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Inside or outside the park, the customer is always looking for fun
With the digitization of retail and the dissemination of omnichannel, the buying process is becoming more complex since the customer can interact at various times and channels with the company until the closing of the deal. In this context, knowledge of the customer journey is fundamental for the company to understand the customer's main problems and how to solve them in the best way, providing the ideal solution. This approach helps to boost sales, as communication becomes more personalized, being compatible with the stage of the buying process in which the consumer is.
Customer Journey
The interaction between consumers and a brand or business through different channels is called Touchpoint (point of contact) and can take place from access to a website to purchase at an online or physical store.
An accurate investigation of these touchpoints helps in understanding the behavior of individuals and capturing the context in which each decision is made. In this sense, the main interactions with consumers can be visualized through a mapping of the customer journey. Also called “moments of truth”, this procedure can help in understanding how, why, and when customers engage with the brand or buy the product.
In this way, companies can use this information to improve their interactions with consumers, optimizing the potential of each channel and offering a personalized experience. Still with regard to experience, there is the possibility of building it more fluidly between channels, in which case all departments of the company would be focused on customer experience and engagement. In addition, it allows the construction of a unified and holistic view of the consumer and the use of information for sales on other channels and for the offer of other products in the aftermarket.
Some opportunities can be listed along each touchpoint in the customer journey. In a simplified journey involving the phases of discovering, researching, visiting the store, buying and after-sales, it is possible to:
- analyze customer profiles on social media and send notification of Push on your devices;
- ensure that at the time of research all customer information is clear;
- that the experience is personalized during the visit to the store;
- that at the time of purchase, friction is reduced with fluid experiences of checkout, not forgetting to seek customer loyalty after sales.
A major reference in the continuous evolution of the customer experience is Disney.
Some examples of the channel integration implemented by the company are:
- client planning through the app that allows them to explore and define itineraries in the parks,
- Find out the waiting times for attractions and schedule tables at restaurants.
- implementation of”Magic Band” (bracelet with an RFID chip) for visitors whose functions are the opening of rooms, park entrance tickets and can be used as a means of payment.
Construction together with the customer
Some elements are essential for a well-adhered customer journey, including: the participation of a multidisciplinary team, the use of data and facts, in addition to validation with a group that represents the end customer. You can start mapping using your sales funnel to define the buying process. This funnel will be a good guide to customer touchpoints and how each interaction fuels the next.
Learn more: What is a sales funnel?
Initially, it was a tool for visualizing where your potential customers are in the process of making a purchase decision, but currently it must also contemplate the stages of customer loyalty. A sales funnel is wide at the top, as potential customers with all levels of engagement enter and, eventually, the most engaged ones are funneled to the bottom of the funnel, being converted into sales, brand loyalty, and later, into promoting customers. A funnel can consist of the following phases:
In the phase of consciousness the potential customer learns about the product or service for the first time, it may be through an advertisement, internet search, referral from a friend or any other form of information collection. At this moment the customer does not have a formed opinion about the content, they just know that it exists. Companies are currently seeking to spread awareness about their offer to as many people as possible.
After awareness is the thoughtfulness, phase in which the customer seeks more details about the offer seeking to understand the benefits involved. This understanding can be made through research and comparisons to help you make the best decision. At this stage, companies need to make sure that people are aware of their competitive advantage.
A preference It is the phase in which the customer has made all the comparisons and, although he has not yet made the decision to buy, he is inclined to choose this offer instead of the other competitors. Then followed by the phase of shops, when the customer decides to invest money in the product or service of their choice.
This phase of conversion into sale used to be the ultimate goal of companies in their marketing campaigns and advertisements, with the constant search for new customers. However, creating and maintaining the loyalty with the customer, winning a new purchase becomes much simpler than starting from awareness with a new potential customer. One trend is the offer of loyalty programs that offer discounts and other advantages for returning customers.
The relationship with the customer reaches its peak of engagement in the phase of promotionnal. Right now, the objective is not only for customers to buy their products frequently, but also to promote the brand, convincing other people in the consideration and preference phases.
Throughout the entire process, think like the customer, about their needs, emotions, personalities, and frustrations.
By monitoring the stages of the journey and verifying points where the next stage does not seem natural or organic, it is possible to determine friction points to be optimized. Then, the various contact points can be grouped in a logical sequence, seeking ways to reduce friction at each of them.
One of the factors that makes the customer journey so effective at Disney is the intense monitoring of its visitors who, when using the”Magic Band”, make it possible to record any action taken. In this way, it is possible to make improvements both in the short term and where to allocate more people from Staff in the park, how much in the long term, with changes in attractions, stores, and restaurants according to consumer behavior.
