What is it?
After doing a quick “Google” search, on how to best define the user journey, I found quite a few “Customer Journey” definitions which had elevated to the top of the search results page, and found only one, maybe two “User Journey” definitions pushed down on the page. This observation certainly illustrates the need for a user journey discussion.
I eventually did come across a user journey article which provided what I believe to be a suitable definition for what a user journey is, and that is: a model which illustrates “…all the touchpoints through which customers come into contact with your company (online or off).”
Why Does it Matter?
That seemed easy enough to define…so, why was the user journey definition buried underneath customer journey results? I certainly didn’t search for “Customer Journey.” Perhaps it is because there is “…some vagueness and obscurity around how to actually create user journey maps,” as the article points out. As a result, many organizations today create and/or continue to use misguided CTAs (call-to-actions) and track their customer satisfaction success rates using out of touch and/or product and/or service-driven KPIs (key-performance-indicators) which are not geared around user needs, resulting in user experiences which: become derailed, miss the boat, experience turbulence, or get stuck in traffic. Whichever undesirable user journey metaphor you prefer – if you’ve ever seen the movie “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” with Steve Martin and John Candy – none of them are pretty.
How to Map a User Journey?
In order for your organization to get a view of what a user journey looks like at your organization and keep your users engaged, you can start by creating a user journey map which will include the following activity building blocks: creating personas, outlining timelines, and evaluating user experience channels.
Creating personas “…requires an understanding of marketing psychology and relies on qualitative survey data and quantitative research.” Deciding which persona research vehicles to prioritize plays a pivotal role towards how an organization can analyze the user experience needs of its customers, because this is where all of its customer interaction opportunities will be determined. Organizations can select from several research vehicles, depending on the resources available, including: interviews, email surveys, market research reports, and user-data gained by AI technology-driven learning, etc., then decide which options are best-fit for the job.
Regarding outlining timelines, “Companies should ascertain a time-period that they want to map out,” which include setting goals in phases. Once your organization’s persona work is water-tight, the focus can shift towards “…setting goals in terms of phases such as awareness, decision-making, purchase, renewal, [etc.].”
Evaluating your organization’s user experience channels (mobile apps, websites, brick & mortar stores, etc.) should include listing your organization’s users on the “Left,” their end goals on the “Right,” and analyzing all of their interactions in between via A/B testing and/or other methods, for each user experience touch point which your organization has made an investment in.
In summary, the potential issues of having a skewed bottom-line orientation – which my “User Journey” Google search results suggest exist with organizations today, can/will lead to your organization being at risk of using misguided CTAs and tracking its customer satisfaction success rates using out of touch product and/or service-driven KPIs which are not geared around user needs, if a user journey is not clearly defined, outlined, and evaluated.
Next week, I will review the potholes to avoid along the user journey, in an effort to optimize a customer’s connected experience.
Brendan Hukill 