Image Courtesy of Think with Google
I've been saying this for years....every customer journey is different.
That means there is an infinite number of customer journeys that can be created - one by one from each person looking for the solution you provide. Mapping this journey can very quickly become overwhelming trying to figure it all out.
Guess what? It's impossible to map ALL the possibilities.
So take that load off your shoulders! It's time to move forward!!
Knowing there are an infinite number of possible customer journey experiences, what you can do is evaluate the majority of your prospects and customers, where they are spending time and map various customer journeys that capture the similarities of this majority group.
According to a Think with Google study, the customer journey (i.e. marketing funnel), is drastically different today than what we perceived it was. The study shows a sample of 4 different customer journey experiences. Here are my top 3 takeaways:
Search and YouTube were the top two sources referred to throughout the journey
Computer and mobile touch points - both referred to throughout the journey
The journey continues for many even after the purchase was made
How is this information useful or even relevant to what you're doing? Here's my input from a marketing and sales perspective:
Two key areas for marketing dollars: YouTube and Search (SEO and paid ads) - marketing investment is highly contingent upon your industry, business and target audience but these two were consistent in all 4 examples across different industries.
Marketing identify top 3 customer journeys and Sales identify 3 customer journeys: then identify overlap and gaps to create Marketing and Sales top 5 customer journeys - the journey never starts and stops with Marketing OR Sales. It's a continuous process and therefore both teams need to be involved from beginning to end (the beginning affects the end and vice versa)
Sales are being made online (depending on the industry/product, etc.). Marketing and Sales need to understand which customers and what they are buying so the customer journey experiences can be mapped accordingly - and give Sales the green light to not pursue these customer and focus on other customers with a higher propensity to convert with a Salesperson
Map the customer journey experience together: Marketing with expertise in content creation, platforms, customer research and YouTube topics then utilize Sales expertise with identifying what triggers actions, different conversations along the purchase journey, content that helps close the deal before it makes it to the sales person. When the journey is mapped together it helps identify how marketing qualifies leads, how sales qualifies leads and when the "hand off" should occur.
Take a moment to review the study - it's about a 5 minute read. Then share below trends you see, how you can use this information in your role and any 'aha' moments. Would love to hear from you! Comment below :)