# Customer Journey Mapping — Methodology & Templates

## Overview

A systematic approach to mapping every touchpoint, emotion, and decision point in the customer journey from first awareness to post-purchase advocacy.

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## Journey Mapping Canvas

### Stage Structure

| Stage | Customer Goal | Key Questions |
|-------|--------------|---------------|
| **Awareness** | Recognize they have a problem | "What's causing this pain?" |
| **Consideration** | Research solutions | "What options exist?" |
| **Decision** | Choose a solution | "Which option is best for me?" |
| **Purchase** | Complete the transaction | "How do I buy this?" |
| **Onboarding** | Start getting value | "How do I set this up?" |
| **Retention** | Continue getting value | "Is this still worth it?" |
| **Advocacy** | Share with others | "Should I recommend this?" |

### Per-Stage Documentation

For each stage, document:

1. **Touchpoints**: Every interaction (ad seen, email received, page visited, call made)
2. **Channels**: Where the interaction happens (Google, social, email, in-person, in-product)
3. **Actions**: What the customer does (searches, clicks, downloads, talks to sales)
4. **Emotions**: How they feel (frustrated, curious, excited, anxious, confident)
5. **Pain Points**: What friction or confusion they experience
6. **Questions**: What they need to know at this stage
7. **Content Needs**: What content supports their decision at this stage
8. **KPIs**: How we measure success at this stage

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## Emotion Mapping Framework

### Emotion Scoring (-5 to +5)

| Score | Emotion State | Description |
|-------|--------------|-------------|
| +5 | Delighted | Exceeds expectations, "wow" moment |
| +3 | Satisfied | Needs met smoothly |
| +1 | Neutral-positive | Adequate experience |
| 0 | Neutral | No strong feeling |
| -1 | Mildly frustrated | Minor friction or confusion |
| -3 | Frustrated | Significant friction, considering alternatives |
| -5 | Angry | Major failure, likely to churn/complain |

Map emotion scores across the full journey to identify:
- **Peaks**: Moments of delight to reinforce and amplify
- **Valleys**: Moments of frustration to fix or mitigate
- **Transitions**: Stage boundaries where emotion shifts most dramatically

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## Touchpoint Catalog

### Digital Touchpoints
- Search results (organic + paid)
- Social media posts/ads
- Website pages (homepage, product, pricing, blog)
- Email (marketing, transactional, support)
- Chat (live chat, chatbot)
- Reviews and ratings sites
- Webinars/events
- In-app experience
- Push notifications

### Human Touchpoints
- Sales calls/demos
- Customer support interactions
- Account management
- Onboarding sessions
- Community interactions
- In-person events

### Brand Touchpoints
- PR/media coverage
- Word-of-mouth/referrals
- Influencer content
- Partner/co-marketing
- Packaging/unboxing (physical products)

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## Moment of Truth Identification

### Types of Moments of Truth

| Moment | Definition | Example |
|--------|-----------|---------|
| **Zero MoT** (Google) | First search/discovery | Brand appears in search results |
| **First MoT** | First direct interaction | Landing page visit, free trial signup |
| **Second MoT** | Product experience | Using the product for the first time |
| **Ultimate MoT** | Sharing experience | Customer writes review or refers a friend |

### Identifying YOUR Key Moments

Ask: "If we could only optimize 3 touchpoints, which would move the most customers forward?"

Score each touchpoint: **Influence on conversion** × **Current performance gap** = **Priority**

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## B2B vs B2C Journey Differences

| Dimension | B2C | B2B |
|-----------|-----|-----|
| Decision makers | 1 (individual) | 3-10 (buying committee) |
| Journey length | Minutes to days | Weeks to months |
| Emotion role | Primary driver | Important but secondary to ROI |
| Content needs | Reviews, social proof, visuals | Case studies, ROI calculators, demos |
| Key touchpoints | Ad → Landing → Checkout | Content → Demo → Proposal → Contract |
| Post-purchase | Review, repeat purchase | Onboarding, expansion, renewal |

### B2B Buying Committee Personas

Map separate journey lanes for:
- **Champion**: Internal advocate, researches solutions
- **Decision Maker**: Budget authority, needs ROI justification
- **Influencer**: Technical evaluator, needs proof of capability
- **End User**: Daily user, needs ease-of-use evidence
- **Blocker**: Risk-averse stakeholder, needs security/compliance proof

---

## Journey Visualization

### Recommended Format

```
Stage:     [Awareness] → [Consideration] → [Decision] → [Purchase] → [Onboarding] → [Retention]
Touchpts:  [Ad, Blog]    [Demo, Email]     [Proposal]   [Checkout]   [Setup, Call]   [Product]
Actions:   [Search]      [Compare]         [Evaluate]   [Buy]        [Configure]     [Use]
Emotions:  [Curious +2]  [Hopeful +3]      [Anxious -1] [Excited +4] [Confused -2]   [Satisfied +3]
Pain Pts:  [Too many     [Hard to          [Pricing     [Form too    [Setup too       [Feature
            options]      compare]          unclear]      long]        complex]        missing]
```

### Visualization Best Practices

1. Use a single horizontal timeline (left to right)
2. Color-code emotion (green for positive, red for negative)
3. Mark critical moments of truth with callouts
4. Include actual customer quotes where available
5. Keep it to one page for executive consumption
6. Create a detailed version and a summary version
