Customer Journey Mapping

What is It?
Customer journey mapping is the process of tracking and describing all the experiences that customers have as they encounter a service or set of services, taking into account not only what happens to them, but also their responses to their experiences !sed well, it can reveal opportunities for improvement and innovation in that experience, acting as a strategic tool to ensure every interaction with the customer is as positive as it can be "

Why is it Important?

#ourney mapping, focusing on tracking and describing customer experience, is one of the tools that can help do this #ourney mapping helps bring customers$ stories to life It can challenge preconceptions and help change perceptions, acting as a call to action and contributing to culture change %he insights that it generates can help shape strategy and policy, leading to better customer experiences and more efficient government

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Customer experience mapping is a &ualitative approach, focused on emotional insights about a customer, in order to tell his or her story with passion and narrative %hey say it$s a powerful way of engaging both staff and customers Mapping the system, or process mapping, maps the steps in a process and identifies where to act to make the experience as easy, pleasant and efficient as possible Measuring the experience is a form of mapping that allows you to determine how well an experience is delivered It can &uantify the effect of changes and

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%he )alue of #ourney *apping

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#ourney mapping can deliver a better customer experience and bring about greater efficiencies *ore satisfied customers are cheaper to serve and easier to deal with +ood customer understanding is also good business In terms of customer understanding, journey mapping helps, 'ee things from the customer$s point of view -eliver information, messages and services at the most appropriate time -eliver a seamless, streamlined experience that cuts across silos by recognising where and when it makes sense to join things up for the customer +et it right when it really matters e g when emotions are highest or need greatest .ook at the current situation and the /ideal$ side0by0side, giving a chance to genuinely redraw the customer journey

Customer 1xperience *apping

The process starts with a deep understanding of what customers really think and feel, moving through to taking action and evaluating results. There are five steps:

Set up the mapping context

Walking in the customers shoes

Constructing the map

Taking action

Evaluating results

'et !p 2 the Context

The first step in any journey mapping project is to be clear about the context. You need to be able to answer some key questions:

Who will use the maps?

How will maps be applied?

Whats the scope?

Context Checklist %ool

CONTEXT CHECKLIST

This is a tool for a set-up team work session. It can be used as an agenda or checklist.

Who will use the maps?

Identify key users, current expertise and knowledge or use of customer experience maps Agree how these key users will be involved in the process the more involvement the better Identify additional stakeholders and agree how they should be involved!informed "nsure that everyone is clear and aligned in their expectations of the process and outputs #onfirm what the maps will be used for and the level of detail!robustness re$uired "nsure you have set clear, measurable ob%ectives for the exercise Are you also mapping the system' If so, how will you consider the two maps together' #onfirm the budget and timescales Agree how and when other departments and agencies should be involved &o an insight audit what do you know already' (ake an initial plan of the approach, process and anticipated outputs

How will maps be applied?

What is the scope?

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3road -efinition of the #ourney

irstly you need to define broadly the journey you are interested in to ensure it!s the most appropriate one for the issue you are addressing. In particular you need to:

Check you de!i"itio"

Check how ma"y #ou "eys

Check i"te $ depe"de"cies

The precise definition of the journey needs to be confirmed after customer input. "owe#er$ you need to be clear up front about the broad parameters in which you are working

#ourney -efinition Checklists

(ake a clear and unambiguous statement of the %ourney that you are interested in mapping. This should be the usual, 3typical4 %ourney experienced by customers, not an unusual or aberrant event. Check our de$inition 5ould your description be clear to someone coming fresh to this pro%ect' Are you thinking about and defining the %ourney from the customers* point of view, using their language' 5hen you come to check it with them, will they recognise it'

Think about whether what you are interested is it really a single %ourney. Are there distinct components that should be split out or, on the other hand, is this part of a wider %ourney that need to be looked at in its totality'

Check how man !ourne s" )ave you hypothesised a clear start and end point for this %ourney' &oes it cover all the key parts of the customer*s interaction with you' &oes it cover a long time period' +,ery long %ourneys may benefit from being split across more than one map-

.ook beyond your own area to identify other departments and agencies which impact on your customer*s %ourney / not %ust government but also appropriate 012s. Talk to colleagues and stakeholders to make sure you understand all the inter/relationships.

Check inter#dependencies )ave you started from the customer*s viewpoint, and not in terms of how government is organised' )ave you consulted relevant stakeholders' )ow do these alternative viewpoints impact on your %ourney as currently defined' &oes their involvement suggest or dictate an amended %ourney definition'

With Which Customers do you Want to 1ngage?

