2: Conduct Market Research

Engage in user studies and surveys to gather insights directly from your customers. Understand how they discover your brand, what pain points they encounter, and where they interact with your offerings. This input will help refine your journey map.

Step 3: Develop Buyer Personas

Create detailed buyer personas that represent your target audience. Understand their demographics, preferences, and behaviors. 

You can answer questions like: 

• What’s their age?
• What are their interests?
• How do they communicate?
• What are their challenges?

These questions will help you tailor the journey map to the specific needs and expectations of different customer segments.

Step 4: Set Clear Goals

Establish clear goals for each touchpoint in the customer journey. Determine whether you’re aiming to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or enhance customer loyalty. Set a specific action plan that aligns with these goals to create a cohesive experience.

Let’s say that increasing brand awareness is your business goal. You should list the strategies that help you increase your brand reach. They could be running Sponsored brand ads , targeting competitor products, increasing social media presence, or collaborating with an influencer in the space.

Step 5: Analyze and Refine

Analyze the data collected and identify pain points, areas of improvement, and opportunities for enhancing the customer experience. Consider feedback from customer support teams to address recurring issues. Use this analysis to refine your journey map.

Step 6: Incorporate Updates

As your business evolves and shoppers’ preferences change, update your customer journey map accordingly. Regularly revisit and adjust your map to ensure it remains accurate and aligned with your brand’s goals.

These steps will let you create a customer journey map that provides a holistic view of the customer experience. Streamline your efforts to deliver a seamless and satisfying journey for your customers, and increase their satisfaction and loyalty, thereby, business growth.

The customer journey mapping on Amazon is not just about selling products; it’s about fostering relationships, anticipating needs, and delivering beyond expectations. This journey map reflects a dynamic ecosystem where convenience, personalization, and innovation converge to shape an unparalleled online shopping experience.

Do you need help in mapping your customer journey and creating a full-funnel advertising strategy? Let SellerApp help. Our team has helped 20,000+ brands like yours to strategize and execute advertising campaigns.

If you have further doubts, schedule a call with us, and our experts will get back to you!

Happy Selling!

Additional read:

What is an ASIN matrix ?

How does Amazon Marketing Cloud work?

What Is the RMA Number on Amazon?

7 Tips for Better Amazon Copywriting

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Why Amazon is a leader in customer experience

Updated June 24, 2024

Amazon Prime day is upon us once more, and as the world’s biggest online retailer looks set to sell more products than ever before, it’s important to remember what got Amazon where they are - no, it’s not the products... it’s the service.

For over twenty years, Amazon has set the standards in e-commerce with almost unrivaled product inventory and competitive prices, and while that would be plenty for a successful business, what’s taken Amazon to a legendary brand is the combination of customer experience and product that keeps people coming back for more.

Delivery and returns

Amazon has been on the forefront of several innovations in terms of its logistics operation, with a whole host of options designed to make getting products from their warehouse to your doorstep with minimal effort on the user’s part.

The common denominator here is effort - whether you’re buying or returning a product, the experience is effortless - something customers are more than willing to give their loyalty for in exchange.

Delivery Options - As an online retailer, one of the biggest challenges for Amazon is competing with the “now” economy, and finding ways for people to actually receive items purchased. In order to make delivery easy for consumers, Amazon has introduced several options for shipping. Beginning with free shipping - all customers who spend $25 or more are eligible for free shipping with Amazon, and for $119 a year, Amazon Prime customers have the opportunity to get free shipping on thousands of single possible. Recently, Amazon has also introduced Amazon Lockers, which the company calls “self-service kiosks”, where a user can choose to have a package delivered for easier access to a pickup.

Physical Options - Amazon has entered the brick and mortar business by creating Amazon Bookstores , Amazon Go (a checkout-less grocery store), and purchasing Whole Foods, in order to provide immediate access in key markets for customers who are excited about the frictionless Amazon shopping experience, but require faster access to goods. For those less inclined to shop at a physical store, but still in need of goods quickly, Amazon also provides “Amazon Fresh”, which allows for same day, or scheduled delivery of groceries to your home, for an added fee, and “Amazon Restaurants” which provides delivery of meals for same day ordering.

Ordering Options - In order to actually make it easy for customers to purchase goods, Amazon has pioneered systems such as one-click ordering and “Dash” buttons. In one-click ordering, Amazon allows customers to purchase an item using pre-set options (ex. credit cards and shipping addresses), rather than having to take multiple clicks to purchase an item. With “Dash” buttons, Amazon recognizes the need of some customers to re-order certain items and allows customers to leverage the one-touch ordering options at times when they need to re-stock. In order to meet the customers at every touchpoint, Dash buttons are available on the web, in-app, using voice activation through Alexa, as well as for purchase. For example, if you have a Dash button for your Tide detergent, you can keep the button wherever you keep your Tide, and as you see the bottle running low, push the button for a quick order of new Tide.

Return Options - As a retailer, particularly online, it is also important to consider how your customers may prefer to return items. Amazon makes it easy for users to return items. Many products come with a prepaid, printed return label, though those labels are also accessible through the returns portal online. Last year, Amazon also started partnering with Kohls to put return kiosks in select locations, for customers who would prefer to make the physical drop.

Digital Service Experience

Part of providing a great product experience is to consider the digital experience for customers. As one of the first online retailers, Amazon created a model that set the standards in e-commerce.

App - One of the easiest ways to access Amazon and deals is through the Amazon app, especially for Prime Day. With the app, Prime members are able to set preview sale products and select to get notified when they become available. They are also able to order products using traditional online ordering, or Dash buttons, as well as access Amazon restaurants for same-day meal delivery.

Social Media - 72% of customers expect a response to a complaint in under an hour. Today, Customer Service via social is imperative. Amazon monitors the @AmazonHelp Twitter handle seven days a week in seven languages.

What Amazon has been able to do whether, through its website, the app or social media is to carry the experience through across multiple channels. They understand that wherever you meet their brand, they need to make an impression and provide the same customer experience that drives loyalty on other channels.

Product Experience

Building a great product is an important part of a customer’s experience. Amazon has created an ordering system that has provided several components we now expect as consumers.

