If you want your business to grow and keep your customers happy, you will need to know how important it is to help customers along their journey. It’s not enough to know “why” and “how” to map the customer journey; you also need to choose the right tools and styles. For that reason, this guide is all about the different customer journey mapping tools & templates that can make mapping easier for you. Also, it will help you make customer journey maps that look good and are full of useful information.
Customer Journey Mapping Tools: To Visualize Data
Like a builder needs a full set of tools, customer journey mapping needs a wide range of tools to work well. In fact, different kinds of tools are needed for each step, from coming up with ideas to visualizing them to analyzing the data. Let’s look at these tools that will help you with journey mapping.
1. Brainstorming and Ideation Powerhouses
- Miro: Your team can use this virtual whiteboard to come up with ideas, learn more about the customer journey, and make rough sketches of these ideas.
- Mural: The mural is a digital workspace for visual collaboration that works a lot like Miro. Likewise, it has templates and tools that are perfect for journey mapping.
2. Visualization and Mapping Virtuosos
- Lucidchart: Using Lucidchart, you can easily make journey maps that look professional and are easy on the eyes by dragging and dropping elements on the screen. What’s more, it lets you make your map come to life with a lot of different layouts and editing tools.
- Smaply: This is the best tool for you if you want to really understand the emotional ups and downs of your customers’ journey. Indeed, it’s great at picturing how customers feel and finding their pain points.
Evidently, with these visualization and mapping tools, you can make customer journey maps that look good and are full of useful information. In addition, this will help you discover more about how the customer feels.
3. Data Integration and Analysis Wizards
- FullStory: Using real customer contacts that you record on your website or app, this tool makes it easy to make accurate journey maps quickly. Moreover, you can see everything your customers do if you put yourself in their shoes. As a result, this makes your work more useful and effective.
- Hotjar: Heatmaps and session records provided by Hotjar, a crucial part of this process, show how customers use your website. Therefore, this knowledge is very helpful for making your journey map.
In short, these customer journey mapping tools & templates for combining and studying data give you a lot of information about how customers really act. In addition, this lets you see where customers are having trouble, come up with ways to make things better, and make decisions based on data to improve the customer process.
4. Collaboration and Sharing Champions
- Figma: This app is great for teams that work best when they can share and edit files at the same time. It makes working together on journey maps easy and makes sure that everyone is on the same page.
- UXPressia: This platform makes journey planning easier with built-in features and by connecting to other tools for a more streamlined process.
Leveraging the right customer journey mapping tools & templates enhances collaboration and sharing among your team.
Remember that the best tool for you will depend on the size, budget, and goals of your team. Don’t be afraid to try different things until you find the right fit.
Customer Journey Mapping Templates
It can be scary to start from scratch. That’s when themes come in handy! Think of them as pre-built customer journey mapping tools & templates that you can change to fit your business and the way your customers move through it.
Many people use the following types of templates:
Current State Map Template
This template helps you see the customer journey as it is now, showing the contacts, actions, thoughts, and feelings that the customer has already had.
Stages | 1st Stage | 2nd Stage | 3rd Stage | 4th Stage | 5th Stage |
Thoughts & Feelings | > Thoughts > Feelings “Type something this customer said in their interview.” | > Feelings 1 > Feelings 2 “Something this customer said at this stage of the journey.” | > Thoughts 1 > Feelings “This customer thoughts & feelings” | > Feelings 1 > Feelings 2 > Thoughts “A quote!” | > Thoughts “Thoughts…” |
Goals & Actions | > Goal > Action | > Priority > Step Taken | > Action > Step > Attempt | > Goal > Action | > Step |
Touch Points & Current Issues | > Ads > Points > Channel > Touch Point | > Channel Name > Touch Point > Channel Name | > Shopping Point > Purchase Point | > Delivery > Usage Point > Service Point | > Channel Point > Touch Point |
Improvements & Opportunities | > Solution | > Solution > Opportunity | > Design Fix > Opportunity > Solution | > Technical Improvement > Design Solution | > Opportunity |
Future State Template
This template helps you picture the perfect customer trip and write down your hopes and plans for making the experience better.
Day in the Life Template
This template looks at the customer’s whole day, including how they interact with your brand and your rivals, to find needs and opportunities that aren’t being met.
Service Blueprint Template:
This template shows more than just the experience from the customer’s point of view. It also shows the internal processes, people, and tools that are used to make it happen.
Service Blueprint For Getting a Mortgage For The First Time
A Service Blueprint For University Cafeteria
Service Blueprint For A Pharmecy Customer Journey
Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to mix and match themes or make your own hybrid version that works best for you.
Tips for Mapping Your Way to Success: Feeling Sure on the Way
Now that you have the tools and templates you need, here are some expert tips to make sure your journey mapping trip goes perfectly:
- Set a clear goal at the start. Figure out what you want your map to do. Are you trying to get more sales, make your customers happier, or something else?
- Include more than one team. The paths that customers take go through many offices. To get a full picture, ask marketing, sales, customer service, and product development for their thoughts.
- Pay attention to how the customer sees things. Think about what they’re going through. At each step of the way, what are their goals, what drives them, and what hurts them?
- Check your assumptions with facts. Don’t go with your gut. Use analytics, polls, and customer feedback to back up what you think.
- Keep it interesting and graphic. A well-made map is simpler to understand and share with others.
- Repeat and get better. Customer trips change over time. Go back to your map often and make changes to reflect how your customers act and your business’s goals.
In the End,
Don’t forget that the point of customer journey planning is to make your organization focus more on the customer. Evidently, by understanding how your customers feel, you can find ways to make their journey better. Additionally, by using the right customer journey mapping tools & templates, you can make this process easier and more effective. This will make them happier, more loyal, and ultimately help your business grow.
Now that you have your tools and template, it’s time to start this exciting journey of learning. Have fun mapping!
FAQs
There is a range of tools available, including Miro and Mural for brainstorming, Lucidchart and Smaply for visualization, FullStory and Hotjar for data analysis, and Figma and UXPressia for collaboration.
Consider factors like your team’s size, budget, specific needs, and desired features (e.g., real-time collaboration, data integration, emotional mapping) when making your selection.
Commonly used templates include Current State, Future State, Day in the Life, and Service Blueprint templates, each serving a specific purpose in visualizing the customer experience.
Absolutely! Feel free to mix and match tools and templates or create your own hybrid version to best suit your needs and preferences.
They streamline the mapping process, enable collaboration, and provide deeper insights into customer behavior, ultimately helping you create a more customer-centric organization.
Yes, several tools offer free plans or trials, and numerous free templates can be found online. It’s worth exploring these options, especially for smaller businesses or those just starting with journey mapping.