When it comes to customer retention, every experience matters. And, according to a recent survey from Accenture, this is more true now than ever before; in that survey, 50% of people said that the pandemic had caused them to rethink their personal purpose and "re-evaluate what’s important to them in life". These consumers expect better interaction with companies, and more than half say they would switch brands as a result of "lagging customer service" [1].
But what constitutes a poor experience? Beyond clear failures around product, delivery or customer interaction, personalisation is a key expectation: a separate report from Salesforce, which gathered opinions from 15,000 multi-generational consumers and business buyers across 26 countries, reveals that 66% of people want companies to understand their unique needs, but only 34% of companies meet that expectation [2].
Chris Charman, Client Services Director at digital consultancy LEAD, explains how brands can meet these expectations – and boost revenue – by mapping the customer journey.
What is a customer journey?
In simple terms, a customer journey charts all the stages in a person’s relationship with a brand. But it’s about more than just plotting the different touchpoints, says Charman – brands need to “think about what the customer’s mindset is at each point”.
Whether you’re focused on customer acquisition, retention, cross-selling or all three, understanding the customer journey will give you an insight into the paths your customers take from first hearing about your brand to the point of purchase and beyond.
How does mapping your customer journey boost revenue?
By mapping your customer journey, you can uncover ways to give customers a superior experience at every stage of their relationship with you. Ultimately, mapping the customer journey will help to convert a higher number of customers and keep them coming back for more, leading to higher revenue.
1. Raise brand awareness
“Before customers think about buying a category of product, there's brand awareness,” says Charman. It’s not always easy to track, but Charman advises finding an appropriate measurement framework for your brand awareness activities that is suitable for your industry, as it’s important to measure the impact you're having.
He gives the example of a brand with a logistics element. “A core part of its brand awareness is its delivery vans, which carry its logo. This puts brand awareness out in front of people, ensuring that the company is at the forefront of customers’ minds. You might know where your vans are concentrated and can look at what impact, or how high your sales are, in that region versus a different one.”
2. Create a customised experience
“Personalisation is a topic that's been on the tips of our tongues for the past 10 years,” says Charman. “A lot of the work we do is focused around how brands can better use first-party data – information a business collects directly from its customers and owns – so they can better understand their customers and what products or services they might want at certain times.”
Adding small touches of personalisation in email campaigns is a simple way of meeting this need; automated software allows customer data such as purchase history, birthday, customer segment, previous engagement and geographical location to shape bespoke communications to each individual, in terms of message, timing, and even offer.
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3. Increase customer retention
Re-engaging customers who are already familiar with your brand is as important as attracting new ones. Charman recommends taking inspiration from both established and disruptive brands. “Larger businesses and tech businesses focus on engagement strategy post-sale. So, you'll often see companies giving rewards for recommending friends, they’ll ask you to sign up for an offer or ask whether you want to register your device for aftercare.
“This is obviously great from a business perspective because it gives you an opportunity to build a relationship with the customer post-sale. You can also cross-sell to them, boost retention and make them an advocate for your brand, which is a powerful tool.”
4. Cross-sell when the time is right
Cross-selling is a good way to boost revenue, as it involves offering existing customers complementary products or services. However, Charman stresses the need to be patient. “There are triggers that customers give off at certain stages within their customer journey,” he says. Wait for that signal – such as a search for a product or service – then retarget the customer with as customised an offer as possible.
Financial services brands are particularly good at playing the long game, according to Charman. “They might have a customer sign up for a student account or current account [who has] a relationship with the business for 10 years – they start saving lots of money and might be visiting areas of the website looking at how stamp duty works. What they're doing is they're sending signals to the brand that they might be in the market for a mortgage.” If the brand is tracking the customer journey, they’ll be able to send the customer the right message at the right time.
Undoubtedly, customer journey maps are valuable when it comes to getting inside your customers’ minds – and hearts. These maps are a vital tool for businesses who want to provide what their customers need – at the time they need it. Get it right and you will boost customer satisfaction, as well as revenue.
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