A mammoth tusk dated to 25,000 BCE and woven with intricate carvings might be the oldest surviving map in history. Located in the Czech Republic, it reveals a mountain, a river and various routes around Pavlov.
Examples of early cartography show the human inclination, from the Stone Age onward, to not only document uncharted territory but also to chart the routes for successful expeditions in the future. In the marketing world, some of the most important modern mapping involves charting the increasingly complicated customer journey.
A few decades ago, the customer journey might have been Stone Age in its simplicity, involving little more than TV commercials, billboards and trips to brick-and-mortar shops to make a new purchase. Today, the customer journey is much more complex, with a multitude of touch points scattered across an interconnected, digital world. From social media channels to mobile-friendly sites to third-party review platforms, each customer’s passage to the product is unique.
Mapping the customer journey is critical not only because it provides a visual model of the journey but also because it helps inform and predict the overall customer experience, including pain points customers might encounter along the way, which could prevent a purchase or discourage further ones. We sat down with Neil Thobani of SmartFinancial to discuss why customer journey mapping is so important, and how he utilizes it to increase customer success.
Neil Thobani is director of account management at SmartFinancial, an insurance-technology platform. He recognizes the importance of customer journey mapping and frequently uses it to improve the customer experience and make important changes through customization, collaboration and customer support.
What’s one way customer journey mapping helps you deliver a better customer experience?
Customer journey mapping is crucial for making sure that our customers know what to expect when working with our company. Customers visit our home page and customer review pages first. It’s important for them to understand how they ended up on our pages, and it’s also important to offer customer support every step thereafter to ensure a great shopping experience. It goes without saying that we want our customers to succeed so we analyze every step of the journey, from landing on our homepage to their first interaction with team members. We’re constantly reviewing these interactions and are committed to finding ways to improve.
What other teams or team members do you collaborate with to support customers throughout their success journey?
By mapping the customer experience, we gain invaluable insight into customer expectations. By reviewing their experience, the company can better engage clients with the right products and services. Managers at SmartFinancial have a hands-on approach and are clear communicators. There’s collaboration among all departments: sales, account management and our contact center. We reach out to anyone in the organization that can assist with solving problems in real time because we are all dedicated to making sure that users of our products and services are having an exceptional experience.
By mapping the customer experience, we gain invaluable insight into customer expectations.”
How do you tailor the customer journey map to meet the unique needs of different types of customers?
Our philosophy is “know your customer,” and we strive to integrate with all of our customers’ businesses. No two businesses are the same, so we customize our products and services according to each customer’s goals and needs. We are regularly in contact to adjust, troubleshoot or provide actionable advice to ensure success with their purchase.