Searchability - Amazon combines a Google-like ability to search with an ability to sort by Brand, Average Customer Review, Price, and availability, as well as by categories specific to the brand. This morning, I was looking for a new router to help speed up our at-home internet, and beyond the traditional preferences, I was also able to sort by connectivity type (Wireless preferred), computer type, and speed, which helps to make the best decision when it comes to equipping my home.

Product Education - To help you decide on a product, Amazon also provides the ability to learn more about how the product meets your needs. Primarily through reviews and ratings, which users can access to find out more about how a product performs compared to the actual description provided. Amazon also provides a handy recommender system to help users understand which products might best fit their needs based on terms searched, or based on products bought together by other users.

Artificial Intelligence - As part of Amazon’s mission to make life easier, they have moved beyond browser-based recommender systems, to intelligent products, like Alexa introduced in November 2014. More than a way to shop, Alexa is able to assist in playing music, setting alarms, providing news updates, and controlling networked smart devices. Like most Amazon products, the goal of Alexa is to help make your daily tasks easier and to learn to provide better suggestions while doing it.

Another of Amazon’s brands is well known specifically for being an “Experience Brand.” Zappos, former online shoe merchant, and current online apparel provider was purchased by Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion. Zappos is well known in for creating a culture of WOW, by not only going above and beyond for the customer, but also focusing on employee engagement - and it’s paid off with an incredible 75% rate of repeat business .

The history Zappos's service-centered is highlighted by CEO Tony Hsieh in Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose , and its mantra, "Powered By Service" is right on the company logo.

As users, we have high expectations when it comes to brands, largely because of the leadership of industry pioneers. As we are building our shopping carts today, we will certainly be taking full advantage of the customer experience.

Want to learn more about creating great customer experiences?

Qualtrics compiled a reading list based on recommendations from CX leaders, like Amazon. You can download that here . Additionally, a great launching point for improving e-commerce experience is to start asking your customers how their experience has been. Use our free e-commerce purchase feedback survey template to begin gathering feedback.

This post was originally published July 2018, and updated in 2022 for brevity and clarity. 

15 essential reads and podcasts for CX leaders in 2024

Chelsea Hunersen

Chelsea Hunersen is a contributor to the Qualtrics blog.

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Decoding Amazon’s Exceptional Customer Journey in E-commerce

In the competitive world of e-commerce, understanding the intricacies of the customer journey is one of the most critical aspects of any business.

Its significance lies in the fact that this journey encompasses the user’s path towards fulfilling a need, or in simpler terms, the process a customer undergoes when making a purchase.

The use of this methodology, combined with other customer service techniques, has enabled companies like Amazon to become leaders in customer experience. Therefore, this article will analyze some aspects that have allowed the e-commerce giant to grow and satisfy its customers.

Unveiling the Amazon Customer Journey

Like many e-commerce companies, Amazon pays special attention to its touchpoints with its customers at each stage of their customer journey. This allows them to make relevant improvements and always seek to optimize resources and simplify the purchasing process for users.

Learn why understanding your  Customer Journey  critically transforms your customer experience programs for the better. 

The vast amount of data makes measuring this precisely and evaluating each point with great accuracy possible.

Some of the stages and actions that Amazon considers are as follows:

1. Awareness:

As a digital company, Amazon invests heavily in digital media but also uses traditional media to expand their brand reach.

2. Consideration:

The consideration stage involves nurturing the seed of interest planted during the awareness phase . By doing so, they foster a sense of consideration among potential buyers. Amazon handles this perfectly by offering perfectly structured and attractive information on its portal.

3. Decision: Sealing the Deal

The decision stage is where customers make the final call. To ensure success, optimize your product listings, leverage customer reviews, and employ strategic pricing. This step is pivotal in converting potential buyers into satisfied customers. Amazon’s shopping cart is an excellent example of this.

4. Brand Retention: Fostering Long-Term Relationships

Amazon’s unique contribution to the customer journey lies in incorporating user retention . Post-purchase engagement becomes paramount at this stage. Implement strategies like personalized follow-ups, exclusive offers, and seamless customer service to fortify the bond with your clientele.

5. Advocacy: Turning Customers into Promoters

The final frontier in the Amazon customer journey involves transforming satisfied customers into brand advocates. Encourage reviews, testimonials, and social media sharing. A positive customer experience here becomes a powerful tool for organic brand promotion.

Example of Amazon’s Customer Journey

To provide a more explicit example of how Amazon’s Customer Journey would look, we’ve created one that considers the most common touchpoints within e-commerce companies. This way, you can observe each stage and some of their most common and effective actions.

Stage 01: AWARENESS

Stage 02: consideration, stage 03: conversion, stage 04: loyalty, stage 05: advocacy, crafting your own success story.

Understanding and optimizing your customer journey is the key to unlocking unparalleled success for e-commerce companies. Tailoring your brand strategy to align with these five stages will boost conversions and cultivate unwavering customer loyalty.

Embrace the customer-centric philosophy, and let your brand thrive in the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.!

If you need assistance evaluating customer satisfaction levels or creating your first customer journey map, QuestionPro will gladly help. Not only do we have a wide range of tools and functions for any action that allows you to delve into the minds of your consumers, but you will also have access to a group of professionals who will support you in your project.

Would you like to learn more? We invite you to read more about our customer satisfaction management software and encourage you to improve your service to grow beyond your imagination.

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Ecommerce Customer Journey Mapping [+ Tips & Template]

Published: May 30, 2024

An ecommerce customer journey map helps you drive better business results whether you’re an ecommerce business owner or a marketing manager for an online store.

While ecommerce journeys may be quicker than business-to-business buying cycles, that doesn’t mean they have fewer customer touch points. It’s crucial to understand your buyers’ stages and the touch points that influence each sale.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to improve and map your ecommerce company's customer journey.

Table of Content s :

What is the Ecommerce Customer Journey?

Why is the ecommerce customer journey important, stages of the ecommerce customer journey, how to improve your ecommerce customer journey, ecommerce customer journey map.

The ecommerce customer journey traces a shopper's path from product discovery to purchase and beyond. It begins with awareness, moves to consideration where buyers weigh options, and ends with purchasing. Post-purchase experiences — like product usage and support — follow next, fostering repeat purchases and, potentially, brand advocacy.

In the awareness stage, customers might hear about your product through social media ads, find it through search engine results, or get word-of-mouth recommendations. Think of shoppers as explorers looking for a promise of something new.

