Introduction
Creating a memorable customer experience goes far beyond just delivering topics and/or informational videos. In an online business, it is about the customer and the journey they go on to solve their problem. They want an experience that will provide them the FAST TRACK and keep them engaged. So how do you do that?
Customer journey mapping. Creating a journey path that identifies every touchpoint in your customer’s experience allows you to create an experience that engages and supports your customer as they reach each milestone or level on their path to success.
Customer journey mapping is about seeing your experience from the customer’s perspective, identifying potential obstacles, and strategically enhancing each stage of their journey.
By mapping out this journey, you can improve engagement, reduce drop-off rates, and create a seamless experience that keeps customers coming back for more.
In this blog post, we’ll walk through the process of customer journey mapping, covering what it is, how to create a map for your signature offer, and tips for using it to boost engagement.
We’ll also share examples and case studies that demonstrate the impact of effective journey mapping.
What is Customer Journey Mapping?
Customer journey mapping is the process of creating a visual representation of every interaction a customer has within your online business.
This map outlines each stage of their experience, showing how they move from one step to the next and highlighting any challenges or gaps along the way.
A journey map typically includes:
1. Stages of the Customer Journey – Key phases such as awareness, onboarding, engagement, and retention.
2. Touchpoints – Points of interaction between the customer and your program, such as emails, videos, and check-ins.
3. Customer Goals and Emotions – What the customer hopes to achieve at each stage and how they feel along the way.
4. Pain Points/Obstacles & Challenges – Areas where customers may face challenges or lose interest.
5. Opportunities for Improvement – Potential enhancements to keep customers engaged and satisfied.
Here at Tara L Bryan.com, we help online business owners create impactful customer experiences, and journey mapping is one of the most powerful tools for understanding and optimizing the customer’s path through your online business.
Step 1: Identifying the Stages of Your Customer Journey
The first step in creating a journey map is to define the stages of the customer journey. While these stages can vary, most online experiences follow a similar flow:
Common Stages in a Signature Online Experience Customer Journey
1. Awareness – The stage where potential customers first learn about you and your signature solution.
2. Consideration – When customers are evaluating and deciding whether to enroll.
3. Onboarding – The initial experience after signing up, where customers get introduced to the signature solution and begins their journey.
4. Engagement – The core learning and participation phase, where customers interact with your content, community, or support.
5. Completion – When customers reach the end of the solution, achieving the intended goals or results.
6. Retention – Post-experience touchpoints that keep customers connected to your brand and encourage future interactions.
Example of Defining Stages:
A signature solution might define the journey stages as “Discovery,” “Enrollment,” “Getting Started,” “Milestone Progression,” “Certification,” and “Alumni Engagement.” Each of these stages reflects a key milestone in the customer’s journey.
Step 2: Outlining Customer Touchpoints
Once you’ve defined the stages, identify all the touchpoints customers have with your brand during each stage. Touchpoints are any interactions or communications between your brand and the customer, and mapping them helps you see where customers are most engaged and where they may lose interest.
Types of Customer Touchpoints in an Online Experience
1. Marketing Touchpoints – Ads, emails, landing pages, social media posts, and website content that introduce customers to your program.
2. Onboarding Touchpoints – Welcome emails, introduction videos, onboarding guides, and community invitations.
3. Participation Touchpoints – Lesson content, quizzes, assignments, and interactive elements that guide customers through the program.
4. Support Touchpoints – Live Q&A sessions, chat support, FAQ resources, and email check-ins.
5. Completion Touchpoints – Certificates, achievement badges, congratulatory emails, and requests for feedback or testimonials.
6. Retention Touchpoints – Alumni groups, ongoing content access, invitations to new experiences, or email newsletters.
Tip: Be as detailed as possible when identifying touchpoints. The more comprehensive your map, the easier it will be to find opportunities for enhancing the customer journey.
Step 3: Mapping Customer Goals and Emotions
For each stage and touchpoint, outline the customer’s goals and emotions. Understanding what your customers want to achieve and how they feel at each step allows you to tailor your approach and address any potential frustrations.
Examples of Customer Goals and Emotions
1. Awareness Stage
– Goal: Learn about the online business/solution and its benefits.
– Emotion: Curiosity or skepticism.
2. Onboarding Stage
– Goal: Get started smoothly and feel welcomed.
– Emotion: Excitement mixed with some anxiety.
3. Engagement Stage
– Goal: Progress through the content and achieve milestones.
– Emotion: Motivated, but possibly overwhelmed if the content is challenging. We call this stage, Control the Dip, because people tend to fall off here when they have to actually ‘do the work’. For specific ideas to keep your customers engaged, download our free guide 50 Ways to Engage Customers in Your Online Business.
4. Completion Stage
– Goal: Finish strong and feel a sense of accomplishment.
– Emotion: Pride, satisfaction, and possibly some sadness as the journey ends.
5. Customers for Life Retention Stage
– Goal: Stay connected with the brand and continue growing.
– Emotion: Loyalty, gratitude, and enthusiasm for more.
