RELATIONSHIP JOURNEY MAPPING
This may sound strange, but most organizations have no idea what their consumers want. They develop products and services, with little to no perspective, and it has been done this way for a long time. At FPOV, we promote a newer way of thinking called Relationship Journey Mapping. This consumer-centric approach looks at the world through the eyes of your customers, seeing what they see, allowing you to give the customer what THEY want, not what YOU think they need.
What is Journey Mapping?
In a nutshell journey mapping is a methodical, step-by-step look at each point a customer has when interacting with your organization. The process is broken down into distinct phases from recognition (before they have even heard of you) all the way through a product purchase and beyond. This dissection is what makes the process so powerful. It allows you to focus in on each step, discovering things that you have never thought of before. In the process you also break down your target markets into personas, digging deep into the psyche of your customers discovering who they really are as a person. This activity allows you to better understand how to target and talk to your customers. It also allows you to develop journeys specific to each persona.
Why is it important?
Many times people may be satisfied with one aspect of your organization but dissatisfied with another. These problems are often missed because we aren’t looking at the experience as a whole. Mapping the journey will start to highlight where this dissatisfaction may occur, allowing you to address the issue. It will also point out areas that will be more effective in marketing, allowing you to better connect, in turn, creating a stronger relationship. If used properly, you will also quickly discover how this process will create a fundamental shift in all aspects of your organization. You will start to utilize it in many different areas, from the actual design of your marketing materials to how you arrange the seating in your lobby.
The Basics
Here are a few basic steps that can help you get started down the journey mapping path. It all starts with…
Constituents- These are broad categories of your target market.
Personas- Detailed analysis of individuals within your constituent groups.
Persona Analysis- The process of identifying what a persona will want at each phase of the journey.
Mapping the Journey- A visual diagram of the actual journey and each of its steps.