As they move into consideration, they become discerning evaluators, comparing prices, reading customer reviews, and envisioning how your product fits into their lives.

Upon buying your product at the decision or conversion stage, new customers experience your product's features, enjoy its benefits, and even share it with friends. Your customer service takes over at this point as buyers encounter challenges or have questions related to product usage.

Finally, satisfied buyers become loyal customers in the retention stage and then, hopefully, brand advocates in the advocacy stage, spreading the word about your product.

Free Customer Journey Template

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The ecommerce customer journey goes beyond tracking clicks. It’s central to decoding the hidden signals that make customers buy. Even after years in marketing, mapping customer journeys remains my go-to process for uncovering invaluable insights into buyers’ behavior, preferences, and pain points.

For starters, I have more control of my marketing and sales efforts as each step in a customer’s digital voyage unveils opportunities for optimization and innovation. From the moment they land at an online store to the final checkout process, every interaction shapes their perception, influences their likelihood of return, and cultivates brand loyalty.

Analyzing their paths empowers me to address these critical questions:

• Where do they hesitate to take action?
• What triggers their interest?
• Why do they abandon carts?

Armed with answers, I can tailor my marketing strategies to fit their experiences, address their concerns, and foster trust.

This understanding helps me devise smarter marketing campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and better user interfaces.

The takeaway is that an accurate map of your customer journey paves the way to improved conversions, retention, and brand advocacy.

1. Awareness

Potential customers become aware of problems and start researching to understand them better. In the process, they seek relevant solutions, dispel misconceptions, and consider solutions.

For instance, let’s say your shop sells products to help customers get organized and stay on task. If your prospect wants to establish a morning routine, they might start with a casual online search. After browsing through Google and catching sight of social media ads, they consider starting a journal to document their morning routine.

2. Consideration

During the consideration phase, shoppers weigh various products and strategies to address their needs.

Your prospect now has a clearer understanding of their purchase intent and starts vetting potential solutions. They may begin scouring ecommerce platforms like Amazon or even Google for available morning routine journals and evaluating their reviews.

3. Decision

In the decision stage, customers compare the features and prices of various options and then narrow down their choices. They weigh benefits against costs, seeking the best value.

Ultimately, shoppers will buy your product if it satisfies their needs or desires. For instance, perhaps your journal includes tips to help them establish their new routine.

4. Retention

The quality of your products and customer service is crucial to the customer retention stage. HubSpot’s 2024 Consumer Trends Report found the top purchasing factors for consumers include product quality (51%) and past experiences with a product or brand (25%) .

If your morning routine journal arrives late or poor packaging has led to ripped pages, your customer might not check out your other products.

Conversely, positive experiences encourage repeat purchases.

To boost retention, you can also employ strategic marketing, using ads retargeting and social media posts to keep products visible to previous buyers. Exposing your products frequently to delighted customers through a consistent, omnichannel presence improves your chances of attracting them to repurchase.

5. Advocacy

Prioritizing customer satisfaction fosters lasting business relationships. Customers at this stage will provide testimonials and advocate for your brand through word-of-mouth and social media endorsements.

If you habitually give first-time and repeat customers positive experiences, they’ll return, join your loyalty program, and bring their circle on board, increasing your customer lifetime value.

You can deepen your understanding of the ecommerce customer journey with HubSpot Academy’s free Ecommerce Marketing Course .

Understanding how the ecommerce customer journey works sets the stage for enhancing your own. In this section, I’ll show you how to use proven engagement principles to convert more customers.

1. Improve customer delight.

Customers who enjoy interacting with you are more likely to journey with your brand. The more you delight customers, the higher your campaigns’ conversion rates and the deeper customers engage with your brand.

Here's how to get a sea of happy customers:

• Personalize rewards for birthdays or special events.
• Host exclusive events.
• Provide branded swag.
• Cultivate a brand community.
• Surprise with flash sales or loyalty discounts.
• Engage one-on-one on social media.

Pro tip: What delights my customers may not delight yours, so be creative and keep exploring ways to build lasting connections.

2. Create FOMO.

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is the anxiety of feeling left out from enjoyable experiences others are having. Renowned business psychologist and author Robert Cialdini popularized the idea in his book Influence .

FOMO is one of the most potent marketing tools I use across all customer journey stages.

You can rouse this feeling in any of these ways:

• Display the number of products in stock.
• Add a sale countdown timer on the product page.
• Show a count of product views hourly or daily.
• Stress limited supplies.
• Spotlight event dates and set up a countdown email series.

At first, using FOMO may feel uncomfortable because you don’t want to come off as manipulative to buyers.

But FOMO is only a tool. It’s how you use it that makes it good or bad.

Customers have thanked me for notifying them that a product is on sale or an item they’re interested in will be out of stock soon.

3. Conduct surveys.

Search and market data give me a bird's-eye view of patterns in customer behavior and demographic metrics, but surveys help me get personal with them. Talking to customers online or in person helps unearth insights other data collection methods might miss.

I like to use both real-time survey methods — like video or phone calls and in-person or online chats — as well as prerecorded options, such as forms, videos, SMS, website pop-ups, and emails.

When I create surveys, I aim to gather information that expounds on what I learned from my initial audience research. I typically ask my customers questions related to why they act or feel a certain way.

For example, I may ask:

• Why choose us over competitors for this product?
• Which alternatives or competitors did you weigh before buying?
• What key issues do you need [product] to address?
• What's your budget for this solution?
• What [product] features do you prioritize and why?

The insights I gather from these questions reveal preferences and patterns among my target audience that will inform my business decisions.

For instance, if millennials are willing to spend $500 and boomers $1,500 on my product, I might adjust my offerings and messaging to attract boomers more.

4. Raise your social proof.

Customers have an easier time acting on recommendations and feeling confident when they see they’re not alone.

So, I engage the power of social proof.

Social proof is where people look to others' actions or opinions to guide their behavior. And it works. Over 20% of consumers (and 36% of millennials) have purchased a product in the last three months based on an influencer’s recommendation.

Here’s how I use it:

• Showcase reviews and testimonials.
• Display purchase count.
• Feature social media mentions.

If I can ensure shoppers see that others like my products, it boosts their likelihood of buying from my brand.

