How To Translate The Customer Journey Into A Proven Marketing Funnel

There are two critical mistakes I find most marketers make across the board. The first is not thoroughly studying and understanding their target market. The second stems from the first: not communicating with their prospects and clients effectively through their marketing.

Customer journey mapping is the ideal solution to both the above issues. What’s more, it gives you the perfect foundation for creating marketing funnels that generate leads, nurture prospects, cultivate relationships, close sales and much more.

What Is A Customer Journey Map?

Essentially, this tool is a combination of a persona or customer profile, and a buying process (realization, search, decision, purchase). Typically, profiles include personal information plus demographics, psychographics and geographics. The customer journey brings that information home by outlining how customers do (or could) interact with your organization throughout the lifespan of their relationship with you.

According to Smashing Magazine, “…a customer journey map puts the user front and center in the organization’s thinking. It shows how mobile, social media and the web have changed customer behavior. It demonstrates the need for the entire organization to adapt. It encourages people across the organization to consider the user’s feelings, questions and needs. This is especially important with digital products and services.”

These maps are specific to events in customers’ or prospects’ lives, so you’ll need to have something in mind when you start. For our example, let’s say we’re dealing with clients who are searching for environmental products or services to help their business become more eco-friendly.

How Do I Create A Customer Journey Map?

To begin, you ask questions so you can understand the steps of a typical customer journey: inquiry, comparison, conversion, action. Using our example, we might wonder:

• What has caused this business to realize they need to be more earth-friendly? (Inquiry)
• What are they looking for in an environmental consultant firm? (Comparison)
• What is the fastest way we can comfortably convert prospects into clients? (Conversion)

There are literally thousands of ways to build a customer journey map, and each is precise to your firm, the leads you are pursuing and the actions you want them to take.

Once you have the answers to the above questions (still using our example), you can craft a marketing funnel to guide these particular leads to your business. One way to accomplish this is by using these tools:

• What has caused this business to realize they need to be more earth-friendly? (Inquiry)

We’ll say that our leads are businesses that have come to understand the high cost of not recycling. Their first thoughts are about saving money for their own company, but they are also beginning to see that the economic impact goes full circle and can have long-term monetary consequences, too. To attract these leaders, we could create a downloadable report or short video series with case studies about the actual, unforeseen results of not recycling. Then we could go on to explain how companies have managed to save a considerable amount by implementing simple recycling programs. Prospects would sign up for your mailing list in order to access the download.

• What are they looking for in an environmental consultant firm? (Comparison)

After the lead has downloaded the report/video, they will begin to receive a follow-up series of emails over the next couple of weeks that describe additional benefits of recycling and being eco-friendly. At the same time, these follow-up emails explain why your business is a much better choice than most others.

• What is the fastest way we can comfortably convert prospects into clients? (Conversion)

The wrap-up for this funnel is an invitation for the prospect to take action and convert into a paying client for our organization.

This automated process allows you to use these marketing funnels in any number of ways, 24/7/365. You simply plan for each specific instance, set up the funnel, click “go” and you’re off. It’s the perfect way to engage with leads throughout their journey. You can digitally take them by the hand and guide them step by step from introduction to action.

Want to discuss how the customer journey impacts your marketing efforts? Request to join my private Facebook group. When ask where your invitation came from, put:  customer journey blog post.