What are touchpoints and why do they matter?

A touchpoint is a term used in marketing to describe a point of contact made between your brand and your customer.

These interactions are pivotal in the making of your brand identity. A touchpoint happens when your customer, or potential customer, comes across your logo, business name, product, or even your employees.

They say it takes an average of eight touchpoints before a customer will begin buy from your brand. Some say seven and some say 11, however many it takes, it’s important that they are meaningful.

Where are touchpoints made?

To create meaningful touchpoints, first it’s important to really understand what they are.

As a consumer yourself, you might find touchpoints in shop windows or on billboards, in Tweets or on letterheads.

A brand can also reach you with a touchpoint when you pay an invoice or read one of their blog posts. They’re also created when you call a company to ask a question or when you ask for directions on Google. But it’s a lot deeper than this.

We’ve placed you as the customer in these scenarios because it’s crucial that you see your business from your customers’ point of view.

You could paste your logo on all your social media posts, post flyers through every door, take up every billboard space in your local city centre; it may be enough to annoy your audience but not to engage with them.

Understanding a customer’s journey is key to developing meaningful touchpoints.

Identifying the touchpoints on your customer’s journey

Get in the mind of one of your current customers or clients. How did they get to where they are with you today?

Where did they find you? At what point did they start to build a relationship with you?

Let’s say you run an accountancy business called Sayer & Sons. Pretending to be your own customer, to eventually find Sayer & Sons, there are different routes you might take depending on your unique situation, personality and values.

Customer journey example:

You had a bad experience with your current accountant and have been dreading going back to them. It’s coming up to the end fo the financial year so it would be the ideal time to switch.

You’ve not been actively searching for a new one because you’ve been loyal to your current salon for a number of years.

But over the course of the past two months it has crossed your mind a few times that you might like to go somewhere else.

• Touchpoint No1 – you see @SayerandSons mentioned in one of your friend’s InstaStories saying they were so happy everything was a breeze for their company accounts.
• Touchpoint No2 – you see a sponsored ad on Facebook for in which Sayer & Sons claims have an offer for new clients.
• Touchpoint No3 – you’re not willing to give this firm your custom yet but you don’t want to forget the name of it either so you give them a like on Facebook.
• Touchpoint No4 – you’re flicking through a local magazine while waiting for a friend and recognise the Sayer & Sons logo in one of the adverts.
• Touchpoint No5 – you get a reminder from HMRC and you do a quick Google of the best accountants in your area and Sayer & Sons is on page one.
• Touchpoint No6 – you read some reviews online to get a better feel for the business
• Touchpoint No7 – you give them a call the next day and book a free consultation.
• Touchpoint No8 – you visit the accountants on the date of your appointment and interact with their friendly team.
• Touchpoint No8 – you receive a newsletter a month after your new do with a discount on self assessment fees when you submit your company accounts.

What happens next?

Now that you understand this particular customer, you can see more clearly where you should be investing your efforts.

Marking out your own customers’ journeys will help you to make your customer experience meaningful and engage with them using message that really resonate.