5. Personalize every touch point.

Nowadays, buyers expect you to call them by name. I go beyond this and create personalized journeys that meet customer needs and expectations using customer data from every touch point.

Here’s how I offer personalized experiences:

• Include the contact's name in messages.
• Customize offerings by location, purchase, or browsing history.
• Tailor exit pop-ups to each stage of the buyer journey.
• Craft offers that match prospective customers’ desires.

Thanks to HubSpot’s marketing automation software and my customer data, I can deliver unique experiences at scale. (As a HubSpot employee, I may be biased, but I’ve found that this tool is easy to use and can automate virtually any marketing task.)

For more tips, I recommend you read this article on customer journey thinking and watch the video below.

Now that we understand how the ecommerce customer journey works and ways to make it better, let's bring it to life with a map.

An ecommerce customer journey map shows the different steps your customer goes through and helps you plan how to improve each customer touch point. It highlights where they are in the buying process, their goals, and how they interact with your ecommerce store at various stages.

Use the ecommerce customer journey template below as your launchpad. Consider your customers’ thoughts, feelings, actions, and research interests to uncover how they arrive at buying decisions.

What is the customer thinking or feeling?

Weigh your ideal customer’s thoughts and motivations across the awareness, consideration, and decision stages. Empathizing with, understanding, and addressing buyers’ expectations and worries helps guide them smoothly throughout the buying process.

Let’s assume a prospect is looking to go camping in the winter and exploring my outdoor gear web store for answers:

• Awareness. They're going camping in the winter for the first time and feel unsure about packing. They want to know what gear to buy and how to pack it in a simple and compact way.
• Consideration. They're comparing winter camping gear and feel uncertain about what to buy. They seek advice through blog posts and forums on finding compact, easy-to-use equipment to make their camping trip successful and enjoyable.
• Decision. The prospect decides to buy my brand’s winter camping gear. They feel more confident and prepared for their first winter camping adventure.
• Retention . Their new gear helped make their winter camping trip a success. They trust my brand, feeling confident in the quality and reliability.
• Advocacy . Impressed by the gear's performance, they share positive reviews online, encouraging others to buy the same equipment.

What is the customer’s action?

In my experience, customers can move forward from, return to, or repeat a previous stage or drop off the flywheel at any point in their journey.

Here’s how it could play out using that prospective customer from the winter gear example:

• Awareness. They want information about staying warm while camping in the winter, so they exchange their email address for my free warm-clothing guide and access to my community of winter camping buffs.
• Consideration. The prospective customer is considering thermal wear and other winter camping gear. So, they watch a live demo of how to combine thermal wear with other clothing items.
• Decision. The customer is serious about buying and looks for a discount.
• Retention . The customer asks follow-up questions to help them use the thermal wear and returns for more equipment for future adventures.
• Advocacy . My responsiveness to their questions and support requests wins them over, so they subscribe to my referral program.

What or where is the buyer researching?

Buyers forage for information from disparate sources before reaching a decision.

So, here’s how their research journey will go:

• Awareness. They engage with blogs, white papers, social posts, and short videos to find the information they need and answer questions about preparing for winter camping.
• Consideration. The prospect is now curious about camping gear, like outdoor heaters, lighters, lanterns, sleeping bags, camping chairs, thermal clothing, and backpacks to carry it all. So, they’re comparing the best options, reading case studies, and watching longer videos to help them understand the benefits and drawbacks of these items.
• Decision. They buy their preferred camping items from my website after weighing each product through buyer reviews, samples, and specification sheets and using my chatbot to ask questions.
• Retention . They might visit competitor websites or even buy competitor products to compare them with mine. They’ll also review post-purchase support documents.
• Advocacy . When referring a potential buyer, they’ll share my blog posts, guides, and knowledge base articles to educate their friends and contacts about my product.

How will we move the buyer along their journey with us in mind?

Using incentives in your calls-to-action (CTAs) can drive a faster response, and subtle messaging can guide buyers along their path.

Going back to the winter camping gear example, here’s what that could look like:

• Awareness. I ask prospects for their email address in exchange for free guides on how to choose the best camping gear for their needs.
• Consideration. Once I have their contact information, I’ll engage my leads with more valuable content related to winter camping, warming them up to chatting with my sales team or buying my camping gear.
• Decision. I demonstrate that I’m placing the customer’s interests ahead of profits by being honest about what my product can and can’t do. Whether the customer is ready to close a deal, sign up for a lesser offer, or part ways, I work to keep them in my flywheel for future sales or referral opportunities.
• Retention . I respond quickly to post-purchase questions and provide detailed user guides. I also offer free replacements for defective products.
• Advocacy . I proactively invite and incentivize customers to review and rate products and join my referral and loyalty programs .

Here’s what my map for the winter camping gear example would look like.

How to build an ecommerce customer journey map

Here are some tips for building and using your customer journey map:

• Define objectives. Clarify your goals, such as understanding pain points or enhancing the user experience.
• Identify personas. Create a detailed customer persona , including demographics, behaviors, and needs, to tailor the map and visualize your ideal customer’s experience.
• List touch points . Identify all points of interaction between your customer and business, from initial awareness to post-purchase. Consider taking the HubSpot Ecommerce Marketing Course to learn how to improve the user experience in every stage.
• Gather data. Collect quantitative and qualitative data from customer feedback, surveys, analytics, and interviews to understand experiences at each touch point.
• Map the current journey. Visualize the current customer experience by plotting the touch points and data on a timeline or diagram. Then, use a template to map your user journey.
• Identify pain points and opportunities. Highlight areas where customers face challenges and opportunities to improve their experience.
• Develop solutions. Brainstorm and highlight changes or enhancements to address identified issues, enhance your touch points for search engine optimization (SEO), and improve your user journey.
• Implement changes. Put the proposed solutions into action and adjust your processes, technology, or communication strategies accordingly.
• Track and update. Continuously track the performance of implemented changes and update your journey map to reflect new insights and business developments.

Here’s the takeaway: Mapping your ecommerce customer journey is vital for targeting the right audience and ensuring a great customer experience. Happy customers typically stick around longer and attract more buyers.