Step 4: Identifying Pain Points, Roadblocks and Hurdles
Once you’ve outlined goals and emotions, look for potential pain points and gaps that could disrupt the customer journey. These are areas where customers might feel confused, frustrated, or tempted to drop out.
Common Pain Points in Online Solutions
1. Confusing Onboarding– Customers may feel overwhelmed if onboarding isn’t smooth and clear.
2. Inconsistent Engagement – Without regular check-ins, customers might lose motivation or struggle with content.
3. Lack of Support – Customers who feel unsupported may abandon the program when they face challenges.
4. Unclear Path to Completion– If customers aren’t sure what’s expected to finish, they might lose interest.
Example of Addressing Pain Points:
In an online fitness program, customers reported feeling overwhelmed during the onboarding process. To address this, the program creators added a step-by-step onboarding guide and introduced a “New Member Q&A” webinar to answer common questions. This simple change reduced drop-off rates in the first week.
Step 5: Enhancing the Journey with Opportunities for Engagement
Customer journey mapping isn’t just about identifying pain points; it’s also about finding opportunities to add value. Look for moments where you can enhance engagement or add a personal touch to make the journey more enjoyable.
Examples of Engagement Opportunities
1. Personalized Messages – Send personalized emails based on customer behavior, such as congratulating them on completing a milestone or offering additional resources if they’ve been inactive.
2. Gamified Progress Tracking – Introduce progress tracking with badges or certificates to celebrate achievements and keep customers motivated.
3. Interactive Elements – Add quizzes, scenarios, practice, polls, or discussion threads to make content more engaging and encourage participation.
4. Surprise Bonuses – Surprise customers with unexpected bonuses, like access to additional resources or discounts on future experiences.
Example of Adding Value with Engagement Opportunities:
An online language program introduced badges for each level of proficiency, rewarding customers for their progress. They also added a “Speaking Practice” challenge every month, encouraging customers to apply what they’d learned. This helped keep motivation high and increased customer retention.
Step 6: Creating and Analyzing the Journey Map
Now that you’ve identified the stages, touchpoints, customer goals, emotions, pain points, and opportunities, it’s time to create the journey map. You can use simple tools like Google Sheets or Miro to create a visual map that’s easy to update and share.
Analyzing the Journey Map
Once your map is complete, analyze each stage to ensure every touchpoint aligns with customer goals and provides a positive experience. Look for areas where you can:
1. Improve Clarity – Ensure that onboarding and instructional materials are clear and user-friendly.
2. Increase Support – Add support touchpoints where customers might struggle, such as live Q&A sessions or automated reminders.
3. Add Motivational Touches – Use personalized messages, rewards, or progress updates to keep customers engaged.
Example of Journey Map Analysis:
A marketing program noticed that engagement dropped off halfway through their course. By analyzing the journey map, they realized that customers needed more support and motivation during this phase. They added weekly check-in emails and introduced a mid-course assessment to help customers gauge their progress, which improved completion rates.
Step 7: Implementing Changes and Monitoring Results
Once you’ve made improvements based on your journey map, track the impact on customer satisfaction, engagement, and retention. Monitoring results will help you see which changes are working and where further adjustments may be needed.
Metrics to Track
1. Completion Rates – Measure the percentage of customers who complete the experience.
2. Engagement Rate – Track how often customers interact with content, participate in discussions, or complete assignments.
3. Customer Satisfaction Score– Use surveys to gauge customer satisfaction at different stages of the journey.
4. Retention Rate– Track how many customers stay engaged post-completion and participate in follow-up experiences.
Example of Monitoring Results:
An online business course noticed a higher completion rate after introducing personalized progress emails and gamified milestones. By monitoring engagement metrics and survey feedback, they confirmed that these changes had a positive impact on customer experience.
Case Study: Customer Journey Mapping in an Online Coaching Program
Case Study:
An online coaching program used customer journey mapping to optimize each stage of their customer experience. They identified five stages: Discovery, Onboarding, Core Program, Certification, and Alumni Engagement.
By mapping out each stage, they found several key insights:
– Pain Points: Customers felt overwhelmed during onboarding and uncertain about certification requirements.
– Engagement Opportunities: The program added milestone celebrations and peer accountability groups to keep motivation high.
– Improvements: They simplified onboarding, clarified certification steps, and introduced alumni benefits to encourage ongoing participation.
Results:
With these changes, the engagement rate increased by 30%, and certification completion improved by 20%. Customers reported feeling more supported and motivated throughout the journey, and retention rates rose as alumni stayed involved through follow-up content.
Conclusion
Customer journey mapping is an invaluable tool for creating a seamless, engaging experience that guides customers from start to finish. By visualizing each stage, understanding touchpoints, and identifying pain points, you can optimize the journey to meet customer needs and exceed expectations.
Whether it’s through improving onboarding, adding motivational touchpoints, or creating opportunities for engagement, a well-designed customer journey can increase satisfaction, boost retention, and transform your solution into a truly customer-centric experience.
Ready to build a journey map for your program? We provide the tools, insights, and strategies to help you create an experience that keeps customers engaged and coming back. Embrace the power of journey mapping and watch your online experiences reach new levels of customer retention and results!
