15 Powerful Customer Journey Maps
A customer journey map or a buyer journey map visually represents of fairly complex processes — the path each customer takes as they interact with your company. Understanding that journey is the first step to fixing weakness or capitalizing on advantages. To guide your journey map efforts, here are 15 of our favorites.
Health Insurance Purchase Buyer Journey Map
Why it works: This journey map is chock full of details, but makes them easily digestible by breaking the journey into sections (Awareness, Research, etc.). Visually, it also uses minimal or muted lines so that the page doesn’t feel so busy. Most importantly, the map integrates “customer effort” into the journey, which is an essential element.
What you can do: Break your longer journey into phases to help the reader consume the information easier. Consider how you can measure and integrate effort into the picture.
Car Purchase Buyer Journey Map
via idioplatform.com
Why it works: This map breaks down the methods buyers use to educate themselves about their car purchase and what factors were beneficial.
What you can do: Realize what avenues your buyers take to educate themselves on your solutions and what has the most traction with them.
Online Travel Agent Customer Journey Map
Why it works: This map incorporates customer expectations into the picture, including color coding if those expectations are positive, neutral, or bad for the company. Customer expectations are critical to understand as they are a large driver for satisfaction. This map also includes suggestions for improvement, ensuring this document not only describes the current state but serves as a catalyst for action.
What you can do: Attempt to describe customer expectations at each stage. Then, speak to customers to understand those expectations and refine your map.
Starbucks Buyer Journey Map
Why it works: This map assigns a name (Eric) and purpose (To work/drink coffee) to the customer. It also provides statements about what the customer is hoping for in the words of the customer (“I can see the menu better now, but I feel rushed to order.”).
What you can do: Provide statements or quotes on your map that are framed from your customer’s perspective. Whenever possible, use the word “I” instead of “they”.
Tax Software Customer Journey Map
via TurboTax.com
Why it works: It’s easy to focus on the faces throughout this map — they really are a smart visual element. But what this map does that is even smarter is including points of risk (shown with the red arrows) and known areas of customer drop off (shown at the bottom of 3 touch points).
What you can do: Represent points of risk and potential drop off in your journey map. If you are unsure, take an educated guess and then refine as you gather more information.
Social Media Influence Journey Map
via Brian Solis
Why it works: Not every journey is linear. This map visually describes a journey that has predictable stages (Formulation, Pre-Commerce, etc.) but the order of experiences in each stage varies. Every item is also centered around the most important concept (Influence Loop), so the reader knows that’s the focus.
What you can do: If your journey is not linear, break away from the linear model. Think about how everything relates in your journey.
Internet Banking User Journey Map
via Visual.ly
Why it works: This journey map sticks to two colors only (green and red) to effectively describe the emotional experience of the customer. It also cleanly incorporates goals at each stage, keeping the reader focused on what the customer is trying to accomplish.
What you can do: Even though you want to include everything in your map (and we’ve given you plenty of suggestions of what to include), find ways to simplify the visuals, such as plenty of white space) so that the reader stays focused on the key elements.
B2B Buyer Journey Map
via Ingrid Archer, B2B Marketing Bureau, SpotONvision
Why it works: The visuals are perfect. There is deft use of concrete items (mountain, bridge, etc.) to show fluctuation from high to low. There is also clear breakout of stages (Demand Generation, etc.) and roles (Marketing, Sales).
What you can do: Consider a simplified, visually compelling version of your map for certain audiences.
GE Appliance Customer Journey Map
Why it works: This map is one of the most basic examples, but is still rich with information. It indicates the multiple paths buyers might take and which company element (Network, Customer, Brand) owns each part of the journey through colored dots.
What you can do: Start small with a map similar to this one. Your first journey map doesn’t have to include every element.
Demand Metric Customer Journey Map
via Demand Metric
Why it works: Incorporating customer goals, emotional responses, and ideas to improve, this map provides a comprehensive exploration of the customer journey. It uses the classic kanban coloring (red, yellow, green) which are universally recognized as negative, neutral, and positive.
What you can do: Use colors, terms, and symbols that don’t need explanation. Save the explanation for other areas of your map.
Typical Buyer Journey Map
via Alex Flagg, HP Enterprise Market Insight team
Why it works: This map correctly differentiates between digital and physical touchpoints, making it easier to understand what types of actions might be needed to resolve issues. The pattern on each bubble (solid or striped) also indicates if the touchpoint can be managed or not.
What you can do: When adding touch points into your map, don’t forget to describe them to help the reader understand how touch points differ.
B2B Buyer Journey Map
via MadisonLogic.com
Why it works: This map is visually appealing and easy to digest. It also provides a nice summary of key points at the top. This turns the journey map from a description of current state to an intelligence document that points to action.
What you can do: When presenting the map to certain audiences, such as executives, summarize key findings and display them prominently.
Forrester Research Buyer Journey Map
Why it works: There are limited visual elements in this map, but it is still easy to follow. It’s a nice reminder that your map doesn’t have to be created by a team of designers, especially when you are first starting. For content, this map does something unique. Rather than including every item, it describes top influencers, most impactful content, and top vehicles.
What you can do: Scan your map for any superfluous items that have minimal or no impact. Remove those items and focus on the key elements.
Forrester Research Buyer Journey Map
Why it works: For software companies, it’s important to describe a user’s journey in concrete terms. This map perfectly incorporates screenshots of actual pages the user sees during their journey, which helps every reader of the map understand the exact journey.
What you can do: For certain versions of your journey map, consider incorporating a photo or screenshot of what a customer sees to more exactly understand their experience.
Digital Customer Journey Map
via Pluck.com / Integrated Customer Interactions
Why it works: This clean map has two great elements. First, clear call-out directions on every item in the path that explains what actions the reader should take to succeed (“Retain with Points, Badges, Leaders Boards & Content Discovery”, etc.). Second, the bottom of the image describes three overall principals (Social Engagement, Social Commerce, and Social Loyalty), giving the reader valuable context for the understanding the images.
What you can do: Review the details and context provided in your map. Is there more you can give the reader so they understand which actions to take?