Creating the Best Ecommerce Customer Journey Possible

The best online shopping experiences result from understanding how customers go through the buying stages. Although the ecommerce shopping cycle is swift, customers still interact with multiple touch points before they buy, so you must plan carefully.

As a marketer, I rely on data, templates, and proven strategies to optimize each stage of the ecommerce customer journey. Delighting customers, creating a sense of urgency, asking for feedback, showing off happy customers, and personalizing experiences are all proven ways to generate desirable results.

In the end, a well-made map of how customers will experience your online shop helps attract more buyers, keep them coming back, and get them talking about your brand.

Ready to start? Look below for free templates to map your ecommerce customer journey.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Outline your company's customer journey and experience with these 7 free customer journey map templates.

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Understanding customer journeys on Amazon

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This guide will help you get started, understand the basics of Amazon selling, and explain in simple words how it all works.

Understanding customer journeys on Amazon is crucial for brands looking to enhance their performance on this vast platform. Navigating the journey effectively can significantly improve customer engagement, increase sales, and foster loyalty at each stage in the Amazon customer journey, which will help sellers achieve better results and reach their goals. 

In-Depth Exploration of the Amazon Customer Journey

Amazon ’s e-commerce strategy is thoroughly centered around creating customer-focused experiences that are smooth from beginning to end. Here’s a detailed look at each critical stage of the customer journey:

1. Awareness Stage:

This initial phase is crucial as it’s when potential customers first encounter your products. They might discover your brand through various channels such as targeted ads, social media, word-of-mouth, or simply by browsing Amazon. The objective here is to capture their interest with eye-catching visuals and engaging, concise messaging that highlights the uniqueness of your products.

2. Consideration Stage:

During this stage, customers often compare your offerings with those of your competitors. They meticulously examine your product descriptions, read through customer reviews, and analyze pricing details. Providing transparent, detailed, and compelling content is vital here to assist them in understanding the benefits of choosing your product over others.

3. Purchase Stage:

At this point, the customer is ready to make a purchase decision. A clear, simple, and efficient checkout process is key to converting their interest into a sale. Ensuring that product listings are straightforward, with no hidden complexities or barriers, can greatly enhance the likelihood of conversion.

4. Retention Stage:

Once a purchase is made, your focus should shift to encouraging repeat business . This involves efficient customer service , simple return policies, and proactive follow-up communications. Offering regular updates about new products and exclusive promotions can keep your brand at the forefront of their minds, increasing the chances of them returning.

5. Advocacy Stage:

The ultimate goal is to transform satisfied customers into active promoters of your brand. Engaging with customers authentically, valuing their feedback, and incentivizing them to share their positive experiences can lead to valuable word-of-mouth marketing.

Crafting a Customer Journey Map on Amazon

To effectively manage these stages, creating a comprehensive customer journey map is crucial. Here’s how you can develop this map:

• Identify Touchpoints: Pinpoint where customers interact with your brand on Amazon. This includes everything from viewing product pages to contacting customer service.
• Gather Data: Utilize Amazon Brand Analytics and other tools to gather data on how customers discover and interact with your listings. This information can reveal valuable insights into their behaviors and preferences.
• Develop Customer Profiles: Create detailed profiles for your typical customers. These should encompass demographic information, purchasing behavior, and preferences to help tailor your marketing strategies more effectively.
• Set Objectives for Each Stage: Define clear goals for each stage of the journey. For instance, aim to enhance product visibility during the awareness stage or improve customer satisfaction during the retention stage.
• Review and Adjust: Continually assess the effectiveness of your approach at each stage and make necessary adjustments. This iterative process helps ensure your strategies remain effective as market conditions and customer behaviors evolve.

Successfully managing the Amazon customer journey is critical for establishing a thriving brand on the platform. By meticulously understanding and enhancing each stage of this journey, you can boost customer satisfaction, increase sales, and cultivate lasting loyalty.

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Map the customer contact journey

When your organization's goals have been defined, work back to build a customer journey map. This map helps identify typical engagement patterns and the data required to resolve customer queries. It also helps define the experience presented to the customer, responses to unplanned events and emergencies, and the volume and scale of customer contacts necessary for deployment.

This step is critical to planning for three AWS Well-Architected Framework pillars: operational excellence , security , and reliability .

Here are some questions to consider when you create the customer contact journey map:

What is the customer's reason for contact?

The answer to this question helps identify frequently asked questions, such as balance inquiries, order status updates, and password resets.

How do you validate the customer's identity?

Security is top priority, and validating the customer's identity is a critical step in the contact journey. Authentication options include voice biometrics, one-time passwords, and personal information such as credit card number and date of birth. This information also helps identify compliance requirements such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and System and Organization Controls (SOC).

What information do you already have about this customer?

After a customer has been identified, relevant customer data can help personalize their experience and solve issues proactively. This data could include the customer name, open cases, contact history and sentiment, and purchase behavior.

What information is needed to resolve the customer's query?

Determining the information that is required to address the customer's queries helps define the customer data that should be gathered within the IVR system. For example, if a customer wants to check their balance, their account number and security PIN will be required, and the IVR application will have to integrate with the backend data stores that contain banking data. Checking the status of their order requires the order number.  

Are any integrations required to fulfill the customer's request?

Typically, self-service requests on the IVR require backend integrations for successful fulfillment. Depending on the use case, these integrations could be with databases, CRMs, or ticketing systems in the organization. For example, communicating the status of an order might require querying the information from an order management system. Purchases might require integrations with a payment gateway. It is crucial to identify these dependencies early, so you can plan for the availability of relevant APIs.

What are the compliance requirements related to the customer's journey or data?

It's critical to define compliance objectives and incorporate them in the IVR design. Compliance programs are commonly enforced at an organizational level. We recommend that you engage the information security team in these discussions and planning sessions.

For example, payment information on the IVR might require encryption and PCI DSS compliance. Personal identifiable information (PII) collected from any customer would require encryption. Your IVR system might involve additional information that you would have to protect.

How do you respond to high call volumes or agent unavailability?

It's essential to identify scenarios where high call volume could lead to longer wait times. In these situations, the IVR system often acts as a gateway for effective redirection of customer contacts. Some common deflection strategies include offering callbacks during exceptionally long wait times, designing overflow scenarios that expand the pool of target agents, playing promotional messages, and redirecting a customer to another channel (SMS or chat). For more information about these strategies, see the blog post How to handle unexpected contact spikes with Amazon Connect .

