At present, many services and internal work processes are not designed to make the journey of customers more comfortable or convenient. Therefore, it is imperative that all stakeholders, comprising those who are in direct contact with customers and those in back-end support functions, be involved in the design stage to make it as effortless and accessible for our customers. This will allow our customers to enjoy a more holistic journey.
Every customer journey is unique, differing in what customers like, what they care about and what they dislike. In the process of designing, we must first understand the characteristics of the target group, what they appreciate or otherwise, and design a suitable customer journey based on these characteristics. For those customers we value, we should give priority if their customer journeys are made easier and more comfortable.
TThe customer journey is generally long and complex, with dozens or even hundreds of touch points with different teams, departments and channels involved. It is a good idea to sketch out the overall journey or the customer journey map before we consider which touchpoints customers are most concerned with or dissatisfied with.
The best way to know what customers care about (moments of truth) and hate (pain points) in the journey is to talk to them directly or to people who interact with them. Some good practices include in-depth customer interviews, service staff interview, and analysis of customer case studies. .
After the research, stakeholders will have a deeper understanding of the customer journey and voice of customers. What is crucial is a better appreciation of customers’ preferences, concerns and pain points. With consensus, we can begin to redesign the customer journey to eliminate pain points and include more value-added points. In the process of redesigning, the consultants can make it easier to inspire creativity in the team and make decisions.
Effective implementation is key to providing total customer experience, but it can only be done with regular measurement and reinforcement mechanisms. Establishing measurement metrics with benchmarks, assigning leaders to oversee the entire customer journey and solving problems along the way are all crucial aspects of success.