%ext you need to think about which customers or customer groups you need to focus on. The starting point for journey mapping must always be the customer$ and the initial step is to decide which customer&s'. You need to check a number of things: It!s often a good idea to create a pen portrait$ or word picture$ of your chosen customer groups.

Check you scopi"%

Check custome % oups

Check p io ities

Customer -efinition Checklists

#an you map all customers together or do you need to segment and map different groups' 7ou need to be clear on available resources, and decide how widely you can engage with customers.

Check our scoping

#an you truly map all customers together' It*s $uite unusual if you can )ow many groups do you need to map' 5hat are the essential things you need to know and the big knowledge gaps'

.ook at the information you have already about your different customer groups. &o you have a customer segmentation and, if so, is it relevant for the map you want to create' If you don*t have a researched segmentation or it doesn*t seem relevant, brainstorm types of customer who make the %ourney you*re looking at. 6rontline staff, knowledgeable people, delivery partners and past research may help.

Check customer groups

)ave you clearly defined any customer groups or segments' Are they distinct from one another' )ave you thought not %ust about who people are, but what they do and how they think and feel' Is this the best way of dividing people up for this particular purpose'

If you don*t need, or have the resources, to engage with all customer groups, you need to prioritise based on factors like: 5ho has the greatest need' 5here is the current experience least satisfactory' 5hich customers represent the greatest number of %ourneys'

Check our prioritisation"

&oes it feel right intuitively' &o people in the know +e.g. frontline staff- agree with it' If you get it right for these people will the problem be solved'

'et out the *ap4s5 you want to !se

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&b!ectives. scope and !ourne t pe 5hat this mapping needs to do. 9ingle, well/defined %ourney with clear start and end points. Customer segment The specific group you*re mapping here, with key defining characteristics to distinguish them from other groups.

&b!ectives. scope / !ourne t pe 'oments o$ truth 0e 0e 1ourne !ourne Steps steps

Customer segment

-ctions. $eelings. thoughts and reactions at each step

Touchpoints

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"a#ing thought about the context$ broadly defined the journey and identified which customers you want to engage with$ you can now set out your map or maps$ filling in the first two boxes:

%aking 6ction
%here are a number of steps you need to go through when planning actions,
+o back to the context checklist from the set up stage, and remind yourself how you intended the maps to be used and by whom 7eep sight of your objectives %hink about what the /ideal$ journey might look like in comparison to the one that the customer experiences now 8lan how you can move towards the ideal -on$t just look for incremental improvements 2 spend time thinking about the opportunities for truly innovative solutions 8lan how to engage other people in the work you have done 9ou should have been seeking stakeholder involvement right from the set up phase, but now$s the time to really sell in what you$ve done and engage people in it

Design an Ideal Journey and Identify Gaps

-efining the ideal journey can be a powerful way of helping to drive out possible actions 3y comparing the current with an /ideal$ experience it$s possible to identify where gaps exist between the two, and these can become the focus for your actions It$s often particularly helpful to focus your efforts on moments of truth, these being the points at which customers are most likely to form strong opinions and make decisions about whether to stay with or leave the process

Compare Current with Ideal

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Tameside (ouncil mapped both the current and the ideal journey when redesigning their free school meals application process.

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Identify 8riority 6ctions

!se the analysis you have done 4touchpoints, moments of truth, gap analysis5 to identify where the greatest need for action lies %hink about what you can do in the short, medium and longer term to address issues raised %hen think about the tangible steps you need to take and create an action plan, using the normal common0sense principles,
3e clear and specific 8ut time limits against actions 6ssign specific responsibilities Indicate targets and how progress will be measured 3e realistic in terms of what you expect in what timeframe

:ever lose sight of the need to carry staff with you and to establish wider buy0in across the organisation

'elling It In
6 vital part of taking action is developing a strong sell0in to the rest of the organisation %his is vital if a really transformational experience is to become a reality %hink widely in terms of who you want to communicate to in the selling0in process %hink about all stakeholders, and be sure to include both senior managers and front line staff %ailor your communication to the audience, both in terms of what you say and how you say it 2 senior managers will want to know results and implications and front line staff are likely to need more detail to get to grips with the issues 3oth will welcome presentation styles that bring the issues to life, and journey mapping is ideally suited to this

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questions
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