What should the customer experience be during holidays or emergencies?

Unforeseen emergencies and unplanned events can impact your organization's ability to serve customers. Planning the customer experience during these events is a best practice for reliability. Additionally, holidays might limit staffing, and the IVR system can be an ideal place to keep customers informed and to set expectations.

For example, you can design emergency placeholders and holiday messages in the IVR system, update them, and play relevant updates when needed.  

What should the customer experience be when you experience technical issues?

A customer's experience should always be complete and meaningful when they're following the IVR flow, even when application or backend integration errors occur. We recommend that you design the caller experience in the case of integration failures. Typically, you can implement retries and loops, or play a message that communicates the technical difficulty or transfers the customer to an agent. In either scenario, the caller experience should not lead to an abrupt and unexplained end to the communication, which would typically result in more calls.

After you outline the customer contact journey, look for repeatable processes or common patterns. These will be key points of focus when you design the foundation of your IVR architecture.

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RevelX: 10 Years of Innovation 🚀 Discover the journey

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How Amazon, Google, and Belsimpel Perfected the Customer Journey (And How To Apply These Lessons)

Some companies confuse the different phases of the customer journey, resulting in low conversions. Instead, you have to use a matching mode of communication in each step of the customer journey. Learn from Amazon, Google, and Belsimpel.

Amazon, Google, and Belsimpel are the masters of the customer journey. They have optimized every touchpoint with the consumer. You can learn a lot from these businesses.

In the classical marketing model, marketing is seen as a funnel. At the beginning of the process, there are many companies competing for the attention of the customer, and this number is reduced through the different purchasing stages. According to this outlook, marketing is an action of “pushing” the brand through a few touchpoints such as television ads.

What is the Customer Journey?

In the current digital era, there are many more touchpoints from new types of digital media channels. As a result, the funnel is now seen as a “customer journey”, or rather, a multitude of interconnected journeys. Gartner defines it as “a variety of touchpoints by which the customer moves from awareness to engagement and purchase.”

According to the research company, successful brands focus on developing a seamless experience that ensures each touchpoint interconnects and contributes to the overall journey.

Traditionally, the customer journey is subdivided into 5 steps: awareness, consideration, purchase, retention/service, and loyalty. Later on, in this blogpost, I will dive deeper into these phases.

The Biggest Customer Journey Mistake

Theoretically, the customer journey is not a complex phenomenon. In practice, though, I see many companies making big mistakes applying it. For instance, they give free products to people who are already paying customers. Or, they offer detailed quotations to customers who are only in the awareness phase. In other words, they confuse the different phases of the customer journey, resulting in low conversions.

The trick is to use a matching mode of communication in each step of the customer journey. This will derive the best results. As you will see, psychology plays a big role in mapping the perfect customer journey. The following steps describe the phases in the customer journey, the communication activities that are applicable to these steps, and some great examples from real-life case studies.

• Awareness: Hey, Look at Me!

This is the initial phase of the customer journey. Here customers may have heard about your brand, but they do not act on this knowledge yet: they do not visit your site or make a purchase. In this phase, you will have to trigger your potential customers. Advertising or ‘mass’ communication is the main tool here.

Controversial or funny advertisements are a usefull way to go in the awareness phase. Standing out in the crowd is your goal.

Take for example the Dutch IT company Incentro. In a radio ad, they asked listeners to call their baby “Incentro.” Then you would be eligible for a 5,000 Euro prize. Some thought the advertisement unethical. Others said it was irritating, and there were people who thought the ad was funny. But, people talked about it, and that was just what they wanted.

• Consideration: We are the Kind of Company You Trust

In this phase, customers make a choice. Although they may already have some knowledge about you, they will try to discover more. They also discover the competitor.

At the moment that the consumer makes a choice between different providers, you want to be in the spotlight. Because the customer is now actively searching for information, you need an optimized website (SEO-proof and mobile-friendly) and a nice social media presence.

Now that you have her attention, you want to establish trust, authority and a beginning relationship. This is done in the form of content such as white papers and blog posts. Of course, the copy is optimized for Google and is contentwise tailored to this phase in the customer journey.

This phase is also about building your image. You have to be the kind of business your customer likes and trusts.

Google knows how it works. In professionally produced webinars they explain how their cloud portfolio works and what the advantages are. The company establishes itself as a dependable partner, at the same time giving arguments why to choose Google.

• Purchase: We will make this Process Quick and Easy

At this point, the customer decides to purchase. In this phase, your communication has to be a little more rational than in the Consideration Phase. You give sound reasons why the customer should buy your product, thereby excluding all risk. You give, for example, a warranty.

It is important that the purchase process goes well, quickly, and easily. Furthermore, the customer may need some final arguments to fully convince her.

In this phase, it is important that there is no friction in the process. One of the best examples is Amazon ‘s one-click purchasing button. This innovation increased conversion because it shortened the decision-making process considerably. The button made customers happy too; no more hassling with endless check-out procedures.

• Retention/Service: Congratulations, You Bought Our Product!

The customer journey does not stop after the purchase. It is a continuous cycle. Where the previous phases mainly concern usability, it is important in this phase to give the customer a positive experience.

In this phase, you let the customer know he decided wisely by being your customer. One way to accomplish this is through social proof: you tell them that other customers are happy with the product.

Dutch Belsimpel has a simple way to send this message. This reseller of mobile phone subscriptions delivers products such as smartphones in a box that says: “Good choice!”

• Loyalty: You may also Consider…

This phase is all about aftercare. You keep in contact with your customer through, for example, a newsletter, social media, or an app. When you establish a good relationship with your customer through these channels, she will more quickly skip the Consideration Phase.

I also have to mention personalized offers which you can compile on the basis of customer data and an analytics solution. These offers strengthen your bond with the customer, while, at the same time, increasing conversion.

Amazon’s emails are the poster child for this kind of marketing. The e-commerce giant uses data collected from a customer’s shopping history to send offers tailored to their interests. They also send you an email reminding you that you abandoned a shopping cart.

The Customer Journey in Your Organization

There may be not a single business in the world that hasn’t a customer journey to handle. Sadly, some companies fail to see this. These are organizations that don’t understand that every touchpoint with a customer is part of the whole buying experience . Some of these businesses are monopolists; others go out of business.

