Why the customer journey matters
Customers don’t move from first hearing about you straight to buying or signing up. They go on a journey – discovering you, comparing options, making a decision, and, if all goes well, becoming loyal and recommending you to others.
Mapping this journey gives you a clear framework to:
- Understand how people interact with your brand at each stage.
- Spot gaps or pain points that stop people moving forward.
- Match the right marketing channels to the right stage.
- Choose meaningful KPIs that prove success.
Without a mapped journey, marketing risks being scattergun – lots of activity without knowing where it fits or why it matters.
The five stages of the customer journey:
- Awareness – when someone first discovers your brand.
Examples: seeing a social ad, hearing word-of-mouth, finding you via Google search. - Consideration – when they compare you with alternatives.
Examples: reading reviews, watching product videos, signing up for a webinar. - Action – the step you want them to take (buy, donate, sign up, join).
Examples: completing checkout, registering for an event, making a donation. - Retention – keeping them engaged and loyal.
Examples: receiving personalised emails, loyalty rewards, excellent customer service. - Advocacy – when customers promote you to others.
Examples: leaving a review, sharing content on social, referring friends.
How to map your customer journey.
1. Start with your audience.
You can’t map a journey without knowing who’s taking it.
- Who are your customers or users?
- What motivates them? What problems are they trying to solve?
- Are there different segments who might take slightly different paths?
Example: For a gym, one segment might be young professionals looking for flexible classes, while another is parents seeking family-friendly memberships. Their journeys might share touchpoints but also have unique steps.
2. Identify touchpoints.
List every way customers come into contact with your brand, both online and offline.
- Ads (TV, social, posters)
- Website and landing pages
- Google search results
- Reviews or comparison sites
- Social media channels
- Events, shops, or physical experiences
- Customer service interactions
Tip: Don’t only think about the moments you control. Reviews, forums, and word of mouth also shape the journey.
3. Think about emotions and barriers.
Customers don’t just take logical steps; emotions drive behaviour.
- At awareness: curiosity, surprise, excitement.
- At consideration: uncertainty, comparison, trust-building.
- At action: confidence, urgency, but also fear of making the wrong choice.
- At retention: satisfaction, belonging, routine.
- At advocacy: pride, trust, enthusiasm.
Also ask: What might stop someone moving forward?
- Awareness – low visibility, confusing brand message.
- Consideration – lack of reviews, unclear pricing.
- Action – complicated checkout, hidden costs.
- Retention – poor communication, no follow-up.
- Advocacy – no easy way to share or refer.
4. Match channels and tactics.
Now link each stage of the journey with the right tools.
- Awareness: Paid social, SEO, PR, influencer activity.
- Consideration: Reviews, blogs, webinars, retargeting ads.
- Action: Landing pages, promo codes, live chat support.
- Retention: Loyalty emails, apps, excellent service, community-building.
- Advocacy: Referral schemes, social sharing campaigns, user-generated content.
Example: Airbnb’s “Made Possible by Hosts” campaign combined outbound ads (awareness), user reviews and rich listings (consideration), seamless booking (action), follow-up emails (retention), and host/guest stories (advocacy).
5. Choose KPIs.
Measurement brings the journey to life. Choose KPIs that prove success at each stage.
- Awareness: reach, impressions, brand searches.
- Consideration: engagement, click-throughs, content views, email opens.
- Action: conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), sales or sign-ups.
- Retention: repeat purchase rate, churn rate, lifetime value (LTV).
- Advocacy: referrals, reviews, Net Promoter Score (NPS), social shares.
Tip: Keep it simple. Pick 2–3 key metrics per stage. Too many, and you’ll drown in data.
Using the map once it’s done.
A customer journey map is a working tool, not a poster for the wall. It should guide your campaigns, budgets, messaging, and measurement.
Plan campaigns
When planning campaigns, the map helps you match activity to the stage customers are in. If awareness is low, you might use reach-building ads, PR, or influencer activity with introductory messaging that tells people who you are and why you matter. If customers are in consideration, focus on reviews, guides, and case studies supported by trust-building messaging that reassures and informs.
Improve the experience
The map also highlights barriers that stop people progressing. For example, if customers often abandon checkout, you can reduce friction by simplifying the process and sending reminder emails with reassuring messaging such as “free returns, no hidden fees.”
Allocate budget wisely
Budget decisions also become clearer once the journey is mapped. If awareness is already strong but retention is weak, it makes sense to shift investment into loyalty schemes and customer service, supported by appreciation messaging that rewards existing customers rather than always chasing new ones.
Measure what matters
Finally, a mapped journey helps you measure what matters. At the awareness stage you track reach and impressions, supported by visibility-focused messaging. At consideration you monitor engagement and sign-ups, backed up with educational messaging. At action you measure conversions and CPA, supported by clear calls-to-action. Retention is measured through repeat purchases and lifetime value, with messaging that rewards and maintains trust. Advocacy is tracked through reviews and referrals, with messaging that builds community and pride.
Takeaway.
Once mapped, the customer journey becomes a practical tool for aligning campaigns, channels, messaging, budget, and measurement. It stops marketing from being scattergun and turns it into a focused plan that guides customers smoothly from awareness through to advocacy.
