Mapping your customer Journey: A practical guide for business owners
If you’ve ever wondered why some marketing campaigns hit the mark while others fall flat, the answer often lies in how well you understand your ideal clients.
This is where mapping your customer journey comes in.
It’s not as fancy as it sounds. It’s about getting into your clients’ heads, understanding their experiences, and meeting their needs at every stage.
Let’s walk through what the customer journey actually is, why it matters, and how you can map it out to level up your marketing.
What Is the customer journey?
In simple terms, the customer journey is the process someone goes through when interacting with your business. It starts when they first hear about you and continues all the way through to becoming a loyal client and beyond.
Basically, your ideal client goes through a series of steps to solve their problem or meet a need, with your business providing the solution.
Along the way, they hit various “touchpoints” like your website, social media posts, or even a chat with you at a networking event.
Here’s how your ideal client’s journey with your business might typically progress:
- Pre-Aware: At this stage, people don’t know your business exists. You’re not yet on their radar. The goal here is to build visibility and awareness through activities like social media, advertising, networking, or PR, so they begin to see your name.
- Aware: This is when they know who you are but don’t yet understand what you do. For example, they might have seen your logo, heard your name mentioned, or scrolled past one of your posts, but they don’t yet connect you with the solutions they need. Building trust and familiarity at this stage is key.
- Consideration: Now they know who you are and what you do. They begin researching your business and learning more about what you offer. This is where clear messaging and demonstrating your value through website content, testimonials, or social proof make all the difference.
- Preference: At this stage, they’re leaning toward choosing your business. They’ve compared their options and decided you’re the best fit for their needs at an exclusive time of need. It’s crucial to make their decision easy by highlighting why your business is the right choice through case studies, personalized communication, or a smooth inquiry process.
- Purchase: This is when they choose to do business with you and become a client. Ideally, this stage includes delivering an exceptional experience that meets or exceeds their expectations, ensuring they’ll want to return.
- Advocate: After a positive experience, they move to this stage, where they actively refer your business to others. They’ve become loyal supporters who trust you enough to recommend you to their network, which is one of the most powerful ways to build your reputation.
Knowing these stages gives you a good starting point to plan your marketing so you are actually connecting with your ideal clients at the right time.
Now, let’s look at why this matters and how it can make a real difference for your business.
Why mapping your customer journey matters
Okay, so why bother mapping it out? Well, if you don’t know what your ideal clients are thinking or feeling at each stage, it’s like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks (and we all know my thoughts on that – or if you don’t, you can read them here).
When you understand your customer journey, you can:
- Create targeted content: Speak directly to your ideal client’s questions and concerns.
- Improve their experience: Make each interaction smoother and more satisfying.
- Build trust: Show that you really get your ideal clients and understand their needs.
For example, imagine someone Googling “local electrician near me” (classic awareness stage). If they land on your site and it’s full of jargon or doesn’t answer their immediate questions, they’re gone. But if you’ve mapped their journey and know what they’re after, you’ll have the right info ready – like a simple FAQ page or clear service descriptions.
How to start mapping your customer journey
This doesn’t need to be complicated, I promise. Here’s a straightforward way to get started:
1. Know Your Ideal Client
Before you even think about mapping, you need to be clear on who you’re mapping it for. And that’s your ideal client/s (aka your target market). What are their problems? What do they care about? And what might hold them back from working with you?
If you’re not sure who your ideal clients, ask! Talk to your existing clients (those ones who are most profitable for you and who you love to deal with), send out a survey, or analyse the questions they ask you all the time (your FAQs) or look at your reviews and testimonials. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn just by listening.
You can also check out my blog on the basics of defining your ideal client.
2. Break Down the Stages
Think about the stages I mentioned earlier:
- Pre-Aware
- Aware
- Consideration
- Preference
- Purchase
- Advocate.
What does each stage look like for your ideal client? What are they doing, thinking, or feeling at each step?
For example, during the Consideration stage, are they reading your reviews, checking out your website, or looking for examples of your work?
Understanding this helps you figure out where to focus your energy at each stage of the journey.
3. Look at Your Touchpoints
Your touchpoints are all the ways your ideal clients interact with your business. This could be (but not limited to) your:
- Website
- Social media
- Emails
- Phone calls
- Store or office front
- or even a conversation at a local event.
Think about every aspect of your business where there is an ideal client touchpoint and go through each one and ask yourself:
- Does this make things clear and easy for my ideal clients?
- Am I giving them the information they need at the right time?
- Are there gaps where they might feel stuck or unsure?
Sometimes it helps to get a fresh set of eyes to review your touchpoints. A friend, team member, or trusted business connection can also often spot things you’ve missed.
4. Fill the Gaps
Once you’ve identified the gaps, it’s time to fill them. Maybe your website needs an FAQ section to answer common questions, or your social media posts could do a better job showing off your expertise.
This isn’t about doing everything at once. Start with the things that will make the biggest difference and work from there.
5. Test and Tweak
The customer journey isn’t a set-and-forget kind of thing.
Businesses change, clients’ needs shift, and your marketing needs to keep up. Take some time every few months to check in, see what’s working, and tweak what’s not.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mapping your customer journey is a great way to improve your marketing, but there are a few traps you’ll want to avoid. Here’s what to watch out for:
1. Skipping the Pre-Aware Stage
It’s easy to focus on people who already know you exist, but what about the ones who don’t?
If you’re not showing up where your ideal clients are (like social media, local events, or even through word of mouth), you’re missing opportunities to get on their radar.
Make sure you’re building awareness at the start.
2. Ignoring the Retention and Advocate Stages
Most businesses put all their energy into getting new clients and forget about keeping the ones they’ve already worked so hard to win.
However, your loyal clients are everything.
They’re the reason your business keeps ticking, and they’re the ones who rave about you to others. So, making them feel valued isn’t just good for them – it’s essential for your business.
So, don’t skip over creating content, touchpoints, or even simple thank-yous that help them feel valued and turn them into advocates.
3. Guessing Instead of Asking
You might think you know what your ideal clients need, but their perspective might surprise you. Instead of assuming, talk to them.
A quick chat, survey, or even reading through reviews can give you the insights you need to build a journey that actually works.
4. Overloading or Confusing Touchpoints
You don’t need to be everywhere or say everything.
Trying to cover all the bases can lead to overwhelming your ideal clients. Stick to the places where they’re most likely to be and focus on making those touchpoints clear, easy, and useful.
5. Overcomplicating the Process
This isn’t about creating a 20-page document or a colour-coded spreadsheet (unless you really want to). Start simple. Map out the key stages, identify a few gaps, and tackle one thing at a time.
6. Forgetting to Review and Adapt
The way people interact with businesses is constantly changing, so don’t treat your customer journey map as a once-and-done task.
Make it part of your regular business check-ins to review what’s working, what’s not, and where things can be improved.
What Happens After Mapping?
Once you’ve mapped your customer journey, the fun part begins.
Use what you’ve learned to tweak your marketing. For example:
- Update your website to match what clients need at each stage.
- Plan content that directly answers their questions.
- Adjust your email campaigns to follow up at the right times.
And don’t forget that this isn’t a “set and forget” process. People change, markets shift, and your business evolves. Revisit your map regularly to keep it fresh.
Ready to Make It Happen?
If all this feels a bit overwhelming, you’re not alone. Mapping your customer journey is one of those tasks that’s easy to put off, but it’s also a game-changer when done right.
And if you’re too busy running your business to get into the nitty-gritty of it all, that’s what I’m here for. Let’s chat about making your marketing actually happen: strategically and stress-free.