Customer segmentation according to individual expectations
A map of everyone's journey doesn't offer details about anyone, after all, it's practically impossible to have a single product or sales method that appeals to everyone. To obtain a more specific view of the target audience, the definition of personas is important. These are customer profiles with common behavior patterns and needs.
The characterization and construction of these personas can be initiated by segmentation based on some attributes, such as age group, average ticket, family profile, and region. Each persona will have a different journey, so it is ideal that those chosen for analysis are well representative of the brand's audience.
Audience segmentation provides a series of benefits, such as an increase in the conversion rate of marketing campaigns, a more efficient investment in commercial actions, and an increase in the customer retention rate.
Anticipation/rapid understanding of market trends and new product and service opportunities
A series of digital initiatives can be used to improve the customer experience and this depends on a quick anticipation/understanding of market trends and new product and service opportunities.
For example: in the case of an online journey similar to the one represented in the figure, you can act on each moment of contact. Acting at the time of search (1), digital and in-store marketing initiatives, social media, and traditional advertising can help attract customer attention.
Once the solution has been found by the customer, it's time to convince them to buy the product (2). Variety, personalization, quality and news, price and promotion, and affordable delivery rates are determining factors.
At the time of purchase the ease of use (3) of the site and the existence of a service channel are worth noting. Real-time collection and delivery, innovative format, convenient delivery, and the existence of collection points can help reduce possible friction at the time of delivery.
After sales, in addition to availability (4) and the existence of an exchange system, the fulfillment of deliveries (5) and the existence of proactive retention mechanisms may be important to guarantee a repurchase (6).
Magazine Luiza represents a success story in how the digitalization of the customer journey was fundamental to the growth of the business. Starting with the first contact at the intention of the purchase, which often goes through a digital channel, the company has a recognized shopping app with over 26 million downloads and a share of about 40% of online orders. However, those who think that physical points are being forgotten are mistaken. For the company, stores are considered advanced purchasing and distribution centers, which provide a warmer service experience, in addition to offering services, such as the removal of products after the purchase made on digital channels.
The latter, combined with logistical efficiency, allows more than 30% of all product deliveries to be made within 48 hours. Another highlight is the digital service throughout the shopping experience made through Lu, the brand's personality, who can interact with customers through explanatory videos, through Chatbot or even in posts on social media.
Don't miss the next insight in this series: Why Omnichannel? — Challenges in the Supply Chain vision
External sources
[1] YOU Why is customer journey mapping so important? Source: https://www.sas.com/en_gb/insights/articles/marketing/why-is-customer-journey-mapping-important.html
[2] Webcredible (2016) Disney's Magical Customer Experience Source: https://www.webcredible.com/blog/disneys-magical-omnichannel-experience/
[3] Heart of the Costumer Best Practices in Journey Mapping — Driving Customer-Focused Change
Source: https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Journey-Mapping-Best-Practices.pdf
[4] Heart of the Costumer Using Journey Maps to Drive Your Total Customer Experience
Source: http://mnasq.org/wp-content/uploads/roundtable/Tincher__HeartofCustomer_ERT_111114.pdf
[5] Heart of the Costumer (2015) JOURNEY MAPPING TOOLKIT Discover the Moments that Matter Source: https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Journey-Mapping-Toolkit.pdf
[6] PeopleMetrics Introduction to Customer Journey Mapping Source: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/221727/file-33376447-pdf/PDFs/Introduction_to_Customer_Journey_Mapping_ebook_PeopleMetrics.pdf
[7] Silvertech Mapping the Customer Journey Source: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/321221/Mapping%20the%20Customer%20Journey%20Whitepaper.pdf
[8] ICMI (2014) Customer Experience Journey Mapping Source: https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ICMI-Creating-a-Customer-Experience-Journey-Map.pdf
[9] Heart of the Costumer (2013) Creating a Customer-Focused Customer Experience Journey Map 10+4 Principles to Capture Your Customer Experience Source: https://heartofthecustomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Creating-a-Customer-Focused-Customer-Experience-Map-White-Paper1.pdf
[10] Trade Club (2019) Magalu case: how to improve the customer experience Source: https://clubedotrade.com.br/blog/brandchannel/
About the author
Vinicius Rodrigues is a Visagio consultant specializing in organizational transformation projects, business excellence, analytics, supply chain and operations working in the retail, consumer goods, health, mining, banking, and other sectors.
