Armed with everyday tools and data, consumers call the shots these days. Companies have had to change things up to prove their worthy of their customers’ attention.

Brands are positioning themselves in the path of their customers to build trust on their journey towards them. It’s all part of this big-deal thing called a customer journey. It’s so important in business that it even gets its own abbreviation: CX.

Not to be confused with user experience (UX) – which deals mostly with how people interact with things such as websites and products and is one part of the wider customer experience – CX provided by your company can be enhanced in a number of ways from logo and web design to brand development and videography.

Customer Relationship Management company Super Office surveyed 1,920 businesses in 2021 asking them what their top priority was for the next five years.

Coming out on top was – you guessed it – customer experience with 45.9%. Just over 20% said pricing was their top priority and 33% they’d be focusing on product.

Here’s why you should be prioritising CX too.

What’s the meaning of a meaningful customer journey?

You may have already mapped out your customers’ journeys but have you reviewed them lately?

Consumers are constantly evolving in terms of knowledge, value and desire, as is technology. It means your customers’ journeys are always changing too.

When you map our your customers’ journey this time around, be sure to identify the brand touchpoints your customers may interact with. Remember to include everything from when they see your company logo on your shop front sign, when they spot your branded calendar on someone’s desk, when they visit your offices, when they watch one of your videos, and many, many more.

Giving these touchpoints an emotion and reason for being creates a meaningful customer journey. It can secure loyalty and average spend.

Here are some of the facts.

92% of consumers who were surveyed by HubSpot in 2019 said that three poor customer experiences would stop them from buying from a company.

  • Our thoughts: poor customer experiences could entail difficulty locating offices, unanswered emails, or a confusing website.

62% of customers say they share their best experiences with others, Salesforce found in 2019.

  • Our thoughts: you might see a colleague eating a vegan sausage roll out of a paper bag from Greggs and ask if it was busy when they visited earlier. That’s a touchpoint that can open up a whole conversation about their positive experience with their server.

And, customers who gave companies a high customer service score spend 140% more and remain loyal for up to six years (Harvard Business Review).

  • Our thoughts: service is just one aspect that makes up a whole journey for your customer. They might even confuse customer service delivered by real life people with how efficient your website is, or how informative your explainer videos are.

Mapping your customers’ meaningful journeys

Creating a visual map of your customers’ journeys helps you resonate with them and understand their motivations and obstacles.

Debbie, a 52-year-old company manager, for example, might have employed more staff meaning a now cramped office.

Debbie’s journey: (we’ll notify you every time she reaches a touchpoint)

  • A staff member asks if she can move desks because it’s too noisy for her to concentrate (TOUCHPOINT).
  • Debbie overhears an employee say ‘excuse the mess’ when greeting a client to the office (TOUCHPOINT).
  • A business contact tells Debbie they’re moving offices after having grown in staff numbers (TOUCHPOINT).
  • Debbie checks her budget to see if the company can sustain an office move (TOUCHPOINT). They can’t.
  • Now concerned about the business’s reputation and staff productivity, Debbie has an office clear-out to create space (TOUCHPOINT).
  • But it’s not enough and the offices are an awkward shape. She Googles ‘how to maximise office space after company growth’ and clicks on a blog post entitled ‘Space planning to maximise office productivity’ (TOUCHPOINT).
  • The blog was written by a company called Office Jazzers and in the post, they’ve included a free PDF download about office design inspo (TOUCHPOINT).
  • Debbie sees a sponsored ad from Office Jazzers on her Instagram page – it’s a video about creating an inspiring work environment (TOUCHPOINT).
  • While at a client’s office, Debbie recognises the Office Jazzers logo on the coaster she’s using (TOUCHPOINT). The client says they began renting out some of their office space for cashlflow purposes and needed Office Jazzers to help redesign the place. They take Debbie on a tour (TOUCHPOINT).
  • Debbie Google’s Office Jazzers and finds their website (TOUCHPOINT), she sees their logo, browses their blog, clicks on the ‘inspiration’ page, and investigates their past projects (TOUCHPOINT, TOUCHPOINT, TOUCHPOINT!). The website is clear and efficient (TOUCHPOINT) so Debbie trusts them enough to email in (TOUCHPOINT).
  • Office Jazzers’ receptionist calls Debbie to book a quote (TOUCHPOINT).
  • Debbie encounters many more touchpoints, even long after the work on her office is complete. She’ll encounter them in newsletters, conversations with colleagues, client visits, and more.

Office Jazzers will have other types of customer though.

These might include 20-somethings looking to take their start-up to the next level, or an employee looking to convince their manager that hot desking is the way forward.

Each will have a different journey to get to Office Jazzers.

Try mapping your customers’ journeys and remember to include all the times they see your logo, watch your videos, use your website, and talk about your products or services.