I know you want to be another kind of business, one that places the customer front and center. At RevelX, we know how to make this wish a reality. If you need our expertise, please make an appointment with one of our experts .

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René Jongen

Specialist in top line growth. Supports both corporates that are under a lot of commercial pressure and businesses that are looking for ways to accelerate their growth. Technical physicist. Builds on psychology and neuro-marketing insights.

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Customer journey mapping: A step-by-step guide

If you're struggling to keep customers engaged beyond just hearing about your product and getting initial interest, this customer journey mapping guide is exactly what you need.

With over a million data insights extracted to date, we created this actionable guide to simplify the process of creating a customer journey map. This will help you engage your potential customers more efficiently and see better conversion rates. 

Let’s get right to it.

Step 1: Clarify your goals & scope

This is where you will define why you want to map your customer journey and outline where you will outline your project boundaries. Here is what you need to do:

• Identify what you want to accomplish with the customer journey map. Is it to drive more visitors, improve customer satisfaction, or increase conversion rates?
• Next, set your mapping effort’s scope , including which customer segments (new customers, returning customers, or high-value clients) or stages of the journey (awareness, consideration, purchase, and post-purchase support)  you will focus on for mapping.

Identify who will be involved in the process–marketing teams , customer support, or product development.

Step 2: Gather insights from customer data

This step is where you will understand your customers' behaviors, preferences, and pain points throughout their journey. Here’s how to do it:

Identify and gather data from diverse sources . Use Clootrack to collect customer feedback and candid discussions from eCommerce sites, forums, blogs, and social media, alongside private enterprise data like customer service calls, NPS surveys, website/app feedback, and chatbots.

Organize your data into meaningful segments based on demographics, behavior patterns, and interactions with your brand so you can understand different customer personas and their unique journey experiences.

Identify key touchpoints where customers interact with your brand—from initial awareness to post-purchase support. This will highlight critical moments that influence customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Use Clootrack to gather qualitative feedback directly from customers . Analyzing feedback and sentiment analysis will provide nuanced insights into customer emotions and perceptions at each stage of their journey.

Involve cross-functional teams –marketing, sales, customer support, and product development—in the data analysis process. Their diverse perspectives will help you better understand the customer journey.

Use the gathered insights to refine your customer journey map . Identify areas for improvement or opportunities to enhance customer experience, thereby driving engagement and loyalty.

Step 3: Craft detailed customer personas

This step helps you visualize and understand your target audience more deeply. Here’s how to proceed:

Use the data you gathered from Step 2 to create distinct customer personas . These personas should represent different segments of your audience based on demographics, behaviors, and preferences.

Define each persona by outlining their specific traits, such as age, interests, challenges, and buying motivations. This detailed characterization helps humanize your audience and makes customizing your strategies to their needs easier.

Give each persona a name that reflects their characteristics and motivations. This simple step can make personas more relatable and memorable for teams across your organization.

Create visual representations or profiles that encapsulate each persona’s traits and behaviors. This helps you empathize with your audience and intuitively understand their journey.

Share these personas with relevant teams, such as marketing, sales, and customer support. Ask for their feedback to ensure it is accurate and aligns with their experiences and observations.

Step 4: Pinpoint critical touchpoints

These touchpoints are key moments where customers interact with your brand and can significantly impact their overall experience. Here’s what you need to do:

• Use the personas to map out the typical paths your customers take from initial awareness to post-purchase support. Identify all potential touchpoints where customers engage with your brand and where they potentially drop off.
• Pinpoint specific interactions at each stage of the journey that are crucial for customer satisfaction and loyalty. These interactions may include website visits, product searches, social media interactions, and customer service inquiries.
• Identify which touchpoints have the most significant impact on the customer experience and business outcomes. Focus on optimizing these high-priority touchpoints to maximize customer engagement and retention.
• Recognize that customers may interact with your brand using multiple channels (website, social media, physical stores). To provide a unified experience, ensure consistent and seamless transitions between these channels.
• Use feedback forms, customer interviews, and traditional surveys with CX data analytics to learn how customers see and interact with each touchpoint .
• Adjust your touchpoint strategy based on new data and evolving customer expectations.

For example:  

Are ads bringing a steady customer flow to your website? How much of them convert? If your ads aren’t getting the projected traction, how can you maximize your ad efforts ? If they click on your ad but don’t drop off seconds later, what friction are they experiencing? 

Step 5: Visualize the customer's journey

This visual representation helps you and your team understand the flow of interactions and experiences that customers go through. Here’s how to proceed:

• Use diagrams, flowcharts, or journey mapping tools to visually represent each stage of the customer journey—from initial awareness to post-purchase support. This map should include key touch points identified in Step 4.
• Map out the actions customers take at each stage, like research, consideration, purchase, and advocacy to see your customers’ progression and decision-making process.

Highlight customer emotions, motivations, and pain points at each touchpoint to understand how customers perceive their interactions with your brand.

Integrate the personas created in Step 3 into your visual map. Assign each persona to different journey stages to illustrate how different customer segments experience your brand.

Present the visual customer journey map to cross-functional teams , including marketing, sales, customer support, and product development.

Step 6: Extract & analyze key insights

This process helps uncover actionable findings that can drive strategic decisions and improvements. Here’s what you need to do:

Identify metrics and indicators most relevant to your goals and customer journey stages. It can include conversion rates, customer satisfaction scores, retention rates, and engagement metrics.

Use data analytics tools and platforms to analyze quantitative data effectively. Clootrack can provide deep insights into customer sentiment, preferences, and behavior patterns across different touchpoints.

Apply qualitative analysis methods to interpret customer feedback, comments, and suggestions. Conduct thematic analysis or sentiment analysis to uncover recurring themes and emotions customers express.

Compare insights across different segments to identify trends, preferences, and pain points that may vary among customer groups.

Step 7: Spotlight pain points and growth opportunities

This step focuses on addressing challenges and seizing potential areas you can improve. Here’s what you can do:

Pinpoint recurring issues or frustrations customers express . Focus on areas where customers face obstacles or dissatisfaction while interacting with your brand.

Highlight specific touchpoints or stages in the journey where customers experience the most significant challenges or friction. These pain points could include long wait times, confusing navigation, product issues, or poor customer service experiences.

Prioritize pain points based on how critical they are for customer experience and business outcomes. 

Brainstorm actionable solutions and initiatives to mitigate pain points and capitalize on growth opportunities. Implement changes that align with customer needs and strategic business objectives.

For example :

You notice that potential customers feel  your products are pricey, so they bounce off the product page without adding an item to the cart. To fix this, offer them discounts that make them feel purchasing is a steal, like what this  workout supplement store  did. They give potential customers a 5% discount when they subscribe and a 10% discount,  making the latter discount irresistible.

Step 8: Formulate actionable strategies

Here is how you can formulate strategies that address identified challenges and capitalize on potential improvements:

Break down strategies into targeted actions aimed at different customer segments, personas, or journey stages. 

Prioritize actionable strategies based on their potential impact on customer satisfaction, retention, and business growth. Focus on initiatives that address critical pain points or leverage significant growth opportunities.

Roll out strategies in phases or iterations to test their effectiveness and adjust based on feedback and performance metrics. 

Communicate strategy objectives, action plans, and expected outcomes clearly across the organization. Educate team members on their roles and responsibilities in executing strategies effectively.

3 Types of customer journey maps and examples

As you go through each one, consider which matches your goals the closest.

1. Current state journey map

Get the full template

This type of customer journey map illustrates customers' existing experience as they interact with a product, service, or brand. It focuses on capturing the actual steps, touchpoints, emotions, and pain points customers encounter in their journey.

eCommerce purchase journey : Map out how customers navigate from browsing products online to making a purchase, including interactions with customer support and post-purchase follow-up.

Banking service experience : Detail the current process customers go through when opening an account, managing transactions, and accessing customer service.

Healthcare patient journey : Charting the steps patients take from scheduling an appointment to receiving care to follow-up visits, highlighting interactions with staff and satisfaction levels at each stage.

2. Future state (ideal) journey map

A future state journey map focuses on mapping out the desired steps, interactions, and touchpoints that will optimize customer satisfaction and loyalty. Here’s how it looks:

Fashion retailer future state journey : Customers browse online and in-store, with personalized style recommendations based on past purchases and preferences. Virtual fitting rooms let trying on clothes digitally before purchasing. 

Hotel ideal journey : Guests book their stays via a user-friendly app or website, customizing room preferences and special requests in advance. Upon arrival, they receive a personalized welcome and digital room keys for contactless access. Throughout their stay, they receive tailored recommendations for local experiences and amenities, with seamless check-out and post-stay follow-up for feedback and loyalty rewards.

Automotive ideal journey : Customers explore and configure their desired vehicle online, scheduling test drives at their convenience. After purchase, they receive personalized maintenance reminders and updates on service appointments via a mobile app. Proactive alerts for recalls or upgrades keep them informed, with seamless integration of vehicle data for personalized service recommendations.

3. Day in the life journey map

A day in the life journey map portrays a detailed view of how customers interact with your product, service, or brand throughout their daily activities. It focuses on capturing how customers behave, their pain points, and engagement moments across various touchpoints. Here’s how it works:

Meal kit service day in the life journey : A customer plans meals for the week using an online platform, customizing recipes based on dietary preferences and family size. They receive a scheduled delivery of pre-portioned ingredients with recipe cards, and cooking meals with step-by-step instructions. Throughout the day, they provide feedback on recipes through a mobile app, and get personalized recommendations for future meals based on their preferences.

Fitness app day in the life journey : A customer starts their day with a personalized workout routine a fitness app suggests, tracking their progress and calories burned. Throughout the day, they receive motivational messages and reminders to stay hydrated. After workouts, they log meals and monitor nutritional intake through the app, with personalized recommendations for achieving fitness goals. In the evening, they review sleep patterns and receive tips for improving sleep quality.

Now, what should you use for which?

Use a current-state journey map to understand existing pain points and improve current customer experiences, a future-state journey map to envision and plan ideal customer interactions for future improvements, and a day-in-the-life journey map to capture detailed daily interactions.

5 Customer journey mapping best practices

Keep these 5 points in mind to make the most out of your customer journey mapping efforts.

I. Use customer experience analytics

Pick an advanced CX analytics platform that can handle diverse data sources, such as website interactions, social media engagements, customer service interactions, and sales data. Create a unified view and configure live dashboards and automated alerts that notify your teams instantly when critical issues or opportunities arise.

II. Include diverse perspectives

Bring together people from different departments like marketing, customer support, product development, and sales. In brainstorming sessions, focus on understanding what each team sees and experiences with customers. 

Discuss how customers interact with your brand at different stages—like when they first discover your product, when they decide to buy, and after they've made a purchase to get a clearer picture of what customers like, where they might get stuck, and how to make their experience better overall.

III. Focus on emotions and pain points

Pay attention to how customers feel at different stages of their interaction with your brand using customer surveys, feedback forms, and social media listening to gather insights into their experiences and emotions. 

In brainstorming sessions, discuss common frustrations, challenges, and moments of delight that customers encounter. Identify specific touchpoints where emotions play a significant role, like during product research, purchasing decisions, or customer support interactions.

IV. Keep it visual and understandable

Work with an expert designer on a clear and intuitive layout that anyone in your team can grasp quickly. Be straightforward in representing customer interactions and touchpoints. Use color coding, icons, and timelines to visually differentiate between different stages and actions within the journey.

V. Validate with customers

Involve your actual customers in the process by using surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather direct feedback. Focus on determining whether the mapped journey aligns with their real-life experiences and emotions.

Pay attention to any discrepancies or missed opportunities they highlight. This customer-centric approach shows that you value their input in shaping a better overall experience.

It can look overwhelming to implement in the beginning. But focus on one step at a time, see how and where you can apply each action point, and you will gradually see the progress. 

Always keep customer-centricity in mind. This means considering how customers feel about your offer rather than what you think they feel, so invest in collecting customer feedback and improving your interaction loop. 

How do you do that with all the platforms you need to track? Clootrack is the answer. We integrate customer data from first-party and third-party sources into a secure, AI-powered CX analytics engine so it’s easier to discover underlying customer issues in real-time.

Read Next:    Omnichannel retail and the rise of experiential shopping